U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released a new report, Trends in Fishing and Hunting 1991-2006: A focus on Fishing and Hunting by Species, that provides a detailed look at fishing and hunting by species and offers a wealth of information on national and state fishing and hunting expenditures, participation rates, and demographic trends.

The new report, an addendum to the 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife Associated Recreation, represents a comprehensive survey conducted by the Service’s Wildlife Sport Fish and Restoration Program (WSFR). Data used to support the study were obtained from eleven fishing and hunting surveys sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA).

“This report provides invaluable information on the state of hunting and fishing participation in America that will help state and federal agencies maintain and increase opportunities for hunting, sport fishing and recreational boating,” said Hannibal Bolton, assistant director of the Service’s Wildlife Sport Fish and Restoration Program.

“I am encouraged by findings indicating that hunting and fishing participation rates are in many ways stronger and more resilient than previously believed.”

The following details are among highlights contained in the report:

• The number of turkey hunters has increased at more than twice the rate of the growth of the U.S. population since 1991.
• The number of duck and deer hunters has been stable since 1991.
• Turkey hunters in 2006 went out twice as many days as they did in 1991.  The rates for duck and deer hunters going out more days have also increased – by 20 to 40 percent.
• While the overall number of hunters has declined, most of this drop can be attributed to a large decrease in small game and dove hunting.
• Rabbit and squirrel hunting have lost half their participants since 1991, which may indicate that recruitment of new hunters is declining.
• For fishing, participation has dropped for nearly all types of fishing (i.e., freshwater and saltwater) and species of fish. One species for which fishing hasn’t significantly dropped is flatfish.
• The declining numbers of anglers have increased their average days of fishing so that overall fishing effort has remained stable.

“We want reviewers of this research to understand that while the generalization that hunting and fishing are declining in popularity is often heard, this report shows that the truth is more complicated,” said Richard Aiken, the Service’s lead economist for the study. “This report aids those who want to point to positive aspects of participation in fishing and hunting in the U.S., and how recruitment and retention efforts can be designed to appeal to the correct demographic groups.”

Trends in Fishing and Hunting 1991-2006

About:
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

MISSOULA, Mont. --(Ammoland.com)- —A new initiative to introduce youths and other newcomers to shooting sports, hunting and conservation is set to launch in 2011 powered by a generous donation to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation by Larry and Brenda Potterfield.

The Potterfields, owners of MidwayUSA, the catalog and Internet retailer offering “Just About Everything for Shooting, Reloading, Gunsmithing and Hunting,” contributed $400,000 to RMEF to help launch the new SAFE Challenge. SAFE is an acronym for Shooting Access For Everyone.

SAFE will introduce young and novice shooters to safe, responsible, enjoyable firearm use, as well as educate newcomers about the hunter’s role in conservation.

“Our goal is to build public understanding and appreciation of guns, shooting and hunting, and ultimately to recruit and welcome 50,000 newcomers into the sporting community,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO. “With leaders like the Potterfields and MidwayUSA, and their partnership with many dedicated volunteer organizations like ours, I see a bright future for conservation and our hunting heritage.”

Along with the Potterfield’s personal donation, Midway USA has renewed its presenting sponsorship of the RMEF television program on Outdoor Channel; will be the presenting sponsor of the final-night grand banquet with country music artist Clay Walker at the RMEF Convention and Hunting and Fishing Expo in Reno, Nev., March 3-6, 2011; and is underwriting a firearm for the 2011 RMEF banquet fundraiser program.

Combined support from the Potterfields and MidwayUSA exceeds $625,000 for 2011—amazing generosity that will help RMEF net more dollars for conservation in elk country, said Allen.

“Dad taught me to hunt and fish and I’ve had a lifelong passion for the outdoors since,” said Larry Potterfield, founder and CEO of MidwayUSA. “Brenda and I are excited to partner with RMEF to help train our next generation of hunters and shooters on safe shooting.”

For more info about MidwayUSA, visit www.midwayusa.com or call 1-800-243-3220.

About the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:
Snowy peaks, dark timber basins and grassy meadows. RMEF is leading an elk country initiative that has conserved or enhanced habitat on over 5.8 million acres—a land area equivalent to a swath three miles wide and stretching along the entire Continental Divide from Canada to Mexico. RMEF also works to open, secure and improve public access for hunting, fishing and other recreation. Get involved at www.rmef.org or 800-CALL ELK.

