| Firearm Industry Awards Grants To 10 States
NEWTOWN, Conn.―The firearm industry says it wants more hunters, and it's putting money where its mouth is.
The industry's trade association, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), has announced another $377,000 in grants to state conservation agencies with good ideas for recruiting and retaining hunters.
This is the fourth year of NSSF's Hunting Heritage Partnership granting program. To date, the program has allocated more than $1.7 million to 33 states.
Ten states were awarded grants this year.
What were the criteria?
"We rewarded the best concepts for strengthening America's hunting and conservation tradition into the future. Recipients this year developed proposals that are creative and far-sighted and resolve some of the real barriers facing hunters today," said Doug Painter, president of NSSF.
Painter added, "More and more, state conservation agencies nationwide are getting into marketing, youth programs, responsive management and human dimensions research. Our industry believes that's vital and we're willing to help pay for it."
Hunting Heritage Partnership grant recipients for 2006 include:
Idaho Department of Fish and Game ― $112,000
Project: Survey hunters, landowners, program coordinators and steering committee members to evaluate overall success of Idaho's ACCESS YES! program. ACCESS YES! creates public hunting opportunities on and across private lands, with a goal of using easements and leases to acquire access to 700,000 acres of public land through private property by March 2007.
Maryland Department of Natural Resources ― $12,000
Project: Increase the percentage of hunter education students who become active hunters. Surveys will help identify those who have not transitioned into hunting. Targeted advertising will encourage their participation in a mentored youth pheasant hunt, and educate them on how to pursue hunting beyond the introductory stages. Evaluate success.
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission ― $15,000
Project: Assess data from the state's hunting license sales database, evaluate demographics and marketing potential, review relevant research from other states, and develop a marketing plan to increase hunting participation in Nebraska.
Nevada Department of Wildlife ― $11,750
Project: Develop activities, events and incentives for mentoring entire families, rather than just individuals, into hunting, fishing and shooting sports. Goals include increasing active participants by 150 families in the first year, and retaining participation by 75 percent of the families in subsequent years.
New Hampshire Fish and Game Department ― $34,000
Project: Increase the number of students at hunter education courses, and increase the number of graduates actually transitioning into hunting. New direct mail, sales and other promotions will provide detailed information on how to get started, how to purchase equipment and licenses, and other identified barriers to participation.
Ohio Department of Natural Resources ― $33,175
Project: Evaluate the effectiveness of large incentives to increase hunter participation. A predictive model will help identify hunters likely to lapse in 2006. In conjunction with outdoor gear retailers, agency will use direct mail promotions to offer incentives for purchasing a new hunting license. Prizes will be awarded through a Web-based drawing system. Follow-up analysis will measure the effectiveness of the overall campaign.
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency ― $93,000
Project: Create additional hunting access through a dove field lease program, and then promote dove-hunting opportunities to multiple audiences. Additionally, the agency will launch a six-phase marketing and education campaign to recruit and retain license-buying hunters. A model for this campaign was developed with measurable success in Iowa by the fishing and boating industry.
Vermont Fish & Game ― $32,525
Project: Evaluate the effectiveness of youth hunting seasons in recruiting new hunters. Working with hunting license vendors and other sources, agency personnel with gather baseline data on the number of participants in youth hunting seasons. Surveys will measure attitudes and preferences about the program, as well as continued hunting activity by former participants.
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources ― $13,878
Project: Expand the scope of the existing Learn to Hunt program, which utilizes a variety of approaches to recruit newcomers, especially youth. The agency plans to add events and partners, build a network of volunteers, and expand the visibility of the program.
Wyoming Game & Fish Department ― $20,000
Project: Launch extensive advertising and public relations initiatives to promote free hunting access programs. Audio, video and print components are planned. The goal is enhancing public awareness of the agency's Walk-in and Hunter Management Access programs, existing successful programs that providing hunters with a place to go.
Nineteen proposals from 15 states were submitted this year to the Hunting Heritage Partnership judging committee of NSSF.
Idaho and Maryland received grants for the first time.
Wisconsin received a grant for the second time.
Nebraska, Nevada, Tennessee, Vermont and Wyoming received grants for the third time.
New Hampshire and Ohio received grants for the fourth time.
Formed in 1961, NSSF is celebrating its 45th birthday in 2006. The organization recently reached important new milestones, topping 3,000 members and hosting the largest annual trade show (SHOT Show) in the history of the firearms industry. | |
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