Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) Mid-Atlantic States Coordinator Brett Stayton joined the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports (CAHSS) for their annual fall board meeting on October 30.
Several conservation organizations, hunting and shooting industry partners, and state agencies were represented at the meeting, which was held at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation headquarters in Oklahoma City. Groups represented included: Archery Trade Association, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Bass Pro Shops, Bohning Archery, the International Hunter Education Association, National Shooting Sports Foundation, National Wild Turkey Federation, Pheasants Forever/Quail Forever, Quality Deer Management Association, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, USA Archery, Wildlife Management Institute, and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.
CAHSS was formed by conservation leaders with the mission to develop strategies for recruiting and retaining hunters and recreational shooters. CAHSS works with wildlife agencies in all 50 states to facilitate programs designed to help new audiences learn how to hunt through the development of the National Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation (R3) Plan, which focuses on recruiting new hunters, retaining today’s hunters, and also reactivating lapsed hunters.
Hunter recruitment, retention, and reactivation is one of CSF’s priorities, and CSF has recently worked alongside CAHSS to create a policy strategy for facilitating the promotion and growth of hunting and the shooting sports, as well as public education about the financial impact that hunters and shooters have on wildlife conservation through the American System of Conservation Funding. CSF will continue to work with CAHSS and state agencies to advance legislative priorities aimed at reducing barriers to hunting and encouraging more people to take their friends and families afield.
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?
