Western Outdoor Times - Times Spent Outdoors: Priceless!

Youth participants in the Arizona Game and Fish Department's hunter education program will receive a blaze orange ("hunter orange") cap when they graduate, thanks to a $9,700 grant from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF). The grant will provide 2,475 caps for the program this year.

"Blaze orange enhances hunter safety by making the wearer more visible to other hunters in the field," says Denise Raum, conservation education program manager for Game and Fish. "While not required in Arizona, we recommend that hunters wear blaze orange clothing or caps."

Blake Henning, RMEF vice president of Lands and Conservation, says, "We appreciate the opportunity to reach out to youth who are entering the field to hunt. Doing so is a key element of our mission to enhance our hunting heritage.

"The grant funding comes from the Torstenson Family Endowment, named in honor of Bob Torstenson - a man who had a passion for passing on his love of hunting to the next generation."

Arizona's hunter education program teaches students about firearm and hunting safety, outdoor skills, hunter ethics and laws, and wildlife conservation. The class can be taken either online or in a classroom setting (classroom courses are a minimum of 12 hours of classroom learning). Both courses require completion of a hands-on field day and exam.

"We very much appreciate receiving the grant from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, as the caps will reinforce the safety message that we convey to our hunter education students," says Raum.

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation was founded more than 30 years ago by hunters and now has more than 200,000 members. The organization works to ensure the future of elk and other wildlife and the nation's hunting heritage.

RMEF has conserved more than 6.5 million acres of wildlife habitat and also works to open and improve public access and fund and advocate for science-based resource management. For more information, visit http://www.rmef.org.