IHEIA – Presidents Letter Wednesday,
August 18, 2010
Notes from Bill Sterner, IHEIA President
Iowa
Hunter Education Instructor Association
I am a little remiss in my responsibilities. The annual banquet and fund raising
auction took place in late June and I’m just now getting this page updated.
Some comments on the success of our fundraising efforts are contained elsewhere
in this website if you’re interested.
The partnering of the Iowa Hunter Education Instructor
Association in a closer relationship with the Iowa DNR has been a favorable move
for both organizations and I want to thank all of the DNR staff for their help
and support. The spirit of cooperation between the two organizations is higher
than it has ever been. While we remain two separate organizations, IHEIA
perceives the joining of our efforts to achieve a common goal to be a great
benefit and I hope that the DNR does as well.
It may seem strange to some that two organizations created for
completely different reasons can find a common thread, but I think anyone would
agree that the safety of anyone taking to the field to enjoy any form or
recreation can only be a positive aspect of the experience. As long as people
enjoy the outdoors and can feel safe and confident in the outdoors, they’ll be
interested in preserving our natural resources.
Hunter education instructors teach rules and ideas that can
help individuals build the knowledge base and self confidence necessary to
interact in areas that may be outside their comfort zone. Class time doesn’t
permit us to do extensive training, but records bear out that the introduction
of ideas and some basic practice make a vast difference. If the individuals are
already comfortable in the outdoors hopefully we can teach them to more fully,
and safely, enjoy that environment.
One responsibility of the DNR is to ensure that while people
are participating in whatever endeavor they pursue in the outdoors they do so in
a lawful and ethical manner. Ensuring this lawful and ethical use of our
environment is much more involved than most of us can imagine. We have no idea
how many millions of state residents and out of state visitors participate in
outdoor activities each year or how few officers there are state wide to enforce
the proper use of our natural resources. When you consider all of the different
types of hunting seasons, fishing seasons, trapping seasons, etc., etc. that run
concurrently, you can understand the seeming impossibility of their task.
If we as hunter education instructors hold ourselves to high
standards and do our best to instill good basic safety awareness and ethics in
all of our students the job we strive to accomplish will pay off in a higher
degree of safety for at least that portion of the population who avail
themselves of the hunter education classes. Take pride in the fact that even as
a volunteer you have the ability to so drastically affect the spirit and the
moral fiber of every student you instruct. Pat yourselves on the back for giving
time to such a worthwhile program, and thank the DNR for giving you the
opportunity to do so.
Thanks
for caring
Bill Sterner
President, IHEIA
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