Hunters lining up for classes

Earlier this week, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Hunter Education (HE) Program held its annual instructor planning meeting at the Grouse Ridge Shooting Facility north of Wasilla. Mat-Su HE instructors certified to teach all three course offerings — basic, bowhunting and muzzleloading — met for an evening of shooting shotgun clay targets, enjoying a steak dinner and scheduling HE classes in the Mat-Su for 2014, along with learning about things happening in the HE program.

Here’s a partial listing of how well the HE program is doing statewide and in the Mat-Su in 2013. First, statewide: 300 total classes have been taught so far this year. There were 92 bowhunter, 184 basic HE and 24 muzzleloader classes with a total enrollment of 3,683 students. That includes 1,044 bowhunter, 2,465 basic, and 174 muzzleloader students. Volunteer instructor hours for the three course offerings statewide totaled 6,217 hours, a rather significant time contribution.

In the Mat-Su, 49 total classes have been offered to date. This breaks down into 11 bowhunter, 35 basic HE and 3 muzzleloader classes. Mat-Su total enrollment was 730 students with 175 in bowhunting, 535 taking the basic HE course and 20 students certified for muzzleloading. Instructor volunteer hours to teach these classes in the Valley totaled 1,164 hours. There are still one or maybe two basic classes yet to be held in calendar year 2013 in the Mat-Su.

The HE program is rapidly evolving into this modern age of computers and online education. For the past few years, the HE program has been working toward making the three courses available online to accommodate students in outlying areas with the opportunity to learn and receive their certifications. Others find it more convenient to take the class online because of work schedules or other activities that don’t allow taking an in-class, all-day course. All three courses are available online and are seeing rapid growth in the numbers of students using that format of education.

Because the year isn’t over, only preliminary estimates are available, but it appears that perhaps 70 percent of students are taking the bowhunter course online while about 20 to 25 percent are using the online approach for both the basic and muzzleloading courses. For all of the disciplines, a follow-up field day (about a half-day of time) is still required to receive course certification.

The other bit of significant news is that Jerry Soukup, program coordinator for the Hunter Information and Training Program in Alaska, is retiring in the next month or so. Jerry has done an outstanding job in essentially salvaging a crumbling program and making it one of the most progressive in the nation.

When Jerry came onboard about 10 years ago, the HE program was basically in shambles because of actions by the previous coordinator. Demands were being dictated to the volunteer instructors that went way beyond legal requirements and were beyond even basic logic. When that coordinator refused to listen to the volunteer instructors’ concerns, the instructors mutinied with wholesale resignations. It was problematic whether the program would have enough instructors to continue. I submitted my resignation letter, too.

The offending coordinator left and Jerry was hired. He walked into an unsettled program, but was very willing to listen to instructors about what it would take to salvage things. I know I was very impressed with the attitudes and forward thinking Jerry brought to the program after meeting him and having some pointed discussions with him. I immediately asked that my letter of resignation be ignored. It was. I have been enjoying my time since teaching courses and being able to make suggestions and contribute to a program where my ideas and efforts are appreciated.

Jerry, I wish you well in your upcoming retirement and hope to still see you on occasion. I also hope you will stay involved with the HE program as a volunteer instructor and that you will continue in your coaching efforts with the SCTP (Scholastic Clay Target Program) team you currently work with in Anchorage. Having a person with your background involved in the shooting sports is priceless.

I think I can speak for at least some of us “graybeards” who were involved in the program before you arrived that you have made significant contributions to hunter education in Alaska and took a floundering program and made it a national leader. For that, we all owe you a debt of gratitude.

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. You can leave him a message by emailing sports@frontiersman.com.