2024-01-28 01:13:00
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Most hunting seasons have closed in North Dakota, and now is a good time to start planning for next year if you need a hunter education certification. Anyone born following Dec. 31, 1961, is required by state law to take hunter education if they plan to hunt in North Dakota.
“If you’re needing certification through the hunter ed program, now is the time to start looking. Across the state the majority of our classes are taught from regarding the middle of January through June,” said Brian Schaffer, NDGF hunter education coordinator.
There are two options in North Dakota for fulfilling the hunter education requirement.
“First is what the majority of people have taken over the last 40 years and that’s the traditional course, which is 14 hours of all in-person learning. And then our other option, which is gaining popularity just due to people’s busier and busier schedules, which is our home study option, which still requires two meetings in person, the first night and the last night,” said Schaffer.
The primary focus for hunter education is firearm safety.
“Whether that’s storing them in the home, transporting them in a vehicle, or using them out in the field. Firearm safety is the number one priority of our hunter-ed program. But in addition to that, we’ll also talk regarding wildlife conservation, landowner relations and just basic safety in the field as a hunter,” said Schaffer.
There are several ways to find out when these statewide hunter education classes are available.
“The best way to find out regarding hunter education in your community is to sign up for our text or email alerts on our website and select hunter education, and that will inform you of whenever we list a class, whether it’s in Bowman or Grand Forks, it’ll inform you of when we have a course in your community,” said Schaffer.
The hunter-education program started in 1979 in North Dakota, and this year the program will reach a huge milestone.
“We’re going to be hitting a quarter million graduates this coming year. And that’s a testament to all our volunteers from Grand Forks to Bowman, who teach hunter-ed in their communities. Some of them have been teaching it since the program’s inception. And it’s really quite the accomplishment in a state that doesn’t even have a million people living in it, that over the last 40 or so years, we’ve taught over a quarter million hunter education students and made hunting safer, not just for hunters, but everyone in North Dakota,” said Schaffer.
To become a volunteer instructor, contact the Game and Fish Department at 701-328-6300.
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