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2009 IHEA Hunting Incident Academy

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:56:23 GMT

For immediate release: October 8, 2009
Contact: Tim Lawhern (608) 266-1317 timothy.lawhern@wisconsin.gov

Watch the news media coverage from ABC affiliate WTXL by following this link:
http://www.wtxl.com/Global/story.asp?s=11276371

FWC: ‘CSI in the swamp’

The scene is disturbing. A lifeless body is in the woods. A 12-gauge shotgun is next to the dead, middle-aged man. Conservation law enforcement officers are notified and when they arrive, a man tells them he was hunting when he came upon the body. He had heard shooting prior to the discovery, but observed no one – other than the deceased. It is up to the officers to determine if this death is a result of natural causes, suicide, murder or an unwanted discharge of the victim’s firearm.

This is an actual case, which occurred in Iowa, re-created by the International Hunter Education Association (IHEA) for training. In the humid, damp woods of north Florida, the scenario is played-out by actors to help educate conservation officers on how to investigate hunting-related incident scenes in the field. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) hosted the training at the Pat Thomas Law Enforcement Academy (Quincy) and the Joe Budd Aquatic Education Center (Midway), just outside of Tallahassee. The class of 36 is made up of fish and wildlife officers from around the country.

“Last year, hunting incidents in Florida doubled, and we want to change that,” said Bill Cline, director of hunting safety for the FWC. “We call this training ‘CSI in the woods’, or in Florida, ‘CSI in the swamp.’ This training helps us look for clues as to what happened at a hunting incident. If an injury or death could have been avoided, we want to pass on what we learned to hunters so they know how to avoid similar behavior.”
Like most any outdoor activity, there is the risk of injury. With firearms involved, the injury may be more serious. Nevertheless, nationwide, for every 100,000 hunters, there are only five hunter incidents. Overall, hunting is safe and Tim Lawhern, president and co-director of the IHEA, stands by this.

Lawhern has been with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for more than 20 years and knows a thing or two about hunting safety.

“International statistics indicate that the chance of a hunter getting killed while hunting is exactly the same as the chance of any person getting struck by lightning,” Lawhern said.
He also knows that not everything is as it appears.

“Sometimes a murder, suicide or attempted suicide is disguised as a hunting incident,” Lawhern said.

As was the case of the hunter finding the body. Evidence at the scene revealed that the man had committed suicide. He attempted to make his death look like a hunting accident so his wife and two children could collect on his life insurance policy. He was also religious and his religion forbids suicide.

In another re-created scenario, a Georgia conservation law enforcement officer is shot by a turkey hunter. The officer was checking to see if the hunter, accompanied by his unarmed daughter, was hunting over bait – which is illegal. The shooter shot at the officer from 28 yards away, believing he was shooting at a turkey. The officer was hit on the lower part of his body and he nearly bled to death. Due to his injury, he was forced to retire. The hunter broke one of the cardinal rules for hunter safety – be certain of your target.

“There are four rules that every hunter, or anyone else with a firearm, needs to follow,” Lawhern said. “First, treat every firearm as if it were loaded, even if you think it is not. Second, always point the muzzle in a safe direction. Third, be certain of your target and what’s beyond it. And fourth, keep your finger outside of the trigger guard until you are ready to shoot.”

For one instructor at the IHEA training, hunter safety is particularly personal. On two separate occasions, a decade apart, a hunter shot Capt. Mike Van Durme of the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation. The 34-year veteran was shot in 1986 by a man in a boat who was shooting frogs with a .22 rifle. The shooter didn’t see Van Durme who was in uniform and in plain view, standing on a dike. When the man shot at the frog, the shot ricocheted off the water and struck Van Durme in the ear.

Van Durme was more seriously injured when he was shot a second time in 1996 while he was hunting, off-duty. As Van Durme was walking through short grass, a deer ran between him and another hunter. Though Van Durme was wearing the required bright orange vest and hat, the hunter failed to look beyond the deer and fired. In an instant, Van Durme realized he was being shot at and turned away. The slug ran along his left shoulder. His injury could have been fatal, but his instantaneous reaction likely saved his life.

