Shooting ranges have a long tradition of service to a wide variety of citizen groups. However, without adequate range protection laws, safe shooting ranges – which offer valuable public services and recreational opportunities in addition to supporting the American System of Conservation Funding – will be vulnerable to arbitrary sanctions and creative lawsuits. In recent…
In an attempt to encourage novice hunter participation, many states now offer some form of apprentice hunting license that permits hunters to take to the field with a mentor prior to completing a formal hunter education course. The apprentice hunting license is a tool for recruitment that provides both youth and adult novice hunters the…
Several states have passed legislation that allows non-resident, full-time college students to obtain hunting and/or angling licenses at the same price as state residents. The intent of these bills are to increase hunter and angler recruitment and retention within a subset of sportsmen and women which are especially prone to being restricted from hunting due…
In an effort to improve the quality of young people’s lives, several states have introduced or passed legislation to require some form of educational opportunity for hunting, fishing and nature appreciation as part of a student’s elective academic curriculum. These programs aim to connect students with the natural world and can play an important role…
The vast majority of states throughout the nation offer an online component of the hunter’s safety course, which provides potential hunters a way to receive their hunter safety certification at their own pace. By offering new hunters an easy and efficient way to gain hunter safety certification, more people will have the opportunity to begin…
Many state legislatures have enacted legislation to afford senior citizens, veterans, and active duty military members special hunting and fishing opportunities and discounted fees as a means of maintaining hunter numbers, as well as to reward them for their service to the country and commitment to conservation. However, states should be cautioned to work with…
Why It Matters: The legislative session in Iowa provided no shortage of legislation that furthers previous efforts to advance pro-sportsmen conservation policies to ensure a strong future for hunting and fishing in the state. These efforts included constitutionally protecting the right to hunt and fish, a proposed sales tax increase needed to fund the Natural…
Why It Matters: As efforts to undermine the ability of sportsmen and women continue across the US, constitutional amendments protecting the right to hunt, fish, and trap represent one of the strongest assurances that our time-honored outdoor traditions will remain available. As additional states seek to explore these protections, it is critical that the entire…
Why It Matters: As state legislatures continue to consider a variety of legislation across the nation, CSF remains engaged to protect and advance our outdoor sporting traditions. Recently, such engagement ranges from supporting efforts to promote the safe and responsible handling of firearms and participation in hunter education courses, to protecting the management authority and…
Why It Matters: Airbows continue to gain popularity among deer hunters across the nation. With this popularity has come growing calls for the legalization of airbows as a method of take in states in which their use is not currently allowed. CSF and others support the use of airbows so long as such use is…
Highlights: Striking the balance between technology and conservation is critical to ensure that hunting remains safe and supports science-based conservation while providing new and novel opportunities. The use of arrow-shooting airguns during Oklahoma’s firearms deer seasons, following the purchase of an airbow conservation stamp (which ensures this new method of take contributes to conservation funding),…
Why It Matters: Though we should always strive to maintain the fair chase ethic that defines us as sportsmen and sportswomen, improvements in ammunition have allowed shotgun option once considered to be underpowered to serve as viable options in the turkey woods. These lighter, softer recoiling firearms represent great options for younger, smaller, or otherwise…