About the Potterfields and MidwayUSA
Larry and Brenda Potterfiled opened the catalog and Internet retailer MidwayUSA in 1977 and now serve thousands of customers, offering “Just About Everything for Shooting, Reloading, Gunsmithing and Hunting.” You can find more at www.midwayusa.com or 800-243-3220.

National Hunting and Fishing Day

National Hunting and Fishing Day

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.--(Ammoland.com)- More women than men took up hunting last year, according to new net figures from the National Sporting Goods Association.

While total hunters in the U.S. decreased slightly (.05 percent) between 2008 and 2009, the number of female hunters increased by 5.4 percent, netting 163,000 new participants. Growth areas for women included muzzleloading (up 134.6 percent), bowhunting (up 30.7 percent) and hunting with firearms (up 3.5 percent).

Data also show women outpaced men among net newcomers to target shooting with a rifle, where female participation grew by 4.1 percent.

New hunters and shooters are cause for celebration because more participation helps with funding for conservation, according to officials with National Hunting and Fishing Day. Congress established NHF Day, set for Sept. 25, 2010, to recognize America’s sportsmen and women for their leading role in fish, wildlife and habitat conservation (more info at www.nhfday.org).

“New hunters, shooters and anglers are a good thing for everyone who loves the outdoors,” said Denise Wagner of Wonders of Wildlife museum in Springfield, Mo., the official home of NHF Day. “Hunting and fishing license sales, combined with special taxes on firearms and ammunition, bows and arrows, and rods and reels generate about $100,000 every 30 minutes, totaling more than $1.75 billion per year, for conservation. When it comes to funding for wildlife and wild places, more is definitely better.”

The growth in new participation among women, perhaps counter-intuitive to traditionalists, is no surprise to Steve Sanetti, president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the shooting, hunting and outdoor industry.

He explained, “Over the past several years, our industry has worked hard to help build this segment of our market. We’ve developed shooting and hunting products especially for women, reached out with welcoming and instructional workshops for women, and encouraged existing hunters and shooters to introduce their spouses, daughters and other newcomers to shooting sports and outdoor lifestyles. I believe these efforts are paying off, which is a bright spot for our industry as well as for conservation.”

Also unsurprised at the number of female hunters and shooters are the women Olympians of the USA Shooting Team, whose ever-increasing visibility has made them effective ambassadors, role models and recruiters of women to traditional outdoor sports.

“Shooting is one of the most fun and empowering things you can teach a young girl or a grown woman,” said Corey Cogdell, 23, a lifelong hunter and 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in trap shooting. “Most men are surprised to find out that I am an avid outdoors woman and are often intrigued to learn how they can get females in their own lives involved in hunting and shooting.”

Connie Smotek, 45, a two-time Olympic skeet shooter, bronze medalist in the 2009 World Cup, and avid bird and big-game hunter, added, “Shooting and hunting are activities which a woman can enjoy for a lifetime.”

Cogdell and Smotek are among the many USA Shooting Team members who parlayed early interests in hunting into international success in shooting sports—an opportunity that didn’t exist for women until comparatively recently. Women’s shooting wasn’t officially added as an Olympic sport until 1984 (although U.S. rifle shooter Margaret Murdock won a medal competing against men in the 1976 games). Since then, U.S. women have won 10 Olympic medals in shooting, which is a growing source of pride.

Four of those 10 medals were won in the past four Olympics by Kim Rhode, a double-trap and skeet shooter now among the most elite and enduring athletes in all of sports.

The entire USA Shooting Team is serving as honorary chair for NHF Day 2010.

Sponsors for NHF Day 2010 include Wonders of Wildlife, National Shooting Sports Foundation, Bass Pro Shops, Smith & Wesson, Sportsman Channel, Realtree, Cabela’s, GunBroker.com, Yamaha, Pope and Young Club and Izaak Walton League of America.

For more information about NHF Day, visit www.nhfday.org.

Participation statistics are from the National Sporting Goods Association report “Sports Participation in 2009–Shooting Sports.”

U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance

Columbus, OH --(Ammoland.com)- Pennsylvania is again reaping the rewards of their expanded efforts at recruiting new sportsmen into the fold through their Mentored Youth Hunting Program.

According to the state Game Commission, Pennsylvania sold nearly 30,000 mentored youth hunting permits during the 2009-2010 hunting season alone. This brings the state’s total to over 100,000 Mentored Youth Licenses sold since passing a Families Afield measure in 2005.

