AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG SEPTEMBER 2019 81
INSIDE NRA | PROGRAMS & SERVICES
By Joseph P.
DeBergalis, Jr.
Executive Director,
General Operations
NRA Leads In Hunter Training
D
id you know the National Rifle
Association developed the first formal
hunter-education curriculum? It’s true.
New York in 1949 was the first state to require
that new hunters complete a hunter-safety
course before being permitted to purchase a
hunting license. But because no such course
existed, the state asked the NRA—the
organization that knew the most about firearms,
firearm safety and hunting—to create one.
Today, the NRA is still developing a hunter-
education curriculum. Recently, we developed
the most comprehensive and interactive
online hunter-education program ever seen.
It features attention-grabbing videos and
graphics, interactive modules, audio recordings
and dozens of photos presented in easy-
to-access components. Future hunters will
remember these lessons the rest of their lives.
We offered the course to every state free,
and eight states have accepted it. The rest
allow a paid (for a fee) online hunter-education
course produced by commercial services. But
such courses present a barrier to beginners—
one that never existed when every hunter-
education course was offered free of charge.
Fortunately, that’s likely to change thanks
to a decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service to recognize the free NRA course as
a state’s in-kind contribution to qualify for
matching grant funds via the Federal Aid in
Wildlife Restoration (Pittman-Robertson) Act.
These funds are collected via excise taxes on
firearms, ammunition and archery tackle, then
redistributed to states to finance conservation
and associated needs, including hunter
education and range development.
However, each state must match the
federal funds dollar-for-dollar in the form of
cash or in-kind contributions—a challenge in
an era when hunter recruitment and retention
ebb, and fewer funds are collected via hunting
license fees. Thus, the NRA’s third-party
contribution benefits every state that offers
our free course. By contrast, states that offer
fee-based online hunter-safety courses receive
little of those fees in return—and those statescannot claim the market value of their courses
as in-kind contributions. But every FREE NRA
course taken by a prospective hunter may net
a state as much as $30 in Pittman-Robertson
funds at absolutely no cost. Florida—the first
to adopt NRA Hunter Education Online—pegs
the course’s value at $250,000 annually. That’s
a win for hunters, a win for states offering our
free course and a win for conservation.
This is just the latest example of how
the NRA works to benefit hunters. Our new
Community Engagement Division oversees
many other hunting programs.
Since 1985, the NRA Youth Hunter
Education Challenge (YHEC) has been
recognized as the most comprehensive youth-
hunting program in North America. Held in
every state, YHEC events provide an exciting
way for youngsters to build on classroom
lessons through hands-on “challenges” in
rifle, muzzleloader and archery marksmanship,
wildlife identification, orienteering and more.
In 1991, the NRA helped launch the
national Hunters for the Hungry (HFTH)
movement. We partnered with state wildlife
agencies to put hunters in touch with area
start-up programs and established the HFTH
clearinghouse to link hunters with participating
meat processors. The NRA Women’s
Wilderness Escape provides women with the
opportunity to learn about hunting, shooting
sports and other outdoor activities under
the supervision of certified NRA instructors
and outdoor specialists. Referred to by
many participants as the “ultimate outdoor
adventure,” the Escape welcomes all skill levels
so no previous experience is required.
Of course, NRA members who hunt
are likely aware of these programs as they
read American Hunter and regularly visit its
companion website: americanhunter.org. But
many other members are not aware of all we
do for hunting in America. Therefore, I urge
everyone to visit the
websites dedicated
to them, listed on
this page.Photo by NRANRA Hunter
Education Online
NRAHE.orgYouth Hunter
Education Challenge
yhec.nra.orgHunters for the Hungry
hfth.nra.orgWomen’s Wilderness
Escape
wwe.nra.org