By Matt Hogan
CSF Conservation Policy Director

By now you’ve no doubt heard about the problems with the Administration of the Pittman-Robertson (PR) Wildlife Restoration Program.

Good news!! Legislation has been introduced in Congress (H.R. 3671) by Congressman Don Young of Alaska to fix the problems with PR and ensure that sportsmen’s dollars are spent as they were intended. But wait, it gets even better! The sportsmen’s dollars saved from the reforms in Mr. Young’s legislation will be reinvested in the future of hunting and earmarked to improve hunter education and shooting ranges throughout the country.

Details of the Legislation
In a nutshell, H.R. 3671 provides clear guidance on what is and what is not a permissible administrative expense for PR program. (Many of the current problems resulted from a lack of specifics on what constitutes administration of the program). In doing so, the legislation provides the Fish and Wildlife Service with $5 million annually (with provisions to compensate for inflation) to administer PR. In addition, the legislation authorizes a multi-state grant program of $2.5 million for national work on important issues in wildlife conservation and management that benefit a majority of states. The International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies will administer this grant program. Included in this section is a clear prohibition against anti-hunting groups applying for grants and against any uses of this money to oppose hunting, fishing and/or trapping.

Reinvesting in Hunting
However, what may be most important to the hunting community is that the sportsmen’s dollars saved by enacting these reforms will be reinvested in the future of hunting. At the urging of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation and the Archery Manufacturers and Merchants Organization (AMO), Congressman Young has agreed to give as much as $7.5 million a year direct to the States specifically for hunter education and development and shooting ranges. Earmarking this money demonstrates a clear commitment on the part of the Congress to ensuring the future of hunter education and hunting.

Why is this so important?
Hunters as a percentage of the American population continue to decline. This is particularly true for hunters ages 12 – 24. To those of you who ran into too many hunters in the deer woods or duck marshes this past hunting season, you may think that declining hunter numbers is not so bad. But a shrinking hunter base means less license revenue and PR dollars for state wildlife conservation efforts, not to mention fewer constituents to argue for hunting programs at the state and federal levels.

Hunter Education in the 21st Century
Reaching new hunters in 21st century America offers unique challenges. As most hunters know, kids are growing up in urban or suburban areas and have no identity or connection with the outdoors. On top of that, kids these days have a number of possible activities competing for their time. They are much more in-tune with using computers and the Internet than were kids just a few years ago.

In addition, there are other potential new hunters coming into the ranks, especially women and minorities. These people come to hunting later in life, as young adults, often at the invitation of a friend or colleague. Their needs from a hunter education course are often different than those of kids 12 to 16 years of age.

We also see the new legislation addressing the need to retain current hunters. Hunting in our modern society is different and rapidly changing. While the days of unlimited access to huge tracts of land may be a thing of the past, other hunting opportunities, especially in urban and suburban areas, are increasing. Advanced hunter education courses should be developed to help hunters learn to take advantage of these new opportunities.

Towards the Future
This new money provided by hunters and earmarked by the Congress represents a renewed commitment to hunter education in America since the first hunter education programs were started 50 years ago. However, this commitment cannot end after this legislation is signed into law or even after this money begins to reach the states. Rather, all interested parties (Congress, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, state agencies, hunting/conservation organizations, and individual hunters) must work to ensure that the hunter education program in America the best that it can be.

The time has come to invest in the retention, recruitment and education of hunters in America if hunting is to continue as a sporting and conservation activity in the 21st century. To do anything less will be to walk away from the commitment that our fathers and grandfathers made to develop what is, today, the worlds finest conservation program.