“It was my crime scene, but I was the victim,” Van Durme said. “The shooter was with four other people and when he realized what he did, he tossed his shotgun into the woods. I had to sort that out and make arrests – two of the hunters were felons and it is unlawful for felons to possess firearms.”

Though Van Durme made arrests and collected evidence immediately after being shot, nearly 24 hours later it hit him how close he had come to death.

“I was in my church choir the next day, singing the closing song,” Van Durme said. “Then I thought, I don’t want to be a part of this anymore – a victim, or having people congratulate me and telling me how great I was. I just felt my life energy leave me. Being shot is traumatic.”

It took a while for Van Durme to get back to hunting, but eventually he did. He uses his near-death experience to improve hunting safety.

“I’ve been instructing since 2000,” Van Durme said. “I instruct at every academy in my state and my incident has lead to a comprehensive 12-page report on hunting incidents.”

Though a stranger shot Van Durme, IHEA president, Lawhern says that in the majority of cases, a friend or family member shoots the victim. He also stresses that in one-third to one-half of the time, hunting-related shooting injuries are self-inflicted. These are the things that Lawhern and others who investigate shooting incidents have learned.

“Every crime scene should be investigated as if it were a member of your family,” Lawhern said.

FWC’s Cline agrees. “Hunting is a great sport,” Cline said. “We want everyone to come home from hunting safe and sound; bagging something is secondary to that.”

Online Clothing Sale Benefits Hunter Education

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:25:04 GMT

News Release

For Immediate Release

Date: June 22, 2009
Contact: Chris Chaffin, Chaffin Communications
Office: (321) 729-0280

Mobile: (321) 506-5500

Chris@ChaffinCommunications.com

Online Outdoor Clothing Sale Benefits Hunter Education

IHEA Foundation selling top brand-name clothing at 50% or more off retail to benefit hunter education programs nationwide.

Federal Heights, CO—The International Hunter Education Association Foundation (IHEAF) is having a special sale of Columbia Sportswear outdoor clothing on the IHEA Web site (www.ihea.com) to help raise funds needed for the national hunter education program. Selected styles and sizes of Columbia outdoor wear is being offered at a 50% or more off MSRP pricing and is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Log-on to www.ihea.com and click on the Columbia Outdoor Clothing Clearance Sale link in the middle of the main landing page. The link will take shoppers to an online catalog listing a large selection of some 1900 pieces including hunting, fishing and shooting apparel—parkas, jackets, vests, pants, shirts and more.

“The hunter education program nationwide needs additional funding to make contemporary classes even more effective and to meet the growing demand to train safe and ethical hunters. This special online sale gives outdoorsmen and –women a chance to support hunter education…and get some great deals on top-quality outdoor clothing at the same time,” said Chad Bisinger, IHEAF President. “

Bisinger added, “We are grateful to the Columbia Sportswear Company for this very generous contribution and their obvious support of hunter education.”

The Online catalog includes photos of the sale items, prices, sizes and ordering information.

For more information, contact Wayne East, IHEA Executive Director at (303) 430-7233; exdir@ihea.com or Chris Chaffin, Chaffin Communications at chris@chaffincommunications.com; (321) 729-0280.

--IHEA--

IHEA Foundation and Gunbroker.com Online Auction

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:25:04 GMT

News Release

For Immediate Release

Date: June 22, 2009
Contact: Chris Chaffin, Chaffin Communications
Office: (321) 729-0280
Mobile: (321) 506-5500
Chris@ChaffinCommunications.com

Hunter Education Foundation and GunBroker.com Launch Online Auction

First Auction Opens June 29--Proceeds to Benefit International Hunter Education Association

Federal Heights, CO—The International Hunter Education Association Foundation (IHEAF) and GunBroker.com announced today the month-long, online auction of guns, hunting/fishing trips and other outdoor merchandise to benefit hunter education programs nationwide will officially open on Monday, June 29, 2009 on www.GunBroker.com.

