Some facts about the Hunter Education program

I’ve been an active Hunter Education (HE) instructor since 1992. We moved into the Valley in 1990, and I took the basic HE course from Gary Feaster in 1991, as I recall. I got certified as a basic HE instructor in 1992 and have been teaching HE every year since, only excepting one year with health issues.

Over time, I was certified to teach bow hunter, muzzleloader, and crossbow HE classes in addition to the basic class. I can now teach any current HE class available in the state of Alaska. I wanted to give back to the hunting activities I had been lucky enough to participate in over the years by passing on some knowledge accumulated over time, in addition to the regular class curriculum.

Every year, in December, the Southcentral group of instructors meet with ADF&G staff for a scheduled planning of classes for the upcoming year, to socialize with other instructors, and to enjoy a catered meal as a “thank you” for all the volunteer time the instructors put in over the previous year.

I had not signed up to teach any classes during 2022 because I had two upcoming major surgeries scheduled. That’s the year I missed, as mentioned above. I was healed enough to participate in the instructors’ evening this past December, and I signed up to assist teaching two different classes this coming 2023 season. The HE program also uses these instructor evenings to present awards and recognition to instructors who have earned them through service and dedication to the program.

Officially, the HE program started counting the number of years an instructor has been active beginning in 2002, when HE became mandatory in part of the state. As a result, Vikki Gross and I were awarded the first 20-year instructor pins awarded to instructors in the Valley. That came as a pleasant surprise since I hadn’t been thinking about time in the program.

I asked for a total breakdown of numbers statewide and for Southcentral, but apparently, that request got lost in the shuffle. I do have some numbers as printed in the newsletter which goes out to instructors quarterly. We’ll touch first on statewide and then home in on Valley numbers.

For the basic HE class, statewide, there were 151 classes and 1972 students certified. For bowhunter HE, there were 43 classes certifying 425 students. For muzzleloading, there were 16 classes certifying 99 students, and for crossbow, there were 11 classes certifying 38 students.

The HE program was taught in 30 different cities and villages, involving 410 active volunteer instructors. Basic HE had 173 instructors who taught at least one course; bowhunter HE had 64 instructors; muzzleloader HE had 22 instructors; and crossbow HE had 16 instructors. There were 208 multi-discipline instructors.

The total volunteer instructor hours for 2022 totaled 4,253, which allowed access to $610,388 in Pittman - Roberson Federal - Aid funds to ADF&G. These monies were used for HE program administration, to purchase class supplies, rent facilities, and pay for travel.

HE programs exist in all 50 states and are a requirement to buy a hunting license and participate in that activity in that particular state. Alaska is one of very few states that doesn’t have a universal requirement for HE everywhere in the state. However, with the mandatory age requirement for HE in Alaska, the program will eventually be universally required.

Many of the drawing permit hunts require a HE certification in order to apply and certain area hunts, like on military bases, also require a current HE certification. If you don’t already have your HE certification, it would be worth your time to look up the class schedule on the Fish and Game website and sign up for the class you’ll need to either hunt or apply for a hunting permit.

Fish and Game will be releasing the drawing permit hunt winners in mid-February. For a while, Fish and Game would allow a person to apply for a permit hunt without a HE certification as long as they got the certification prior to going on the hunt. Those days are gone. You must already have the certification prior to even applying, so now would be a good time to plan your certification needs prior to the next open permit hunt application period.

I’ve been teaching some version of HE for over 30 years. I still learn something new in every class because folks have different experiences to relate or the other instructor has experience which I don’t. Never a dull moment!