January 2024 - 40

Outdoor Day in partnership with State Parks
near Hyattville, the Wyoming Outdoor Hall of
Fame and Landowner of the Year ceremonies,
assisting the Wyoming Women's Antelope
Hunt and free fishing day events across the
state including the Maury Brown Kids Fishing
Day outside Cheyenne.
A milestone was the launch of the ConMembers
of the Game and Fish communications and education team donned beaver and moose attire at the University
of Wyoming Women's Basketball Education Day in November. The beaver and moose led a competition during halftime.
(Photo by Emalee Smith/WGFD)
servation Education in Schools initiative.
This collaborative initiative provides schools
across the state with resources to implement
Trout in the Classroom in partnership with
Trout Unlimited, the National Archery in the
Schools Program, Conservation Crates curriculum
and Hunter Education. Aligning with
Wyoming education standards ensures these
programs provide hands-on learning experiences
and contribute to the state's broader
educational goals in and out of schools.
The dedication of Game and Fish employees
to furthering conservation education across
the state resulted in 298 education programs
in 2023, which interacted with more than
21,000 individuals.
HUNTER EDUCATION
This is a required certification for hunting
with a firearm in Wyoming for people born on
or after Jan. 1, 1966. The course and curriculum
train individuals to be safe, responsible
and ethical hunters. The courses are taught by
a network of dedicated volunteers and Game
and Fish staff. Wyoming has a total of 324
hunter education instructors, 213 of which
Katie Simpson, hunter education coordinator, teaches a participant how to properly use a compound bow at the Hunter
Education Camp at Whiskey Mountain Conservation Camp. (Photo by Emalee Smith/WGFD)
EDUCATION AND EVENTS
Game and Fish's commitment to education
and outreach in 2023 continued to serve a
pivotal role in inspiring the next generation of
hunters, anglers and outdoor enthusiasts with
an emphasis on understanding natural places,
wildlife and their management.
Involvement in prominent events across
the state served as a platform to interact with
and educate thousands of people of all ages.
Events included Mule Deer Days in Rock
Springs in partnership with Muley Fanatics,
a University of Wyoming football game and
Kids Education Day women's basketball game
in Laramie, Elk Fest in Jackson with Jackson
Hole Friends of Scouting, Wyoming Outdoor
Weekend in Lander with the Lander Economic
Development Association, Medicine Lodge
40 | January 2024
are volunteers.
" Volunteer hunter education instructors
make up the second-largest volunteer force in
the nation, " said Katie Simpson, Game and
Fish hunter education coordinator. " In a time
when nationwide volunteer rates are declining,
I am excited to see we still have community
members who will step up and give more of
themselves, but that is just the Wyoming way. "
Since hunter education was mandated in
Wyoming, hunting-related deaths or injuries
dropped from 20-30 per year in the 1970s
and 1980s to less than five reported annually.
Last year, Game and Fish certified about
3,500 individuals in hunter education and
implemented a new volunteer instructor
training structure. Applicants who met the
necessary qualifications attended a two-and-ahalf-day
training workshop to become certified
as hunter education instructors. In addition to
hunter education workshops, hunter education
classes continued across the state.

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Education/Hunter-Education

January 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2024