From I-15 take the 2600 South/woods cross/Bountiful Exit 315.
Head
east through highway 89 to 500 west, turn right. In approximately 1/4
mile, you will come to Orchard Drive, turn right(south) 1 block, turn
left(east) on 3100 South(Stop light), head east to 400 east, turn right.
At
the top of 400 east, turn right (south) to Summerwood Drive (East side
of the road) follow summerwood drive to the first street on your left,
this is Hidden Lakes Drive, follow Hidden lakes drive east to Hidden
Hollow circle(On your left).
“Promoting responsible bowhunting through education”
In a meeting with members of the BOU board on June 13, the Division of Wildlife Resources unveiled innovations in Utah’s bowhunter education program.
There are 3 types of bowhunter education in Utah. First, there’s a brief overview included in the mandatory hunter education program. Second, there’s an online ethics course that’s prerequisite for bowhunters who want to hunt in Utah’s extended areas. Neither of these programs is affected by changes to the third program - the NBEF bowhunter education program administered in Utah by the DWR.
Completion of the NBEF course is mandatory for all bowhunters in a number of states, but Utah isn’t one of them. Still, the course is valuable and important. Not only can it reduce wounding rates and improve bowhunter success, but it’s an enjoyable and informative course for both novice bowhunters and experienced veterans of the sport.
In the past, the program has gathered approximately 150 instructors in the state. Yet course offerings have been sporadic or even non-existent in some areas. And while many of the existing certified instructors (including several members of BOU) have been highly qualified and passionate about promoting bowhunting, other certified instructors have had little or no experience as bowhunters.
To improve access to quality instruction, the DWR has voided all existing instructor certifications and set new minimal requirements for future instructors:
All instructors must recertify.
Instructors must pass the new NBEF “distance learning” online course before attending instructor training.
Instructors must pass a criminal background check.
Instructors must have a minimum of 3 years bowhunting experience.
Instructors must offer or assist in at least one course each year.
Instructors must attend 2 program semiUtah/NBEF Bowhunter Education
We strongly encourage qualified bowhunters to support this new program by becoming certified NBEF instructors and by encouraging others in your area of the state to do likewise. The DWR will provide local training sessions. For more information and to apply to become an instructor, visit the DWR website. If you have other questions or concerns, feel free to contact
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, BOU Bowhunter Education specialist.
We’re on the final days of our countdown to the Bowhunters of Utah annual convention! We’ll be getting together this year at the Lee Kay Hunter Education Center (6000 West 2100 South, Salt Lake City) on Saturday, June 26 from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm. Bring the whole clan along for a day of friends, food, a great raffle and of course, plenty of opportunity for everyone to shoot.
One important item of business that we attend to each year at this time is the election of the BOU Board for the coming year. Board members volunteer to serve for two years.
First, we want to give a hearty thanks to the outgoing Board members for their service:
Shaun Graves – President, (who will continue to serve as Emeritus)
Todd Black – Project Manager
Lance Postma – Northern Committee Chair
Brandon Reynolds – Central Committee Chair
Next, the following Board members will continue for the second year of their tenure:
Michael “Finnegan” Anderson – Vice President
Damon Stone – Newsletter Editor
Frank Taylor – Bowhunter Education
Brad Griffeth – Treasurer
Brad Smith – Membership
Trev Smith – Southern Committee Chair
Randy “Pudge” O’Neil – South Central Committee Chair
Finally, the following unopposed candidates have offered to serve with your approval:
Gordy Bell – President
Tye Boulter – Project Manager
Walter Bird – Southeastern Committee Chair
Daniel Davis – Northeastern Committee Chair
Aaron Albiston – Northern Committee Chair
This is the first year since BOU was founded that we’ve been fortunate enough to have all of these positions filled. But there’ll be plenty of work to be done as we move ahead into the future which promises to offer new opportunities, challenges and fundamental changes to bowhunting in Utah. So if you’d like to serve by becoming a candidate, or if you’re just interested in becoming more actively involved, we certainly want to hear from you!
Please take a moment to cast your vote of confidence for these positions.
Here are some introductory statements from a few of the candidates -
What a great day! We would like to extend our appreciation
to all who made this year’s BOU convention a great success! Saturday June 26th
proved to be the best convention in BOU history thanks to the UDWR, BOU
officials and lastly, but definitely not leastly
(I know, but it just sounded so nice) this years attendees who made it all
possible.
We had a great day on the newly constructed 3D/target range
with an open shoot as well as a free kids shoot, great food provided by
renowned executive grill chef, Gordy Bell and a raffle to beat all raffles. If
you missed this one, you missed out on a chance for quite a few prizes
including a shoulder mount taxidermy for this years wall hanger, a beautiful
custom long bow provided by Mike Bird, a slew of items donated by Camp Chef,
backpacks by King’s and Badlands, as well as a beautiful custom fly rod
provided by BOU’s own, Kelly Hicks.
Below are a few photos of this year’s festivities. Thanks
again to all who participated and added to the success of this year’s convention.
We look forward to seeing you at the upcoming shoots at Hill Archers on the 31st
of July and the “in the making” shoot at the BOU sponsored Hidden Lakes 3D
range in Bountiful. Stay tuned!
“They did a study that showed that if a kid isn’t involved in hunting by the age of 7, he never will get involved.”
Maybe you’ve heard that nugget somewhere. Maybe you’ve even said it. Or maybe you’re one of the many avid hunters who know that it isn’t true because you started hunting after age 7.
But it’s true that retention and recruitment of hunters is an important matter these days. After all, hunters are a primary source of conservation revenue, not to mention our contribution to the retail economy. More importantly, even though it can’t be quantified or measured, hunting has intrinsic values that sometimes seem forgotten in the current “industry” of big bulls and big bucks. (Pun intended)
Fish and game agencies across the country have been aware of declining participation in hunting for some time. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has conducted surveys since 1955. Their 2001 national survey estimated approximately 13 million hunters over the age of 17 and an additional 1.6 million hunters between the ages of 6 and 15 at the time. That sounds impressive until we realize that it was 6% of the population and a decline of over 1 million hunters from the previous survey in 1991. Their 2006 survey estimated only 12.5 million hunters. So the national trend appears to be a steady decline of 100,000 hunters each year. The Utah survey in 2006 indicated 178,000 resident hunters in the state – 24,000 of those being youth age 6 to 15, reflecting a similar although less dramatic decline despite a steady increase in the state’s population.