The special auction, part of GunBroker.com’s Heritage Partner Program, is an extension of the Hunting Heritage Trust’s “Treasures & Traditions” program. Through a special arrangement with GunBroker.com, all proceeds from the auction will go IHEAF.

Exciting and valuable outdoor merchandise, including international hunting and fishing trips, will be posted on the “Charity Auction” section of GunBroker.com beginning Monday, June 29. Each mini-auction will run for two weeks. New products will be added throughout the period and a new mini-auction will be launched every Monday through July 20—making the IHEAF Benefit Auction a month-long event where outdoorsmen and –women can bid on quality trips and merchandise and help support hunter education at the same time.

“People are going to be surprised at some of the great offerings in this first-ever, online IHEAF Benefit Auction,” said IHEAF President, Chad Bisinger, “and we encourage them to check back frequently to see what’s new…and to bid generously to support hunter education.”

Shooting sports manufacturers and related companies, recognizing the importance of educating and training new hunters and shooters, donated the products and services in the auction—items selected to capture the attention of outdoorsmen and –women.

The International Hunter Education Association (IHEA) oversees the hunter education program nationwide and internationally. In recent years over 700,000 new students take hunter education classes each year. These classes are a vital link in introducing the next generation of outdoorsmen to safe gun handling and outdoor ethics. Bisinger added, “The proceeds from this auction will go directly toward making those classes more effective, helping classes better meet the needs of today’s students.”

The auction can be found on the home page of www.GunBroker.com where it will have exposure to the site’s average of 2.5 million unique visitors per month.

“Over the past several years, GunBroker.com has been proud to provide free promotional or on-line auction services to the NRA, the Hunting Heritage Trust, NSSF, National Wild Turkey Federation, Youth Shooting Sports Alliance, USA Shooting and others and we are very pleased to announce this expansion of our pro-bono efforts,” commented Steve Urvan, GunBroker.com founder and CEO. “GunBroker.com has enjoyed extraordinary growth and acceptance within the hunting and shooting sports community and we welcome this opportunity to give back to the non-profits that are so important to the future of our hunting & shooting sports heritage.”

Some of the exciting items in this year’s auction include:

· one-of-a-kind, specially engraved IHEA 60th Anniversary Golden Boy .22LR

· firearms from Mossberg, Savage, Henry Repeating Arms and FNP 9mm

· a seven-day South Africa Safari from Zingelani Safaris

· an Alaskan fishing trip from SCI

· a dove hunt in Argentina from SCI

· two guided, South Florida fishing trips

· a PSE “Deer Hunter Set” compound bow

· a 24-gun safe from Sentry Group

· a special 3-day NASCAR Pass to Talladega from Realtree

· 3 cases of custom loaded Hornady ammo and Hornady range bags

· a variety of outdoor equipment from Bushnell

· Benchmade knives

· layered hunting parkas from Columbia Sportswear

· much more

About IHEAF: IHEA Foundation’s sole purpose is to help IHEA meet its mission "To continue the heritage of hunting worldwide by developing safe, responsible and knowledgeable hunters." For more information on the IHEA log-on to www.ihea.com.

About GunBroker.com: GunBroker.com has established itself as an informative, detailed, secure and safe way to buy and sell firearms and hunting/shooting accessories. GunBroker.com promotes responsible gun ownership. As a company, GunBroker.com sells none of the merchandise listed on its Web site. Third-party sellers list items on the site, and every buyer or seller must be legally allowed to own firearms. Ownership policies and regulations are followed using licensed firearms dealers as transfer agents. For information on GunBroker.com advertising and partnership opportunities, contact Bob Delfay at rdelfay@earthlink.net.

