Bicycling Hunting Motorcycling Off-Roading Paved-road Shotgun On-road ATV Off-road Rifle Off-road ROV Dune buggies Jeeping

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1 North American Model Curriculum The North American Model is one of the best ways to educate those who do not hunt or fish about how hunters and anglers are the true conservationists. In all the years that I have been involved in our sport I have yet to come across an effective way to educate those other voters and decision makers on my way of life and choice when it comes to wildlife. The way we as sportsmen and women have been trying to keep out Hunting and Angling Heritage alive has been through recruitment and retention. I believe that we should continue to retain and recruit hunter and anglers but the average age of today s hunter is over 55 years of age and it is growing older as you read this. We as sportsmen have a huge uphill battle more so today than ever since technology is getting harder to compete with. As our world moves faster than ever it has become even more difficult to slow it down and take a new person into the outdoors. We can however apply the NAM Curriculum in a class room setting and at the teachers pace the future of this country can be taught about wildlife conservation the way we as hunters and anglers see it.3 Back in 1958 Arizona sold 187,559 fishing licenses and in 1986 Arizona sold 507,864 fishing licenses the best year as of In 2003 it sold 381,705. I am using the fishing license sales in Arizona because we have more anglers than we do hunters. The top 10 years and bottom 10 years for fishing license sales from in Arizona are as follows: Information taken from the US Fish and Wildlife National Fishing License Report Link: Top 10 Bottom 10 Year licenses sold Year licenses sold , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,305 In 2006 there was a change on how our wildlife departments and agencies look at the numbers to gauge how we are doing over all. Now our wildlife agencies or departments are stating that there is a 9% increase in Outdoor Recreation Use in the USA. These include the following types of outdoor use; (The following information was taken from the Outdoor Industry Association and then press release from the National Shooting Sports Foundation on September 20, 2012) Link: Bicycling Hunting Motorcycling Off-Roading Paved-road Shotgun On-road ATV Off-road Rifle Off-road ROV Bow Dune buggies Jeeping Camping Fishing Wildlife Viewing RV campsite Recreational fly Bird watching Tent campsite Recreational non-fly Other Wildlife watching Rustic lodging Fishing from a boat

2 Snow Sports Trail SPORTS Water sports Downhill skiing Trail running, unpaved Kayaking (Including telemark) Day hiking, unpaved Stand-up paddling Snowboarding Backpacking Rafting Cross-country skiing Rock climbing Canoeing Nordic skiing (Natural rock or ice) Boating (motorized) Snowshoeing Snowmobiling The question is how these outdoor activities contribute to wildlife habitat improvement, wildlife management, and hunter and angler recruitment and retention. When using the numbers of people participating in outdoor activities versus how many actually participate in hunting and angling. Big difference I am sure but I feel this is a way to inflate the actual numbers of hunters and anglers by changing the way our agencies actually report the numbers. In 2007 the Arizona Game and Fish Department started developing the curriculum to be used and could be taught at the high school level. The North American Model (aka NAM) curriculum was development by Kellie Tharp and the Arizona Game and Fish Department currently being used nationwide. It was finalized and released on September 2010 and since then over 400 NAM curriculum books have been given out to educators across Arizona. The course could be taught in History, Government and Social Studies class rooms at the eleventh grade high school level. Currently in Arizona there are over 30,000 students that are in the eleventh grade. They are our target audience. If we can do this every year we can educated over 300,000 (three hundred thousand) students over the next 10 years. That is more than we can recruit or retain in a 10 year span. Education of the NAM is the most effective way of educating our future leaders, parents and most important future voters on why we hunt and fish. Most of these children may never wet a line on a stream or lake or even look down the sights of a firearm but they will make decisions when it comes to voting on important issues that we face today and in the future. The anti-hunting organizations have been pounding their message on the public and doing a good job at it. Through education of the NAM we will be able to inform and educate our future (children) even after we are all gone. The Arizona Game and Fish Department Education Branch are currently having Nam education sessions for Arizona teachers across the state. The AZGFD is also conducting webinars for those teachers that cannot attend in person. Here is some basic information and an informal timeline of our potential NAM training sessions; of course this is all subject to change based on registration and attendance of educators. Here are my estimates for : August - AZ Council for History Education Conference presentation participants (Mesa) 15 September Teacher Ambassadors (Statewide) 15 September Online NAM training (Statewide) 30 October - AZ Council for Social Studies Education presentation participants (Phoenix) 25 December National Science Teachers Association Regional Conference presentation participants - 30 February/March Two regional district level workshops (Phoenix and Tucson) 50 June/July Summer Teacher Academy (Horseshoe Ranch) 20 Ongoing Archived online training (Statewide) 15 Total for Year 1 ( ): 180 binders distributed Year 2 ( ) would have a few changes. There likely would not be presentations at ACHE, ACSS or NSTA. The number of new teacher ambassadors requiring the curriculum would be lowered. However, there would be an increase in the number of archived online training participants receiving the curriculum. In addition, a push would be made to use the teacher ambassadors to increase the number of district level trainings offered. Likely 300 binders could be distributed in a two year period starting now and ending in June The NAM Curriculum binder cost $21.00 each and will have the Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife Conservation and the Wildlife Conservation Committee information in them as the sponsor for the binder. Along with

3 this it will also list all the current names of the AZSFWC\WCC member groups and the wildlife license plate information. We will also make sure that the educators here in Arizona are informed about the grant process incase that they choose to apply for any funding to further expand their education sessions with their students when it comes to the NAM. Most school districts also have 501c3 s that they can use to apply for grants. The amount of funding being requested from the license plate fund is $ The binders will take 3 weeks to complete.

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5 The Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife Conservation (AZSFWC) is proud to provide the funding for this edition of America s Wildlife: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow! We believe it s of critical importance to help educate today s youth on the role sportsmen and women have played in conserving wildlife and ensuring future generations of Arizonans have the same opportunity to not only enjoy seeing our diverse wildlife across the State, but also have the opportunity to hunt, fish and trap like prior generations were able to. Sportsmen and women have played a critical role in the conservation of wildlife and habitat for decades in support of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. Self imposed taxes on hunting and fishing gear and license dollars continue to be the primary funding sources for the Arizona Game & Fish Department. And in addition, we are able to provide the funds to publish this book through the sales of our Conserving Wildlife license plate, available for purchase at Arizona DOT offices and the Service Arizona website. AZSFWC is a non-profit 501c-3 organization. Our membership is a diverse group of conservation groups, sportsman s clubs and fishing groups that all believe in the importance of our hunting and fishing heritage. Our Mission is to educate and inform sportsmen, wildlife conservation organizations throughout the state, and the public at large on important issues related to wildlife and wildlife habitat and to provide, via grants or other sources, funding to conserve Arizona's wildlife populations through habitat enhancement initiatives. We hope you not only enjoy this book, but also learn to appreciate the role hunters and fisherman have played in the process! Yours in Conservation, Jim Unmacht AZSFWC President Arizona Houndmen s Association

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