EDITOR'S NOTE: Today an Op-Ed on the value of volunteers in conservation. Our thanks to all the Conservation organization contributors for their input and work on this feature.


In a previous Outdoor Wire edition, Floyd "Link" Grass of Denver, North Carolina was recognized as the International Hunter Education Association (IHEA-USA) Volunteer Instructor of the Year. Grass is one of more than 57,000 active IHEA-USA instructors who reach more than 670,000 hunter education students annually and make hunting one of the safest recreational activities.

According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, that compiled data from the Consumer Products Safety Commission, hunting is safer than basketball, football, bowling and even golf. Yet there is more to the story than educating hunters about firearms and hunting safety, wildlife laws, outdoor responsibilities and preserving our hunting heritage.

Hunter education volunteer hours are used as "matching dollars" to help state fish and wildlife agencies leverage important wildlife conservation dollars from the federal government through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (USFWS) Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program (WSFR.) WSFR has functioned for more 75 years and is described as a "user-pay public-benefit" model. Sporting goods manufacturers, such as those who produce firearms and ammunition, pay a federal excise tax that is held by the U.S. Treasury and apportioned by the USFWS-WSFR to state fish and wildlife agencies.

The amount of funds a state receives is based on a formula that includes land area and the number of paid hunting license holders in that state. Hunter education funds are based on population and other factors. Volunteer hours are used as "matching funds" (or equivalent value) to make both state and excise tax dollars go further, ensure that state fish and wildlife agencies can use their Wildlife Restoration Program dollars most effectively. These matches are typically a 3-to-1 match ratio, three dollars of federal tax money for every dollar of state money.

In 2012, states submitted reports from almost 21,000 volunteer hunter education instructors who collectively spent more than 330,000 hours-leveraging over $2.5 million in matching funds!

http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/image_archive/2163548.jpg> Hunter Education volunteer time nationwide generates significant value for state wildlife agency budgets, as all hours qualify as "matching" funds for use with federal Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration excise tax moneys. These excise tax funds from the sale of firearms, ammunition, fishing tackle and more are made available to state wildlife agencies through the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service WSFR program.

Dan Forster, Director of the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division and current president of the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies(www.fishwildlife.com), commented on the value of volunteers to state wildlife management agencies, "The hours volunteered by hunter education instructors and other wildlife management volunteers provides the conservation efforts of our resource management agencies with $2.00 -$3.00 for every dollar's worth of time they volunteer. When there are millions of dollars available in Federal match money from WSFR funds, the volunteer hours are a huge benefit to the state's budget and ability to successfully manage our wildlife."

Curtis Taylor, Wildlife Resources Section Chief for the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, said, "Volunteer Instructors are the backbone of the West Virginia Hunter Education Program. Last year, 183 volunteers dedicated over 3,000 hours, drove almost 14,000 miles, participated in almost 500 classes, and graduated over 7,000 students; all because they love their sport and want to pass on the heritage to the next generation of hunters. "These efforts generated a value of approximately $67,000 in match dollars, greatly enhancing the WVDNR's ability to utilize all of the Federal Wildlife Restoration funds."

Besides funding hunter education programs, Wildlife Restoration Program dollars purchase land for wildlife restoration purposes, improve habitat for wildlife, and support research projects directed at solving wildlife restoration problems. Alabama used WSFR funds to re-establish white-tailed deer on nearly 30 million acres of range, and wild turkey on 20 million acres. Alaska used WSFR money to learn about the habitat requirements, reproductive biology, and interrelationships between species of Dall sheep, grizzly bear, moose, caribou and wolves. Connecticut acquired nearly 10,000 acres of land, including key wetlands along Long Island Sound and the Connecticut River. Kansas purchased 57,000 acres of wildlife habitat. Maine's first WSFR project live-trapped and banded waterfowl in order to learn more about migration routes, age and sex ratios, and the numbers of local nesting species.

Since 1937, more than $7.6 billion has been invested in wildlife restoration through the Wildlife Restoration Program. It has become the most successful federal-state-conservationist-sportsmen partnership in history - and hunter education volunteers have been a part of it.

Hunter education is a great way to introduce or reconnect young people to the natural world, and it is a key strategy to build the next generation of hunters, who have been-throughout American history-some of the most dedicated and successful conservationists. When hunters purchase their guns and ammunition, along with their hunting license, they help to ensure the future of the birds and game they hunt.

Want to be a part of this important American legacy? Consider serving as a volunteer hunter education instructor in your state! To learn how, contact your state wildlife management agency or go t www.ihea-usa.org or call IHEA-USA at (303) 430-7233.

Contributors to this article include: Primary author: Christina Milloy, USFWS, Fish & Wildlife Administrator, Wildlife & Sport Fish Restoration Program(www.Christina_Milloy@fws.gov" target="_blank" www.Christina_Milloy@fws.gov); Dan Forster, Director of the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division and current president of the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies; Curtis Taylor, Wildlife Resources Section Chief-West Virginia DNR and Steve Hall, Executive Director, IHEA-USA exdir@ihea.com)