In preparing for this year’s youth mentor hunts, Nebraska Pheasants Forever is pleased to announce totals indicate more than 10,000 youth hunters have participated in its “Youth Mentor Hunt Program” since 1996.
This year, over 60 Pheasants Forever-led youth mentor hunts are scheduled across Nebraska for the entire 2012-2013 hunting season and will add an expected 800 new hunters.
The goal of these youth mentor hunts is to introduce youth, who otherwise would not have an opportunity, to hunting in a safe environment.
In 1996, Pheasants Forever and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission developed a program allowing boys and girls ages 12 to 15 who’ve recently completed a Hunter Safety Education class to attend a youth mentor hunt.
Youth enrolling in this program are given instruction on various hunting related topics such as dog training, reloading shot shells, hunter safety, blue rock shooting, how to ask a landowner for permission to hunt, etc., all in a one-day, mentored setting.
Youth mentor hunts conclude with an actual pheasant hunt under the supervision of a mentor and dog handler.
"This milestone represents Nebraska’s aspiration to continue its longstanding outdoor heritage by introducing a new generation of conservationists to the outdoors," says Drew Larsen, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Regional Wildlife Biologist in Western Nebraska.
"It would not have been possible to reach this goal without the help of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and our local Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever chapters, that dedicate their time and resources to make all the events possible."