IHEA Responds to False Allegations by PETA

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:30:06 GMT

Contact: Wayne East
Tel: 303-430-7233
E-mail: exdir@ihea.com

For Immediate Release

June 25, 2009

IHEA RESPONDS TO FALSE ALLEGATIONS BY PETA

Federal Heights, CO – In a letter to the editor, a senior staff writer for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) falsely quoted the International Hunter Education Association.

Currently there is a mentor hunting bill in the State of Wisconsin Legislature that in part would lower the minimum age requirement of youth hunters to 10 if accompanied by an experienced adult mentor. It also allows other hunters of older ages to hunt without first taking basic hunter education so long as the mentor has or is otherwise exempt by law. This is a similar bill to many that have been passed in other states over the last several years.

In their letter to the editor, PETA says, “the Association (IHEA) believes these statistics (the rate of youth under 18 being involved in incidents) will only grow as the age at which children are allowed to handle guns is lowered.”

“This statement was manufactured by the author of the letter to the editor and is an outright lie,” said IHEA Executive Director, Wayne East. “The IHEA has never and will never state that youth incident rates will only grow as the age which children are allowed to handle guns is lowered, as PETA claims in their letter to the editor. The IHEA in fact supports youth involvement in hunting and the shooting sports as long as it is done in a safe, ethical manner.”

All attempts to contact the author of PETA’s letter to the editor went unanswered.

Lawhern Elected President of IHEA

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 06:30:03 GMT

Lawhern elected president of International Hunter Education Assn.

MADISON -- For the second time in his 20-year career with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Hunter Education Administrator Tim Lawhern has been elected president of the International Hunter Education Association.

“It is significant for Wisconsin,” said DNR Secretary Matt Frank of Lawhern’s unanimous election to lead the 37-year-old association whose members include New Zealand, Peru, Australia, South Africa, Mexico, Canada and the United States. “It shows we have a tremendously respected program with good oversight and leadership since Day One.”

A Tennessee native hired as a DNR game warden before being named hunter education administrator in 1994, Lawhern is the only member of the international association to be elected president twice. It is the professional association for 67 state and provincial wildlife conservation agencies and 70,000 volunteer instructors.

The Denver, Colo.-based international association develops curriculum standards and training methods, hosts a national academy for hunting incident investigations, and an academy for administrators among its varied duty list.

Lawhern said the two biggest challenges he wants to tackle during his two-year term as president involve revamping the association’s communications practices and adopting standards for hunter education for basic and advanced training to be used worldwide.

“The worldwide trend of youth involvement (in hunting) is down,” Lawhern said, adding the association must revamp its communications to involve social networking and other electronic methods to reach today’s youth. “We will focus on communications and relationship-building.”
A benefit of worldwide standards for training will mean reciprocity -- meaning a student who completes a course in one jurisdiction will be allowed to hunt in any of the other IHEA member jurisdictions. For example, the course in Peru will be recognized under Wisconsin requirements.

One big reason Lawhern was asked by the association’s members to seek the office for a second time is the fact there are 5,000 volunteer hunter education instructors in Wisconsin.

“Wisconsin is blessed to have the greatest and largest volunteer instructor corps for hunter education in the world,” Lawhern said.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim Lawhern, DNR Hunter Education Administrator - (608) 266-1317

2009 IHEA Benefit Shoot Cancelled

Mon, 04 May 2009 22:00:04 GMT

The 2009 IHEA Benefit Shoot has been cancelled. Please check back here for details about future shoots and benefits.

Federal Sponsors Volunteer Instructor Award

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:00:04 GMT

Contact: Jason Nash
ATK Commercial Products
800-322-2342 (ext. 3878)
or Tim Brandt (x3833)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE E-mail: pressroom@atk.com

Federal Premium^® Sponsors Volunteer Hunter Education Instructor of the Year Award

ANOKA, Minn. – February 25, 2009 – Federal Premium^® will name the Volunteer Hunter Education Instructor of the Year at the annual International Hunter Education Association (IHEA) Conference. This event will be held April 22-25, 2009 in Toronto and nominations will be taken until March 13.

