The lucky instructors below submitted applications w-a-y back in January to apply for the 12 remaining incentive permits reserved exclusively for hunter education instructors. (NOTE: The original 25 permit winners were drawn at the 2007 IST in Yakima and previously announced in this blog. Some declined permits, allowing others in the drawing pool to be considered.) The latest lucky winners are:
Areas, Permits, Restrictions and GMUs
Region 1 (Lou Chobot)
Any white-tailed deer
Any 100 series except GMU 157
Region 2 (Norma Holthaus, Gale Palmer)
Any white-tailed deer
GMUs 204-215
Region 4 (Bobby Beddome, Jeff McCarthy)
Any deer
Any 400 series GMU except 485
Region 5 (Jon and Lynn Jefferies, Sherman Reeves, Paul Sims, Gary Webster and Buddy Woodberry)
Legal buck for 500 series GMU of choice or antlerless
Any 500 series GMU open for a general deer hunting season or a special deer permit hunting season
Region 6 (Dave Pedroza)
Legal buck for GMU of choice
GMUs 654, 660, 672, 673, 681
Congrats and good luck afield to all!
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Monday, April 23, 2007
Governor Signs "Families Afield" Hunter Education Bill
In front of board members of the Washington Hunter Education Instructors' Association, Governor Gregoire signed SHB 1249--authorizing a once-in-a-lifetime, one license year deferral of hunter education--at her Olympia office on Saturday, April 21.
The legislation passed with a unanimous vote in the State Senate and only three opposing votes in the State House.
Similar to legislation passed in a number of other states, Washington's deferral program allows mentors over 18 years of age who have held a Washington hunting license for the prior three years to supervise beginning hunters who have not yet completed hunter education training. The new law will take effect July 21.
"Although the law has been passed, there's still a great deal of work to do," said Mik Mikitik, hunter education administrator. "The details--how much a deferral will cost, who is elibible, what is required to obtain one, etc.--all need to be developed"
For more specific information on the new law, please click on the link below:
http://www.leg.wa.gov/pub/billinfo/2007-08/Pdf/Bills/House%20Passed%20Legislature/1249-S.PL.pdf
The legislation passed with a unanimous vote in the State Senate and only three opposing votes in the State House.
Similar to legislation passed in a number of other states, Washington's deferral program allows mentors over 18 years of age who have held a Washington hunting license for the prior three years to supervise beginning hunters who have not yet completed hunter education training. The new law will take effect July 21.
"Although the law has been passed, there's still a great deal of work to do," said Mik Mikitik, hunter education administrator. "The details--how much a deferral will cost, who is elibible, what is required to obtain one, etc.--all need to be developed"
For more specific information on the new law, please click on the link below:
http://www.leg.wa.gov/pub/billinfo/2007-08/Pdf/Bills/House%20Passed%20Legislature/1249-S.PL.pdf
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Alan Madison DVDs Now In Stock
Five popular Alan Madison titles--Shoot/Don't Shoot, Firearms Safety And The Hunter, Survival, The Last Shot and The Hunter's Path--are now available in DVD format and in stock for hunter education instructors to check out and use.
"There have been more and more requests for DVD's," said John Wisner, hunter education warehouse manager. "We now have sufficient copies of these five titles in DVD format and should be able to accommodate any instructor wishing to borrow DVD's."
Procedures to check out DVD's are the same as for VHS formats. Complete and return a Supply Request Form through your hunter education field coordinator (Chuck Ray, eastern Washington, or Dan Boes, western Washington).
"There have been more and more requests for DVD's," said John Wisner, hunter education warehouse manager. "We now have sufficient copies of these five titles in DVD format and should be able to accommodate any instructor wishing to borrow DVD's."
Procedures to check out DVD's are the same as for VHS formats. Complete and return a Supply Request Form through your hunter education field coordinator (Chuck Ray, eastern Washington, or Dan Boes, western Washington).
AHE Changes Are In The Works
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is revamping the 16-year-old Advanced Hunter Education (AHE) program to better address emerging issues facing the hunting community.
The program will be re-designed over the course of this year. While the revisions are under way, the AHE program will take no new enrollees. Applications will again be accepted early next year.
“The hunting environment has changed since the AHE program was initiated nearly two decades ago, and the program needs to change as well,” said Chief Bruce Bjork, head of the WDFW Enforcement program that manages hunter education. “While the program offers hunters increased proficiency and the privilege of participating in special hunts, it also must serve the needs of the larger hunting community and be self-supporting,” he said.
The program could be refocused to train enrollees to act as “hunt masters” and “gate masters” who help manage orderly hunts and thus encourage private land owners to grant hunters access to their lands, Bjork said.
“As access to private lands becomes more limited WDFW will be pursuing every approach possible to address this crucial need,” said WDFW Director Jeff Koenings, Ph.D. “Increasing access will require increased participation by volunteers who help ensure ethical and orderly hunter conduct.”
Additional changes to the AHE program could include revisions in course requirements, enhanced hunter ethics training and funding changes.
Proposed AHE program revisions are scheduled to be discussed during the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission’s April 7 meeting at the Ellensburg Inn and Conference Center,1700 Canyon Road in Ellensburg.
In addition, current AHE graduates and the public will have an opportunity to comment on the proposed changes, said Mik Mikitik, WDFW’s hunter education coordinator. Details of proposals will be made public later this spring, including notice on the Advanced Hunter Education section of the WDFW website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/enf/huntered/ahe.htm
Changes in the AHE program will not affect WDFW’s Basic Hunter Education program. Washington hunters born after Jan. 1, 1972 are required to complete Basic Hunter Education in order to purchase a valid hunting license.
Roughly 2,300 hunters have completed the AHE program and 1,400 are currently active in the program. The program typically receives approximately 1,000 applicants annually, with about 25 percent of enrollees successfully completing the course, Mikitik said.
The program will be re-designed over the course of this year. While the revisions are under way, the AHE program will take no new enrollees. Applications will again be accepted early next year.
“The hunting environment has changed since the AHE program was initiated nearly two decades ago, and the program needs to change as well,” said Chief Bruce Bjork, head of the WDFW Enforcement program that manages hunter education. “While the program offers hunters increased proficiency and the privilege of participating in special hunts, it also must serve the needs of the larger hunting community and be self-supporting,” he said.
The program could be refocused to train enrollees to act as “hunt masters” and “gate masters” who help manage orderly hunts and thus encourage private land owners to grant hunters access to their lands, Bjork said.
“As access to private lands becomes more limited WDFW will be pursuing every approach possible to address this crucial need,” said WDFW Director Jeff Koenings, Ph.D. “Increasing access will require increased participation by volunteers who help ensure ethical and orderly hunter conduct.”
Additional changes to the AHE program could include revisions in course requirements, enhanced hunter ethics training and funding changes.
Proposed AHE program revisions are scheduled to be discussed during the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission’s April 7 meeting at the Ellensburg Inn and Conference Center,1700 Canyon Road in Ellensburg.
In addition, current AHE graduates and the public will have an opportunity to comment on the proposed changes, said Mik Mikitik, WDFW’s hunter education coordinator. Details of proposals will be made public later this spring, including notice on the Advanced Hunter Education section of the WDFW website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/enf/huntered/ahe.htm
Changes in the AHE program will not affect WDFW’s Basic Hunter Education program. Washington hunters born after Jan. 1, 1972 are required to complete Basic Hunter Education in order to purchase a valid hunting license.
Roughly 2,300 hunters have completed the AHE program and 1,400 are currently active in the program. The program typically receives approximately 1,000 applicants annually, with about 25 percent of enrollees successfully completing the course, Mikitik said.
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