ROANOKE, Va. – On the eve of Tree Stand Safety Awareness month (September), the TSSA Board is pleased to announce that with the help of numerous hunting and outdoor industry partners, we have exceeded a major goal milestone. Early in its establishment, the TSSA Board of Directors established a major goal of reducing the estimated number of tree stand falls requiring emergency department care 50% by the year 2023.
The recently released 2019 data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) was analyzed to calculate an estimated 1937 people sought emergency department care as the result of an injury from a tree stand fall. This estimate reflects a 65% decrease over the baseline estimate in 2010 and is the lowest estimated number since tree stands were given their own unique tracking number in 2010.
Reaching this goal is representative of the collective work and initiatives of many organizations across the outdoors and hunting industry including the National Bow Hunter Education Foundation, International Hunter Education Association-USA, Whitetails Unlimited, Outdoor Sportsman Group, American Hunting Lease Association, Kalkomey Enterprises, state natural resources departments, hunter educators, outdoor media and personalities, our supporting partners, and many other organizations and individuals that have worked in unison toward this common purpose.
According to Glen Mayhew, President of TSSA “this stretch goal was set early on and seen as potentially unreachable. Exceeding this goal demonstrates the outstanding achievements that can occur when we all work together for a common purpose. It has taken an ongoing commitment from across the hunting and outdoors industry to significantly move the needle in a positive direction helping to ensure that every hunter using a tree stand comes home safe. The bottom line is, hunting from a tree stand is a safe and enjoyable way to hunt as long as we follow a few simple safety principles.”
These safety principles are the ABCs of Tree Stand Safety and serve as the foundation of our awareness campaigns.
Always remove and inspect your equipment
Buckle on your full-body harness
Connect to the tree before your feet leave the ground
Hunters and members of the industry alike can help spread the message of the TSSA Foundation and September is Tree Stand Safety Awareness Month. Visit the TSSA website at www.Treestandsafetyawareness.org 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 tree stand accidents through promotion, education and best practices. For more info on the TSSA Foundation, contact Glen Mayhew, President, at TreeStandSafe@gmail.com; 540-526-5157 or Jay Everett at jay@hssvest.com; 256-773-7732.