ROANOKE, VA— September is tree Stand Safety Awareness Month and is the month that most hunters head back to the woods to hang stands in preparation for the upcoming hunting season. Tree Stand Safety Awareness Foundation’s (TSSA) mission is to significantly reduce tree stand accidents through promotion, education and best practices and our goal is to reduce the estimated number of tree stand incidents 50% by 2023. TSSA strives to ensure that every hunter comes home safe to their family and friends.

TSSA is excited to share that we are seeing positive changes in the estimated numbers of falls that are occurring on a national level. Based on the latest data available (2017), there has been a 28% decrease in the number of estimated falls requiring an emergency department visit, while over the same period of time, there has been 7.1% increase in the number of licensed hunters nationwide. This significant drop in the estimated number of falls reflects the industry wide efforts of TMA, NBEF, WTU, IHEA, state DNR’s, TSSA, our other supporting partners (Realtree, Hunter Safety System, Summit Tree Stands, Hunter-ed.com, American Hunting Lease Association, Sole Scraper) and others focusing on tree stand safety.

However, we still have room for continued improvement to ensure that everyone that uses a tree stand does it in a safe manner and comes home safe to their family and friends. To accomplish this, let’s get the season started by putting safety first.

TSSA has designed an educational campaign called the “ABC’s of Tree Stand Safety” to serve as the building blocks to the awareness campaign (infographic below).

• ?  Always remove and inspect your equipment

• ?  Buckle on your full-body harness

• ?  Connect to the tree before your feet leave the ground

  By performing these 3 simple steps, tree stand users can virtually eliminate their risk of falling to the ground as the majority of falls occur outside the stand. TSSA encourages all hunters to take tree stand safety seriously, every time you hunt from, hang, or remove a tree stand.

  Hunters and members of the industry alike can help spread the message of TSSA Foundation. Visit the TSSA website at www.TreeStandSafetyAwareness.com or on social media at www.facebook.com/TreeStandSafetyAwareness or www.twitter.com@TreeStandSafety .

  TSSA Foundation is a grassroots 501(c)(3) organization that serves the industry as a resource with its sole focus on significantly reducing treestand accidents through promotion, education and best practices. For more info on TSSA Foundation, contact Glen Mayhew, President, at TreeStandSafe@gmail.com; 540-526-5157 or Jay Everett at jay@hssvest.com; 256-773-7732.