40 Nebraskaland • August-September 2024
State Fair, Outdoor
Skills Camps,
Outdoor Expos,
mentored hunts
and more. "They
carry a huge load in
Nebraska because
they're just that
type of person,"
Rawlinson said.
The move to
online classes has
posed challenges.
Some instructors
felt the move
would cheapen the
program, and others
felt they were no
longer needed. "That
couldn't be further
from the truth, as hunter ed is going to continue to evolve,"
Rawlinson said.
While they spend less time teaching in the classroom,
instructors have come to appreciate the ease of setting up
a Hunt Safe session and that students arrive knowing the
basics, allowing them to focus on key safety elements.
Volunteers have also been key in getting LearnHunting.org
off the ground. The program pairs adult Hunter Education
graduates with volunteer instructors, who serve as mentors.
More than 60 instructors are participating, with more coming
on board each year. That program is one of many that are part
of the nationwide R3 eff orts to recruit, retain and reactivate
hunters, something states hope will increase and diversify
participation. These goals are critical as it is hunters who,
through their purchase of permits and the taxes they pay
on guns, bows and ammunition, are the primary source of
funding for wildlife conservation and management in the
United States.
The hours volunteer instructors contribute are the state's
match to acquire federal funding to support the Hunter
Education program. Hours spent teaching Hunt Safe sessions
and participating in the Learn Hunting program count toward
the hours they need to work to retain their certifi cation each
year.
It Works
From 1958, the fi rst year records were kept in Nebraska,
to 1977, an average of 20 hunting-related incidents occurred
each year, four of them fatal. During the past 10 years, that
average has dropped to fi ve incidents and less than one
Instructor Jade Wawers teaches a Hunt Safe session at the Dick Turpin Outdoor Education Center in Lincoln in 2023.
JENNY NGUYEN-WHEATLEY, NEBRASKALAND
Dick Turpin, shown here in 1989,
became the state's fi rst Hunter
Education Coordinator in 1973 and is
widely considered the father of the
program in Nebraska, training many
of the fi rst instructors. The Turpin
Outdoor Education Center in Lincoln
is named in his memory.
