Last week, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) and the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) led with Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), in the promotion of a social media campaign that encourages sportsmen and women to engage in safe social distancing practices while hunting, fishing, recreational shooting, or pursuing other outdoor activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to the social media campaign, CSF played a leading role in facilitating communication with all of the nation’s governors, state fish and wildlife agency directors, and state legislators, calling on them to maintain the openness of public lands and waters for a variety of outdoor recreation opportunities, and to allow hunting and fishing seasons to continue by suggesting various methods for sportsmen and women to responsibly pursue their favorite activities. CSF urges sportsmen and women to conduct outdoor recreation in a safe manner to ensure the recommendations of public health officials are met.
Though sportsmen and women historically have a positive reputation for being responsible recreationists by nature, industry partners are collectively using the hashtag #ResponsibleRecreation in social media posts to resonate the message of the importance of health and safety measures when pursing these activities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
