Sunday, September 06, 2009
Mentors for young key to hunting's future
Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor's Outdoors column and notebook appears regularly in The Roanoke Times.
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When it comes to the importance of passing along their tradition, hunters talk a good game.
If only we could be as successful with our actions.
Proof is in the numbers.
If we were more effective at recruiting and retention, hunter numbers wouldn't be sliding as steadily as they have during the past two decades.
The drop hasn't been particularly massive from one year to the next. Rather, it's a slow degradation caused by a simple factor: Attrition.
For every hunter who leaves -- usually by dying, because few longtime adult hunters just up and quit -- fewer than one hunter comes aboard.
While the trend is worryingly steady right now, it's the future that's really scary.
Baby boomers are the so-called pig in the python, a big lump that's passing through the system. When that big lump eventually disappears, the bottom could fall out.
Hunters, wildlife agencies and businesses in the industry all recognize the trend, which is why there's so much talk about the importance of "passing it on."
There is some action, too.
Many wildlife agencies have implemented new rules to cater to youth hunters, including special youth-only hunting opportunities and easing barriers to the sport.
One barrier in Virginia is unlikely to change any time soon.
The state is one of a handful that doesn't allow hunting on Sunday, and the state legislature is hardly eager to tackle that polarizing issue.
That means every youth-oriented program launched by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has to compete with the many other structured activities that already keep our overly scheduled kids busy during the week and on Saturdays.
Some of those youth-hunting programs are pretty attractive, too.
Virginia has offered a youth-only spring gobbler hunt and duck hunt for several years. A fall youth turkey day is relatively new.
A special deer hunting rule allows youth hunters to take an antlerless deer at any time in counties that has at least one antlerless deer hunting day.
Brand new this year is a youth-only deer firearms hunt on the final Saturday in September.
A new apprentice license gives aspiring hunters over 12 years old a chance to try the activity for a couple of years before they are required to invest 10 to 12 hours in a mandatory hunter education course. In its debut last year, the license had more than 5,000 takers.
So, really, the opportunities are there.
What this comes down to is mentors, be they parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles or friends, making a serious effort to take advantage of those precious, small windows of time to get youth hunters afield.
The focus can't be only on designated youth days, either.
Nor should the focus be primarily on that glamorous quarry that commands most of adults' hunting effort -- the white-tailed deer.
It's true that deer populations are booming, and those strong populations have helped create an exciting hunting environment, especially for hunters who got started a generation ago when deer were fairly scarce.
But what's exciting hunting for adults might not be so exciting for a youngster who is growing up in the age of instant gratification.
If a kid has to pass time in the deer blind playing with a Nintendo DS or listening to an iPod, maybe that kid isn't yet ready to be in the deer stand.
Deer hunting can teach patience, but there's time down the line for that lesson.
Small game hunting is a an excellent launching ground, but one that doesn't get as much attention as it should.
How many Virginia hunters spent yesterday morning with a young charge on a squirrel hunt? Or spent the afternoon at a dove field?
Likely far fewer than have plans to haul a youngster with them to a deer blind for a day or two later this fall.
Small game hunting is the perfect launching pad.
It's active and educational, game is plentiful, gear is simple, access is easy and hunts can be short enough to fit into the busy schedules of adults and kids alike.
Another benefit? That cold deer season weather isn't an issue, at least in the early season.
Adult hunters who are truly interested in ensuring the survival of hunting don't have to wait until that youth deer day later this month.
Starting small isn't the only way to pass it on. But it just may be the best way.
