Action Item 9 (pg. 200)

Demographic Trends
Be aware of the effect that an aging society has on hunting and shooting participation. Younger participants are more avid than older participants. As the hunting and shooting population ages, more desertion is expected. Retention programs for seniors are vital and should be in the form of volunteer mentors for both hunting and shooting R&R programs.

Best Practices:

Chapter 4 Well-Trained Instructors

• Establish goals and objectives for training
• Involve partners
• Model effective teaching methods during training
• Incorporate social support into training
• Recruit appropriate trainers
• Screen potential trainers
• Evaluate trainers and programs against set criteria

Chapter 10 Mentoring

• Recruit qualified mentors
• Make program community-based
• Sustain over time with multiple follow-up activities
• Evaluate mentors and have procedures for termination
• Recognize and reward good mentors
• Integrate with other existing mentoring efforts

Chapter 7 Persons with Disabilities

• Involve persons with disabilities and people who work with them in all aspects of planning
• Eliminate or lessen constraints to involvement
• Provide pre-training and continual training of staff
• Provide appropriate ration of instructors to students
• Include accessibility information in all marketing and informational material.