Pennsylvania Signs Off On Mentored Youth Hunting Program
Sign In SHOPPING CART:0 ITEMSTOTAL: $0.00View Cart

Helping You Get the Most From Your Hunting Dogs


Pennsylvania Signs Off On Mentored Youth Hunting Program





The Keystone State has authorized a program that expands youth hunting opportunities while maintaining safety afield. Pennsylvania was the first state to pass Families Afield legislation that will allow mentored youth hunting.

On June 6, the Pennsylvania Game Commission gave final approval to regulations establishing the Mentored Youth Hunting Program. The program affords youngsters an early introduction to hunting and will increase interest in the sport, which will help assure its future. The regulations take effect July 31.

The Mentored Youth Hunting Program was authorized when Gov. Ed Rendell signed HB 1690 on Dec. 22, 2005. The bill was part of the Families Afield campaign. It was developed by the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA), National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) to stem the tide of hunters lost to other interests and increase hunter recruitment nationwide.

The groups worked with the Pennsylvania Mentored Youth Hunting Committee, led by the state chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, to rally support for the bill.

Under the program, a ‘mentor’ will be a licensed individual at least 21 years old who will guide a mentored youth who is involved in hunting or a related activity, such as scouting. A ‘mentored youth’ will be an unlicensed individual less than 12 years old.

Mentored youth will be allowed to hunt groundhogs and squirrels in 2006. Regulations permitting the mentored hunters to take deer and turkeys will take effect in 2007.

For further information about the Families Afield program, call Rob Sexton of the USSA at (614) 888-4868, Tammy Sapp of the NWTF at (800) THE-NWTF; Steve Wagner of the NSSF at (203) 426-1320.

We want your input: