More Hunter Education teachers needed

The sheer volume of students and the frequency of Hunter Education classes during the year require a robust roster of instructors, and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials are urging potential instructors to step forward and volunteer.

That was an appeal made at an assembly prior to the start of the Kalispell Hunter Education fall course that got underway Monday. About 225 students are participating, which requires multiple classrooms at Flathead High School during the course of a week.

“With any large volunteer corps there is always turnover, so we always need instructors coming in,” said John Fraley, public affairs officer for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

The Kalispell spring and fall courses typically require about 30 instructors. There are 250 instructors covering towns in the four-county area that makes up Northwest Montana’s Region One. About 1,500 students a year graduate from Hunter Education in Region One.

Statewide, there are about 1,200 instructors who teach about 7,000 to 8,000 students a year.

Fraley notes that a survey conducted just over 10 years ago found that Montana has the highest per-capita percentage of hunters in the lower 48 states, and Northwest Montana had the highest per-capita percentage of hunters in the state.

“It’s the most huntin’-est part of the most huntin’-est state in the lower 48,” he said.

Hunter Education was started in 1957 as a four-hour voluntary firearms safety course, but it has since evolved into a 14- to 16-hour course that covers hunting ethics, landowner relations, hunting regulations and survival skills.

“It’s still predominantly firearms safety,” Fraley said. The course is required by state law for anybody born after Jan. 1, 1985.

Those interested in becoming instructors must pass the course themselves and preferably have some hunting experience, Fraley said.

People ages 12 to 17 can become junior instructors, with an opportunity to gain valuable volunteer experience that can be a strong mark on a resume.

People ages 18 and older can become adult instructors. They must complete the course, go through a background check, take a quiz on a policy manual and take a brief online training module.

Fraley emphasizes that instructors aren’t obligated to teach all 16 hours of a course in the spring and fall. Some instructors, for instance, are only able to help out with the field test and some only have time to help with some of the classes.

“We can use any effort that’s available,” Fraley said. “We definitely need more instructors in all areas of Flathead County and really in all parts of the four-county region.”

Those interested can pick up applications at Fish, Wildlife and Parks regional headquarters on North Meridian in Kalispell or call 752-5501 for more information.