Outdoors: Program gives new hunters foundation for success

By Matt Markey / The Blade
Tue, 11 Aug 2020 16:49:01 GMT

In the midst of a stubborn pandemic, there are likely few better places to be than in the outdoors, where the fresh air, open spaces, and lack of close physical contact come with the territory. Hunters, especially those who make the bow and arrow their preferred method of seeking game, have long placed a premium on their desire for distancing — they want to be thousands of yards away from the nearest person.

Michelle Emahiser, an accomplished firearms and archery instructor, said she developed a fast affection for the solitude involved in an archery hunt after she took part in the National Wild Turkey Federation’s “Learn to Hunt” program, which includes sessions on our hunting heritage, locating and identifying white-tailed deer sign in the woods, and role of the hunter in wildlife management, as well as instruction in handling and shooting a crossbow.

“For people who just don’t have someone else to help them learn what you need to know to be a safe and ethical hunter, the NWTF does a fantastic job of covering everything,” she said. “They take the necessary time to teach you in detail. It is hard as a new hunter, especially as a woman wanting to get introduced to hunting, to find someone to teach you all that you need to know.”

Emahiser’s enthusiasm for archery hunting and her passion for passing along the skills she acquired to her children and others is a product of her experience with the “Learn to Hunt” effort. The local Maumee Valley Chapter of NWTF will be hosting its 3rd Annual “Learn to Hunt” program this fall and applying all social distancing and other safety protocols into the format. This multi-session program is designed for adults aged 19 and over who have little or no experience hunting and a desire to learn how to safely and ethically take part in the sport.

The program is part of the broader R-3 endeavor that seeks to recruit, retain and reactivate hunters in order to increase participation in hunting and shooting sports.

The first session in the “Learn to Hunt” program is a basic introduction to hunting and an explanation of the reasons and rationale behind hunting. It takes place on Sept. 22 from 6-9 p.m. at Cleland’s Outdoor World on Airport Highway. The second session, also at Cleland’s, takes place on Oct. 1 from 6-9 p.m. and focuses on getting the participants familiar with a crossbow and training them on its proper use on the shooting range at the store. Session three takes the class to Maumee Bay State Park for a morning in the woods from 9 a.m. to noon on Oct. 24 where the participants will learn how to locate and identify deer sign.

The course concludes with a mentored weekend archery hunt at Maumee Bay on Nov. 7 and 8. There is no charge to enroll in the program, but attendance at all of the classes is mandatory and anyone participating will need to purchase an Ohio hunting license and deer tag. To apply for the “Learn to Hunt” course, visit the maumeevalleynwtf.com website where contact information and applications can be found. The deadline to apply is Sept 10.

“They cover all of the necessary safety information and let you get familiar with handling and shooting the bow in a controlled environment,” Emahiser said. “I wasn’t that into the thought of taking an animal initially, but once I was in the course and learned the conservation part of it, it was definitely something I was a lot more open to. You learn a lot about how nature works.”

Skip Markland, a retired Toledo police lieutenant who has been very active in the Maumee Valley Chapter of NWTF and the organization’s hunter recruitment efforts, said the “Learn to Hunt” program benefits both the new hunters and the wider conservation effort.

“It provides the new hunters with a sterile learning environment in which they can learn to be safe hunters and, just as important, they learn from experienced hunters how to be ethical hunters,” Markland said. “Our hope is that they will pass this on to the next generation and/or to their non-hunting friends and family. From the standpoint of conservation, their license and deer permit dollars will allow state wildlife agencies to continue with their mission of making sure there is the appropriate habitat that will support plentiful wildlife populations forever.”

Markland stressed that when new hunters pick up the sport, they purchase firearms, archery equipment, and other hunting accessories, and in doing so they help the funding mechanisms in the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, which grants additional money to our state wildlife agencies. He also sees the hunter education program as a conduit to bring members into the NWTF and thus help facilitate its many volunteer conservation projects.

Emahiser said the “Learn to Hunt” program taught her how to be a safe and ethical hunter, and she’s taken that foundation and used it to share that knowledge with others.

“I wanted my kids to know how to hunt, and for NWTF to teach me how to hunt so I can now pass that on to my children has been fantastic,” she said. “We live in a world where there are so many single moms around and a lot of the dads aren’t very involved, so a program like this opens up hunting to people who otherwise might not have ever had the opportunity to learn.”

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