New Year Underway for PA Mentored Youth Hunting Program

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HARRISBURG, Pa. , Aug. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania Game Commission ExecutiveDirector Carl G. Roe today reminded experienced hunters, who have historically helpedpass along the state's rich hunting heritage, that the new licenseyear means another year to begin introducing youths to huntingthrough the Mentored Youth Hunting Program (MYHP).
"Pennsylvania's hunters have a remarkable opportunity to introducethose under the age of 12 to hunting," Roe said. "Hunting is deeplywoven into the cultural fabric that is Pennsylvania , and it is important that we recruit new hunters to carry on thistradition."
Roe noted that the logic behind the Mentored Youth Hunting Programis simple and clear: create expanded youth hunting opportunitieswithout compromising safety afield.
"This program paves the way for youngsters to nurture theirinterest in hunting early and allows them to take a more activerole in actual hunting while afield with mentoring adults," Roesaid. "The program accommodates hands-on use of sporting arms andcan promote a better understanding and interest in hunting andwildlife conservation that will help assure hunting's future, aswell as reinforce the principles of hunting safely through theclose supervision provided by dedicated mentors."
Under the program, a mentor is defined as a properly licensedindividual at least 21 years of age, who will serve as a guide to ayouth while engaged in hunting or related activities, such asscouting, learning firearms or hunter safety and wildlifeidentification. A mentored youth is identified as an unlicensedindividual less than 12 years of age who is accompanied by a mentorwhile engaged in hunting or related activities.
The regulations require that the mentor-to-mentored youth ratio beone-to-one, and that the pair possesses only one sporting arm whenhunting. While moving, the sporting arm must be carried by thementor. When the pair reaches a stationary hunting location, thementor may turn over possession of the sporting arm to the youthand must keep the youth within arm's length at all times.
The species identified as legal game for the 2008-09 license yearare woodchucks (groundhogs), squirrels, spring gobbler and antlereddeer. At its June meeting, the Board of Game Commissioners gaveunanimous approval to add coyote hunting to the list of speciesthat mentored youth hunters can pursue. For the addition to takeeffect, the proposal must be approved at a subsequent meeting ofthe Board.
Those youths participating in the MYHP are required to follow thesame antler restrictions as a junior license holder, which is oneantler of three or more inches in length or one antler with atleast two points. The program also requires that both the mentorand the youth must abide by any fluorescent orange regulations, andthat the mentored youth must tag and report any antlered deer orspring gobbler taken by making and attaching a tag that containshis or her name, address, date, WMU, township, and county where itwas taken. The youth must submit a harvest report card, which isavailable on page 33 of the 2008-09 Pennsylvania Digest of Hunting and Trapping Regulations , within five days for any antlered deer or spring gobbler he orshe takes.
For more information on the program, visit the Game Commission'swebsite ( www.pgc.state.pa.us ) and click on "Mentored Youth FAQs" in "Quick Clicks" box in theupper right corner of the homepage. Information also is included onpage 15 of the 2008-09 Pennsylvania Digest of Hunting and Trapping Regulations , and a sample harvest tag can be found on page 33 of the Digest.
To continue hunting once a youth reaches the age of 12, they willneed to and pass a basic Hunter-Trapper Education course andpurchase either a junior hunting license or a junior combinationlicense. For a listing of HTE courses, visit the Game Commission'swebsite ( www.pgc.state.pa.us ) and click on the "Hunter Education" calendar in the right-handcolumn of the homepage.
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SOURCE Pennsylvania Game Commission