Georgia Receives $55,000 Grant from NSSF to Promote Hunting

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources has been awarded a grant for $55,000 from the National Shooting Sports Foundation to expand opportunities for hunters.

The state is one of nine to receive funding from NSSF through its Hunting Heritage Partnership program. NSSF, the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting-sports industry, has provided more than $4.3 million in grants to 38 state agencies over the past nine years to support programs that promote hunting and target shooting.

The agency's project, which will be coordinated with Alabama and Kentucky, will assess the best ways to encourage and assist hunter-education graduates to become active hunters and hunting-license purchasers. The project will focus on developing "next step" guidance for hunter-education graduates.

"The future of hunting in Georgia relies on establishing new generations of hunters," says Dan Forster, director of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division. "This grant will help make it possible for state wildlife agencies to obtain practical and specific tools and resources to help hunter-education graduates take the next step toward becoming hunters."

NSSF developed the Hunting Heritage Partnership grant program to assist state agencies nationwide in their attempts to help hunters locate land on which to hunt and easily access state hunting information plus encourage newcomers to start and then continue hunting.

"NSSF grants to state agencies are making a difference," said Chris Dolnack, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of NSSF. "Programs are being launched to benefit hunting and target shooting that otherwise might never have gotten off the ground in these challenging economic times."

The grant program is helping NSSF fulfill its goal of increasing participation in hunting and target shooting by 20 percent by 2014.

"I congratulate the Georgia Department of Natural Resources for earning this NSSF grant. By increasing the number of sportsmen in America we increase the funding available for wildlife conservation and for building target shooting ranges, thereby preserving our American heritage well into the future," said Joshua W. Dorsey IV, vice president of operations at Smyrna-based Glock Inc. and a member of the NSSF Board of Governors.

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Apply for 2009-2010 Quota Hunts Beginning June 1

he Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division (WRD) reminds hunters that June 1 is opening day of the 2009-2010 quota hunt application period. Successful quota hunt applications are selected solely from the online applicant pool, so interested hunters must apply online through their personal accounts on the Division Web site, www.gohuntgeorgia.com .

“Our goal is to make the application process as efficient and customer friendly as possible. Customers with a WRD online account can facilitate this effort by keeping their e-mail addresses current,” says WRD Assistant Chief of Game Management John Bowers. “By utilizing applicant e-mail addresses for quota hunt correspondence, including sending application status alerts and answering applicant questions, we have successfully improved customer service and saved sportsmen’s dollars.”

To be eligible for quota hunt drawings applicants must ensure that they have a valid online account and must apply prior to midnight as follows: July 31 for alligator quota hunts; September 1 for deer quota hunts; September 1 for State Park quota hunts; October 15 for waterfowl quota hunts; and February 15, 2010 for turkey quota hunts.

Hunters who have applied in years past or those who have recently completed a hunter education course may have pre-existing accounts with which to apply and must login and update their accounts to begin the application process.

Interested persons without pre-existing accounts should visit www.gohuntgeorgia.com and select “Quota Hunts,” from the Home page under the “Permits & Services” menu to create a new account and submit applications online.

Upon completion of the selection process, applicants will receive a status notification e-mail and also will be able to login to their accounts to view their updated status. In addition, complete lists of chosen participants will be available at www.gohuntgeorgia.com .

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State's First Annual Youth Hunter Ed Challenge Scheduled for January, Open to All

Youth interested in the outdoors can test their knowledge, demonstrate their skills, and register to win a muzzleloader at the state’s first annual Hunter Education Skills Challenge event Jan. 17 in Walton County.

Open to all hunter education-certified youth, 18 years of age and younger, the challenge aims to test participants’ abilities in six outdoor components: archery, air rifle, a safety trail challenge, orienteering, wildlife identification and a responsibility exam.

This is the first statewide event for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division’s new Hunter Education Skills Challenge program.

The event is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sat., Jan. 17 at the division’s dove field in Walton County, just adjacent to the Wildlife Resources Conservation Center, located at 2065 U.S. Highway 278, SE in Social Circle.

“The program itself is similar to a ‘graduate studies’ course for hunter education students,” explains Jennifer Pittman, Wildlife Resources Division’s shooting sports coordinator. “Each component of the program simulates realistic conditions in an effort to reinforce and test a young hunter’s skills.”

Because this is the first annual statewide event, interested youth from across the state are invited, and no challenger is required to have participated in a prior local event.

Participants receive scores for each component with a maximum total score of 500. The competition includes two age divisions – Junior (ages 14 and younger) and Senior (ages 15-18). Unlike this year’s statewide challenge event, youth interested in participating in future statewide challenge events must first qualify as one of the top ten scoring participants at a local competition (per age division).

The January state challenge kicks off a series of local challenges to be held throughout the state in 2009. Upcoming events will be highlighted on the division’s Web site, www.georgiawildlife.com, under the “Education” tab. Also visit the Web site for practice tests and program information or call (770) 918-6416.

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Georgia Hunters Help Fight Hunger this Holiday Season

At the peak of the busy holiday season, food banks across the state are getting some much needed help from deer hunters.

Food banks have benefited from donations received by hunters through the Georgia Hunters for the Hungry program for the past 15 years. Just last year, nearly 29,000 pounds of venison – a weight equivalent to 143,00 meals – were collected, processed and distributed to food banks across the state.

As the holiday season continues, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division reminds hunters that opportunities to donate are still available now through Jan. 15.

“The Georgia Hunters for the Hungry program is one opportunity for hunters to demonstrate their generosity by sharing their harvest with those in need,” says John Bowers, Wildlife Resources Division assistant chief of Game Management. “The division is proud to be a cooperator in this public-private partnership and to work with the many partners who make it possible each year.”

Hunters interested in participating should bring field-dressed deer to any of the drop-off locations listed below. All hunters who donate a deer during this collection period will be entered into a drawing for a deer rifle, sponsored by the Georgia Wildlife Federation.

The following ten processor locations will accept deer now through Jan. 15, 2009

during business hours:

· Axson – Lee’s Deer & Meat Processing (912) 422-3079

· Baldwin – JJ’s Deer Processing (706) 776-2819

· Canton – Mitch’s Archery & Deer Cooler (770) 479-7004

· Columbus – Daffin’s Meat Processing (706) 322-8848

· Dawson – Mossey Creek Outdoors (229) 995-4109

· Irwinton – Starley’s Deer Processing (478) 946-8976

· Jefferson – Sealy’s Deer Cooler (706) 335-9304

· Sparta – Garner’s Grinder (706) 444-9228

· Tifton – Safety-Rite Foods (229) 382-1242

· Vidalia – Stewart’s Quality Meats, Inc. (912) 537-9888

The Wildlife Resources Division, along with the Georgia Department of Corrections, Georgia Department of Agriculture, Georgia Wildlife Federation and the Georgia State Association of Food Banks sponsor the program.

Since the program’s inception in 1993, more than 225,000 pounds of venison have been donated.

For more information on donating food to those in need during other times of the year, call the Atlanta Community Food Bank at (404) 892-FEED. For more information on the GHFTH program, visit www.gohuntgeorgia.com , www.gwf.org ,contact a WRD Game Management office or call (770) 761-3045.

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