The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (LWFC) approved a Notice of Intent (NOI) to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Hunter Education program that would lower the certification age from 10 to 9 years old and enhance instructor recruitment by removing prescriptive instructor certification requirements. The action came Thursday, Nov. 6, during the LWFC’s November meeting in Baton Rouge.
Lowering the age certification from 10 to 9 would align with requirements from some shooting sports programs and eliminate redundancy for youth having to taking the course again at 10. The existing Hunter Education curriculum is designed for the fourth grade reading level, which would remain appropriate for this age group and would not require revision.
Additionally, the proposed changes to the instructor certification requirements would remove the prescriptive standards currently outlined in Title 76, which specify 12 hours of instruction, a written test, and a live-fire demonstration, and replace them with flexible administrative oversight by the Department. This change would lower barriers to instructor recruitment, improve the ability to attract and retain quality instructors, increase participation from schools offering Hunter Education, allow the program to more readily adapt to new technology, and provide more efficient training methods all while maintaining public safety as a priority.
To see the full NOI, go to https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/
For more information or to comment on the NOI, write to Travis Dufour at 200 Dulles Drive, Lafayette, LA., or by email at tdufour@wlf.la.gov prior to 4:30 p.m. Feb. 2, 2006.
