Hunters Ed

[Sneaker]

[My Rights As An American]

All full, huh.

[bonecollector]

What is the reason the Dept doesnt put these on if it is required by them?

[dusty]

10 minutes ago, bonecollector said:

What is the reason the Dept doesnt put these on if it is required by them?

It wouldn't take 5% of their wolf budget.

[HuntHarder]

Seems odd that they can not or will not pay some instructors to put on the class.  Why rely on volunteers instead of paying a couple people to run the classes?  

[Hoss50]

7 hours ago, HuntHarder said:

Seems odd that they can not or will not pay some instructors to put on the class.  Why rely on volunteers instead of paying a couple people to run the classes?  

I asked this same question to them directly as well as way can't we have a class that we pay for to help pay instructors so we can get more classes faster. 

They said because of where the government funds come from to pay for the courses it is required that the class be volunteers. Otherwise they can't get the government funds for the program.

[IA Born]

21 hours ago, Hoss50 said:

I asked this same question to them directly as well as way can't we have a class that we pay for to help pay instructors so we can get more classes faster. 

They said because of where the government funds come from to pay for the courses it is required that the class be volunteers. Otherwise they can't get the government funds for the program.

That's very true.  The Hunter Ed program is funded by excise tax $$ through the Pittman-Roberston (Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration) Act.  A huge requirement is that there has to be an in-kind match to those Federal dollars, and AGFD uses our time as HE Instructors (volunteers) to log person-hours into the system as the in-kind match.  The biggest hold-up for getting more classes is that there was a mass exodus of instructors (~70% drop) two years ago, right as we were allowed to start the in-person classes again.  There were training requirements (online training classes related to managing PII and harassment) that are mandated as part of the Federal dollars.  Many of the instructors decided they didn't want to go through the hoops, so they left.  Every training we have to take as HE volunteers is almost exactly the same as what I have to take annually as a Federal employee.  I was upset because I have to do it every year for work and then again every year to be an HE instructor and that's time away from my family.  My wife encouraged me to not quit teaching, or I'd have been done two years ago, too.