This success illustrates the effectiveness of the Families Afield Program, developed by the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA), the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), at reducing barriers and encouraging the participation of newcomers. As a direct result of the program, Pennsylvania has seen an increase in the number of hunting licenses it has sold.

Pennsylvania’s Mentored Youth Hunting Program was authorized when Gov. Ed Rendell signed HB 1690 on Dec. 22, 2005. The bill was part of the Families Afield campaign which continues as a nationwide joint effort between the founding organizations. Since its beginning in 2004, 30 states, most recently Vermont earlier this year, have enacted measures resulting in over 418,000 new hunters.

“The Families Afield initiative has always been about getting reducing barriers for new hunters entering the field,” said Bud Pidgeon, USSA president and CEO. “Pennsylvania is the hallmark of how successful the Families Afield program can become for the many states that have embraced it over the last six years.”

In addition to more youth licenses sold, the Commission has also recently hired a recruitment and retention coordinator to keep the new hunters engaged in the outdoors. This includes the publication of a “Youth Hunting Guide” and connecting Pennsylvania students to the National Archery in the Schools Program which teaches archery in physical education classes for fourth through 12th graders.

About:
The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance is a national association of sportsmen and sportsmen’s organizations that protects the rights of hunters, anglers and trappers in the courts, legislatures, at the ballot, in Congress and through public education programs. Visit www.ussportsmen.org.

Hunter Education Program Requires Live Gun Fire

Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife

Delaware --(AmmoLand.com)- Before applying for a Delaware hunting license, a minimum 10-hour basic hunter education course is required for all hunters born after Jan. 1, 1967. As of Jan. 1, 2010, Delaware law has made participation in a live firing experience a required part of every basic hunter education class, in both online and traditional classroom versions.

To accommodate this requirement, several other changes have been made.

To meet both requirements, Delaware now has locations in each county where hunter education students can fulfill their live firing requirement: Owens Station Sporting Clay Range near Greenwood in Sussex County, the C&R Center in Petersburg in Kent County, and Ommelanden Range near New Castle and Taylor Bridge Community Center near Townsend, both in New Castle County.

New insurance rules covering the shooting require that all students participating in any hunter education live firing must provide a signed release of liability and waiver of right to sue in order to participate. Waivers for minor students under the age of 18 will now need to include the notarized signatures of parents or legal guardians.

Because the signed waivers have to be mailed in to the Office of Hunter Education at least seven days prior to the course date, to validate the student registration, students will not be able to “walk in” on the day of the class.

The Hunter Education Program will provide all firearms, ammunition and targets but students will be responsible for their own hearing and eye protection. Traditional classroom basic hunter education courses and instructor-led field days for both classroom and online course students are free of charge. The online hunter education course is available for a fee.

Additional information and waivers are available at the Division of Fish & Wildlife website at www.fw.delaware.gov – scroll down to Hunter/Trapper Education Access. Copies of the waiver can be obtained at the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife in Dover or by calling the Office of Hunter Education at 302-735-3600.

ROTHSCHILD, Wi – -(AmmoLand.com)- Department of Natural Resources Secretary Matt Frank congratulated and thanked the participants of the first Hunting Heritage Conference who met over the weekend to share ideas about broadening participation in the state’s hunting heritage.

The conference was funded by a grant from the National Shooting Sports Foundation and The Hunting Heritage Partnership. The grant provided funding to cover the complete cost of those attending the two-day conference.

The Department of Natural Resources invited representatives of local and statewide hunting and conservation organizations to the first ever event. About 115 hunting enthusiasts from mentors to safety instructors gathered at the Stoney Creek Inn for the two-day conference devoted to exploring ideas about building the state’s hunting future for generations to come.

“Wisconsin is a great hunting state with a wide range of hunting opportunities for both novice and experienced hunters,” Frank said. “But we cannot take our hunting tradition for granted. We are looking to build on our past efforts to work with young people as well as adults who have never had an opportunity to hunt. If we want our next generation not only to enjoy our natural resources but to become future conservationists, we need to think creatively and build upon our past efforts.”

The Feb. 19-20 conference focused on educating and training experienced mentors in passing on their knowledge to the next generation of Wisconsin hunters through the DNR’s popular Learn to Hunt program. DNR records show that in 2009, the Learn to Hunt Program had more than 1,500 participants in the turkey, pheasant, deer and waterfowl programs.