Nominees for this award must have made a contribution to Hunter Education in 2008. Anyone who has significantly advanced the cause of safe hunting on a voluntary basis through extraordinary service in training or education is eligible.

Picking One Winner

After March 13, a panel of impartial and knowledgeable judges will pick a group of finalists from all the submissions. A selection committee from IHEA will then narrow the field to three. One winner will be named Volunteer Hunter Education Instructor of the Year and each of the three finalists will be honored during the IHEA Awards luncheon.

Federal Premium has a long history of supporting Hunter Education, and sponsoring this award continues that tradition. “Volunteers are the most valuable assets of hunter education programs across North America,” said Ryan Bronson, Federal Premium conservation specialist. “This award provides a great opportunity for each administrator to recognize individuals who have made significant program contributions in their respective jurisdiction.”

Something for All Nominees

Nominees from every state or province will receive a hunter education pack from Federal Premium. All of those up for the award are encouraged to attend the annual conference and be recognized during the luncheon.

Nomination forms were mailed to all Hunter Education Administrators, and are also available online here. Forms must be completed, submitted and/or received/postmarked by March 13, 2009.

Send to:

International Hunter Education Association
Attn: Wayne East
272 W. 92^nd Ave., Suite 103
Federal Heights, CO 80260

About Federal Cartridge Company

Headquartered in Anoka, Minnesota, Federal Cartridge Company has been providing hunters and shooters with high-quality rimfire, centerfire and shotshell ammunition since 1922. It pioneered the Premium category of ammunition and is part of the world’s leading ammunition manufacturer, ATK Armament Systems. For more information on Federal, visit www.federalpremium.com.

About ATK Armament Systems

Headquartered in Utah, ATK Armament Systems is the world’s largest ammunition manufacturing entity generating approximately $1.5B annually in sales. The organization manufactures small caliber military ammunition, medium caliber military ammunition, medium caliber gun systems, rocket motors, ammunition propellants, commercial and military smokeless powder, law enforcement and sporting ammunition, ammunition related products and is the operator of two U.S. Army ammunition manufacturing plants. The organization employs approximately 6,000 people. Find out more about the Commercial Products division at www.outdoorwriters.atk.com.

About ATK

ATK is a premier aerospace and defense company with more than 17,000 employees in 21 states and approximately $4.5 billion in revenue. News and information can be found on the Internet at www.atk.com.

IHEA Endowment Donation Recognition

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:40:04 GMT

The International Hunter Education Association would like to express its deep appreciation to Dr. Edward Kozicky for his generous donation of $10,000 to to create the new Kozicky Endowment. The IHEA's most prestigious annual award is the Kozicky Award and this endowment will be used to fund this award in perpetuity. Dr. Kozicky was the first executive director of the IHEA, and he has been an ardent supporter of the IHEA mission and programs since the beginning.

We would like to thank Mary L. Catron of Anchorage, Alaska for a $50 memorial contribution in memory of Harold “Jim” Sisbach, an avid hunter.

The IHEA would also like to thank Mr. Ray Coffey for donating $200 to the IHEA Endowment Fund, Mr. Lenny Rees for his donation of $100, Mr. Steve Langford for his donation of $20.00, and Gary Dunda for his donation of $10.00. All of these donations will be matched dollar for dollar by the IHEA Foundation. These donations and any donations are sincerely appreciated and help us with our mission "To continue the heritage of hunting worldwide by developing safe, responsible and knowledgeable hunters."

Thank you!!

Learn more about the IHEA Endowment and Planned Giving

IHEA Responds to NC School Clash Over Shooting Competition

Mon, 12 May 2008 17:00:04 GMT

Click Here to read the news story about North Carolina's Wake County School District and their decision to prevent their Future Farmers of America marksmanship team from competing in a state sponsored tournament that has operated successfully for 30 years.

