In honor of its efforts in developing the National Hunting and Shooting Sports R3 Practitioner’s Guide, The Assessment Group (TAG)—composed of wildlife professionals from across the nation—received a Special Recognition Award late last month during the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ (AFWA) Annual Awards Banquet in Madison, Wis. The guide is now available for use use by practitioners working in the fields of hunting and shooting sports to aid their efforts in recruiting, retaining and reactivating (R3) hunters, target shooters and other outdoor recreationists.
Formed in February 2021, TAG is composed of representatives from state and federal fish and wildlife agencies, conservation groups and industry partners. In collaboration with the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports, and with strategic support from DJ Case & Associates, TAG devoted more than 4,000 hours in developing the guide.
Over a two-year period, it engaged more than 117 stakeholders, including R3 professionals and community members through focus groups, workshops and discussions to develop the living, web-based Practitioner’s Guide. It provides best practices, recommendations, resources and comprehensive documentation of current strategies.
The Assessment Group and Review Panel members included experts from the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports, International Hunter Education Association, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Archery Trade Association, nine state departments of natural resources and many other groups.
The Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports mission is to facilitate the promotion and growth of hunting and the shooting sports and the education of the public on the contributions that hunters and shooters make toward wildlife conservation. It is supported by the Multistate Conservation Grant Program as awarded by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