“We are very proud of our Learn to Hunt program, which has had the strong support of local conservation groups and volunteer instructors who work with our staff,” Frank said. “We are looking for ways to build mentor participation in this program – and expand it to more youth – boys and girls – from all ethnic backgrounds.”

The conference also featured researchers from the University of Wisconsin-System who shared their research designs on recruiting hunters and testing the effects of social networking and new media technologies to promote hunting.

“The main goals of the conference were to build community around the issue of hunter recruitment and retention; to facilitate networking between organizations; and, to share best practices for hosting successful Learn to Hunt Programs,” DNR Deputy Conservation Warden Benjamin Mott said of the event he helped coordinate. “And another main goal was to make sure clubs understand how they can receive reimbursement for conducting Learn to Hunt Programs.”

The Learn to Hunt Program is designed to help inexperienced hunters, both youth and adults, have a high quality, safe, and rewarding first-time hunt under the guidance of qualified Hunter Education instructors and hunting mentors. Participants receive both classroom and field instruction prior to an actual hunt.

Frank said the DNR hopes to make the conference an annual event.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Benjamin Mott, Deputy Conservation Warden, Madison: (608) 444-1244; Todd Schaller, Conservation Warden, Madison: (608) 267-2774

National Shooting Sports Foundation

NEWTOWN, Conn. –-(AmmoLand.com)-Across the country, bird hunting seasons are getting under way.

NSSF reminds all sportsmen and women that a great way to kick off the new season is at a wingshooting preserve near you.

NSSF’s WingshootingUSA.org provides links to more than 1,000 preserves across the country.

You’ll also find bird hunting resources, including a safety video for new hunters or those that need a quick refresher before heading afield. A

lso, be sure to tune in to the Wingshooting USA television show each week on DISH Network and the Sportsman Channel.

About NSSF
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of more than 4,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers. For more information, log on to www.nssf.org.

Whitetails Unlimited

Wisconsin – -(AmmoLand.com)- Inspired by the overwhelming success of Whitetails Unlimited’s Kids on Target firearm marksmanship program, WTU is now implementing the “3 For Three” archery component for young archers.

“This is a great way to get young people involved with archery in a positive, safe and supervised manner,” said Whitetails Unlimited Executive Director Pete Gerl. “The firearm component of Kids on Target, which is sponsored in part by Rossi USA, has been an overwhelming success, and now we are able to provide encouragement for youngsters to get involved outdoors in a terrific life-long activity – archery.”

Designed for archers 18 and under, participants receive a free kit with official targets, program guidelines, and the 10 Commandments of Archery Safety. They are encouraged to practice as much as necessary, under adult supervision, at a public shooting range. When they are confident in their shooting abilities and ready to qualify, they then use an official target and must place three arrows within the 6-inch colored portion, from a minimum distance of 12 yards. Upon qualification the young successful archer will return the target with the completed witness verification form and receive a WTU Kids on Target gold medal and a personalized color certificate, suitable for framing. These awards will serve as a reminder of their accomplishment of hitting “3 For Three.”

There is no charge to individual participants for any part of the program. For clubs or organizations interested in group participation there will be a nominal fee to help offset a portion of the expense.

“We really want to get young people out of the house and involved in the shooting sports,” said Gerl, “and since the firearm branch of Kids on Target was so successful, expanding into archery was a natural second step. We’d like to get kids away from all the electronics in their lives, and get them outdoors involved in the shooting sports. Obviously, we hope some of them take up archery hunting, but even if they don’t, they will learn a fun sport and some life lessons about success and accomplishment through practice and perseverance. Receiving the medal and certificate is just the kind of outside motivation that most kids respond to in a very positive way.”

Gerl noted that WTU has a long history of recruiting and developing new hunters and participants in the shooting sports, and the Kids on Target program is a continuation of Whitetails Unlimited’s mission of preserving an American tradition.

Participating in the program requires everyone follow the 10 Commandments of Archery Safety, and young archers must be supervised by an adult. In many situations, kids that don’t have success with other sports are excited about the shooting sports.
For more details about Kids on Target, visit the WTU website at www.whitetailsunlimited.com.

About:
Founded in 1982, Whitetails Unlimited is a national nonprofit conservation organization. Our mission is to raise funds in support of education, habitat enhancement and acquisition, and the preservation of the hunting tradition for the benefit of the white-tailed deer and other wildlife. When it comes to the whitetail and its environment, WTU’s degree of professionalism and dedication has earned us the reputation of being the nation’s premier whitetail organization.