April 23, 2008

Superintendent Daniel Barnes
Wake County School District
3600 Wake Forest Road
Raleigh, NC 27609

Dear Superintendent Barnes,

We’ve learned that representatives of the Wake County School District recently took administrative action to prevent a high school affiliated Future Farmers of America marksmanship team from participating in a government sponsored shooting competition organized by the State of North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. The reasoning, as characterized by school officials, was that “ammo and students don’t mix”.

As sportsmen based conservation groups and active advocates of passing along the rich heritage of hunting and shooting sports to our country’s youth, the undersigned organizations are deeply concerned about this decision and in fact, regard it as a counterproductive measure in preventing gun violence.

Each year, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission organizes this event, which is comprised of skeet shooting, rifle marksmanship, archery, and navigation competitions, to promote firearm safety and teach young people interested in shooting sports about the consequences of unsafe gun handling. We view this as valuable experience that instills guidelines for responsible behavior in team members that they will carry into adulthood. Without officially sanctioned events such as this, many young people would not have the opportunity to learn how to safely pursue their interest in hunting and shooting thus possibly causing unsafe conditions in the field for themselves and fellow sportsman. Lessons in personal responsibility, patience, care for equipment owned by others and many other benefits of participating in these types of activities extend beyond the practice range. We also believe that the actual risk of bodily harm posed by participation in a state-endorsed, fully adult supervised event such as this is extremely remote and should not have influenced the school district’s decision. According to a study released by the National Safety Council, accidental deaths involving firearms are at an all time low with the fastest rate of decline taking place over the last decade. This was largely attributed to education programs sponsored by state wildlife agencies (such as the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission), the firearms industry, and organizations like the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the National Rifle Association.

We are extremely disappointed in the decision of the Wake County School District and hope that this inappropriate action will serve as an example of the type of policy that will be avoided in the future.

Sincerely,

Archery Trade Association

Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

Boone and Crockett Club

Bowhunting Preservation Alliance

Catch-A-Dream Foundation

Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation

Dallas Safari Club

Delta Waterfowl

Ducks Unlimited

International Hunter Education Association

Mule Deer Foundation

National Assembly of Sportsmen's Caucuses

National Rifle Association

National Wild Turkey Federation

National Wild Turkey Federation, North Carolina

National Shooting Sports Foundation

National Trappers Association

North American Bear Foundation

North American Grouse Partnership

Orion the Hunters’ Institute

Pheasants Forever

Pope and Young Club

Quail Unlimited

Quail Forever

Quality Deer Management Association

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

Ruffed Grouse Society

Safari Club International

Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership

Texas Wildlife Association

U.S. Sportsman's Alliance

Whitetails Unlimited

Wildlife Forever

Wildlife Management Institute

CC:

NC State School Board Chairman Howard N. Lee

NC State School Superintendent June St. Clair Atkinson

The Honorable Beverly Eaves Perdue

Wake County School Board

Fred Harris, Executive Director North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission

IHEA Welcomes Wayne East - New Executive Director

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:50:03 GMT

As President of the International Hunter Education Association, it gives me great pleasure to announce that the IHEA has hired a new Executive Director. Wayne East will be stepping into that position beginning March 17. Wayne is a native of Colorado with a Bachelors degree in Wildlife Management and a Masters in Public Administration. He has worked for the Colorado Wildlife Federation as their Executive Director and was a strong candidate for the IHEA Executive Director position in 2006 when Gary Berlin was hired. Wayne brings his knowledge of non-profit operations and an exuberance that will lead the IHEA forward for many years.

Twenty-two highly qualified individuals submitted applications for the Executive Director position. The Interview Committee worked hard to narrow the field to the top five candidates. The IHEA was fortunate to have such a high caliber of applicants to choose from.

Gary has agreed to a contract extension to make the transition for Wayne as smooth as possible. He will continue in an advisory role for over a month and then be available until it is determined that his services are no longer needed.

Please join me and the IHEA Board in welcoming Wayne East as our new Executive Director.

Mark Birkhauser
President
International Hunter Education Association