Gem State Wire

Fish and Game is committed to ensuring that our Idaho hunting heritage continues into the future by teaching the next generation of hunters.

Each year, as bird seasons open, Idaho Fish and Game staff from the Magic Valley Region organize three mentored hunts for a small number of recent graduates of in-person hunter education classes. These hunts provide opportunities for youth to experience a day in the field hunting upland birds or waterfowl. In 2022, the Magic Valley Region sponsored one mentored pheasant hunt and two mentored waterfowl hunts.

^{A mallard drake comes into a Hagerman Wildlife Management Area pond.}

The 2022 mentored youth waterfowl hunt was held over the weekend of November 12-13, 2022, when six young hunters joined with five experienced hunting mentors to learn the finer points of waterfowl hunting. Youth learned safe shooting skills when shooting out of a duck blind, and techniques for hunting waterfowl over decoys with retrieving dogs.

^{All smiles between the mentor and her youthful waterfowl hunter.}

^{The youth waterfowl hunt had a spectacular morning of ducks filling the sky.}

As evidenced by the smiles on the faces of these young hunters it’s probably safe to say we are growing the next generation of hunters in Idaho!

^{Terry Thompson/Idaho Fish and Game}

^{A mallard drake sets its wings before landing on a pond in the Hagerman WMA November 2022}

Original source can be found here.