January 12, 2024 |
Photo – Wyoming Hunter Education Book – Courtesy Wyoming Game and Fish
Wyoming Game and Fish is looking for volunteers to teach hunter education.
Starting January 25th, Wyoming Game and Fish will begin holding hunter education instructor classes across the state.
Hunter Education Coordinator Katie Simpson said Game and Fish relies on volunteers to teach the next generation of hunters.
Simpson said the hunter education instructor classes take two-and-a-half days to complete. She said attendees are taught everything needed to teach hunter education, including hands-on training.
Simpson said participants should have some experience with hunting and the outdoors, including having taken a hunter education class in the past. The hunter education coordinator said with the correct certifications, anyone 14 and older can become an instructor.
Simpson said it is important that hunter education instructors have knowledge in a wide range of topics, not just firearms.
Once the course is complete, Simpson said certified instructors can begin teaching at once. The hunter education coordinator said if the new instructor lacks previous teaching experience, Game and Fish will try to pair them with experienced educators.
Simpson said once a certified hunter education instructor is ready to teach, they should work with their communities to establish a place to hold classes. The hunter education coordinator said many agencies will freely offer their buildings for instructional use.
Simpson said the hunter education instructor classes are free of charge. She said class participants may be reimbursed for their meals and lodging.
Simpson said being a hunter education instructor is a lot of work. Instructors are responsible for finding and setting up their classroom, creating a course schedule, and reporting back to Game and Fish. For people who want to help, but don’t want as much responsibility, Simpson said Game and Fish has created an assistant hunter education instructor role.
Simpson said becoming a hunter education instructor is a way to give back to the community. Simpson said long-term volunteer instructors are reporting that future hunters are committed to safe hunting practices and conservation.
The first Wyoming Game and Fish hunter education instructor classes will be held from January 25th to the 27th at the Game and Fish office in Laramie.
From February 8th to the 10th, Game and Wish will host the hunter education instructor classes in Green River. The following month, from April 18th to the 20th, classes will be held at the Teton County 4-H Extension Office in Jackson.
The final hunter education instructor class will be August 8th through the 10th at the Game and Fish Office in Casper.
For more information or to register for a free hunter education instructor class, call Hunter Education Coordinator Katie Simpson at 777-4542 or email katie.simpson@wyo.gov.
