Recruitment: Finding more hunters, anglers
Though the number of Minnesota hunters and anglers has remained steady at about 1.1 million anglers and 550,000 hunters, the percentage of Minnesotans who hunt and fish is declining, as it is nationally.
So last year DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr established a council to explore the recruitment and retention issue. The 15-member group produced recommendations, released Saturday. Among them:
• Develop school sporting clubs for youths age 8 to 18 and develop a marketing campaign to target adults age 18 to 44.
• Develop learn-to-hunt and fish workshops for adults age 18 to 44 and family-oriented outdoor skills sampler events.
• Create a web-based clearinghouse of hunting, fishing and outdoor skills information, targeted for adults 18 to 44.
• Create a reverse mentoring campaign in which younger hunters would be encouraged to take an older adult hunting and fishing, trying to maintain participation of adults 45 and older.
• Create a new family license that incorporates hunting, fishing, state park admittance and other privileges.
