National politics and the potential impact on Alaska outdoors activities

This marks the beginning of my 21st or 22nd year of writing for the Frontiersman. I can’t seem to keep up with the correct number, but it’s safe to say it’s been a long time! I want to thank the editor, Jeremiah Bartz, and you loyal readers for supporting me in this endeavor. Without you, I’d probably be doing something far less important and less informative with my time.

Now for the column. One of these weeks I hope to be able to write about something positive rather than all this negativity. Time will tell if that happens.

I’ll say this about mountain goat hunting in Southeast as a final mention of the topic. Fish and Game has closed the area between the Kicking Horse River and Davidson Glacier to goat hunting (RG026, Unit 1D). The emergency order number is: R1-3-23 and includes a map of the affected area. You can look it up on the Fish and Game website or call Carl Koch in the Douglas Area Office at 907-465-4329 for more information on this or other Southeast Alaska goat hunting questions. Good luck if you’re planning a hunt down there!

My brother-in-law is a regular reader of my column online and lives in Nevada. He is interested in various outdoor activities and regularly forwards information he finds in newspapers and other sources from that area which he thinks will be of interest to me. I just received this email from him this morning.

Quoting from the email text, “The Biden Administration confirmed to Fox News Digital that it is withholding critical funds for elementary and secondary schools nationwide with hunting or archery programs in their curriculum.”

“The Department of Education explained in a statement that its funding decisions were based on the plain text interpretation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), which Congress passed, and President Biden signed last year after a string of mass shootings. The agency's interpretation means funding for shooting sport activities earmarked under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 will be blocked across the country.”

“” This prohibition applies to all ESEA funds,’ a Department of Education spokesperson told Fox News Digital. ‘The prohibition went into effect immediately on June 25, 2022, and applies to all existing and future awards under all ESEA programs, including [21st Century Community Learning Centers]. The Department is administering the bipartisan law as written by Congress.’"

“Overall, the administration's decision to withhold funds for such programs may impact thousands of schools and millions of American students.”

“Tommy Floyd, the president of the National Archery in the Schools Program, told Fox News Digital his organization boasts 1.3 million students from nearly 9,000 schools across 49 states who are enrolled in archery courses. Some of those schools have already canceled plans to include archery or hunting education courses in their curriculum due to the federal guidance….” Alaska has this program in several of the schools.

“According to the International Hunter Education Association, hunter education courses train and certify more than 500,000 students annually. Such courses are a reason hunting related injury rates have declined for years while populations of deer, wild turkey, elk, geese, and other species of game have increased exponentially for years.”

“"The Biden administration is DEFUNDING school hunting and archery programs. Yes, you read that right — DEFUNDING them," Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wisc., tweeted Friday. "Wisconsin students should not be pawns in Joe Biden’s misguided crusade against America’s sportsmen."”

“"Enjoying the outdoors is a wonderful activity and interest in hunting, fishing, camping, and other such activities should be encouraged and cultivated from a young age," Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., said. "Withholding authorized funding is ridiculous."”

“Hunting and pro-Second Amendment groups like Safari Club International, National Shooting Sports Foundation, International Order of T. Roosevelt and National Rifle Association also criticized the Education Department.”

“"This is a direct attack on our outdoor heritage and America's ability to educate the next generation of sportsmen," the International Order of T. Roosevelt tweeted.”

How this affects Alaska schools remains to be seen. Being a Hunter Education instructor, I wonder what impact this will have on courses contained in school curriculums, especially in our “bush” schools. What about the high school riflery teams and their competitions? How will this affect the SCTP-YESS shotgun programs statewide?

The Biden Administration is stopping at nothing to eliminate Second Amendment rights and degrade hunting and other shooting sports, even if it means a more dangerous situation for youth exposed to firearms with no proper training.