R3 Program Expanding Outreach to All Campuses

The vast majority of funding for the ADCNR's conservation efforts comes from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses as well as those who purchase a Wildlife Heritage License to use one of the state-managed shooting and/or archery facilities. Federal three-to-one matching funds are allocated according to the number of licenses sold and the state's land mass.

The R3 Program will soon add another assistant, Bridget Murphy, who will focus on visiting classrooms in the state to share the conservation message.

"Bridget's position is focused on the education component, so I think about her and Olivia's efforts as a one-two punch," Grider said. "Bridget will provide conservation education in schools, specifically."

Grider said WFF has been participating in education for years, doing guest lectures, acting as a subject-matter expert in labs and field work. Freeman's work at Auburn University led directly to the hiring of Wilkes.

"Bill taught a hunter education class at Auburn," Grider said. "Olivia went through that class and wanted to continue to get more involved. She did a few ride-alongs, and Bill got her involved in some other programs and mentored her. He taught her to become a hunter, and that led to her pursuing a career in conservation and specifically doing the things she did in college. It's really neat to see that come full circle."

Freeman said that seeing the students embrace the many aspects of the outdoors is especially gratifying.

"It's great to see students who don't have any background in hunting or fishing that come for the first time and harvest an animal, like a deer," Freeman said. "We teach them to field dress and process that meat. It makes you feel good that they jump right in. They are very involved. They really want to do it, and it's great to see how excited they are to get to prepare their own meat for the table. It's eye-opening to see what that opportunity can do for someone who does not come from that kind of background."

The R3 efforts in Alabama will be among those showcased when the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports holds its National R3 Symposium May 29 through June 1 at the Riverview Plaza Hotel in downtown Mobile.

"We're honored to host that," Grider said. "We'll have R3 professionals from agencies, NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and industry that will represent the conservation community. We will have sessions to brainstorm and talk about programs that are working. We'll talk about new ideas and new concepts. We'll talk about what we can do to change this long-term decrease in participation that we are seeing nationally and, in some cases, regionally.

"We're fortunate in Alabama that our participation numbers are relatively steady. Our license holder numbers are actually up this year, which is a positive trend. I think some of the positive trends are a result of our agency's work but also things happening nationally that are contributing to folks getting outdoors, understanding where their food comes from, spending time in nature, spending time with friends and family in places that are conducive to their well-being and mental health. We're excited to host folks from all over. We have a lot of great programs in Alabama. We're really proud of what we do, so we're excited for them to see our state and some of our programs. We're going to encourage some of them to do some redfishing, trout fishing and maybe snapper fishing while they're here."

One of the R3 programs that will be highlighted at the Symposium is the Adult Mentored Hunting Program, which is headed by Regional R3 Coordinator Brandon Holloway. The mentored hunts are aimed at individuals with no or limited hunting experience who can learn from veteran mentors about all aspects of the hunt from how to prepare to head afield to preparation of the harvested animal for the family table.

Holloway said the hunts have been well-received by those who participated in the Adult Mentored Hunting Program as well as hunts on the Special Opportunity Areas (SOAs). Visit www.outdooralabama.com/hunting/special-opportunity-areas and www.outdooralabama.com/hunting/adult-mentored-hunting-program for more information.

"We're getting positive feedback from people who are coming through the program," Holloway said. "They enjoy it. We've had several people who have come through the program go out and hunt on their own. Several have harvested deer and turkeys, and they send us pictures and say, 'Thank you,' for the course.

"We've had people who will be return customers, and we hope to be able to increase those numbers. Some of the people who participated in the Adult Mentored Program have come back to the agency to attend other programs that we offer. We have people come back and want to become a mentor. We have assisted them through classes and a vetting process, and they're doing great."

Grider added, "There are absolutely people who jump in head-first, from selling their sedan and buying a four-wheel-drive truck to people buying land so they have their own place to manage and hunt. It has an incredible impact on some people. And then there are people who decide that hunting is more than what they want to get into, but they have learned about the Department and how conservation is funded. We have allies now; folks who are going out and sharing that information, spreading the word and helping us increase our footprint and overall impact of the program. We want people to participate, but we also want people to support and advocate. We're getting that from this program year after year."

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