Unique Program Offers Youth First-Hand Experience of the Great Outdoors

Angelina House of Hawke’s Bay is the provincial winner of the 2011 Atlantic Province’s Youth Hunting and Fishing Exchange Program. The program, which creates opportunities for youth in Atlantic Canada to become involved in conservation awareness and hunting and angling, was hosted this year by Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia. Ms. House travelled to Nova Scotia last month to take part in white-tailed deer and black bear hunts.

“I am very pleased to see youth in our province embrace hunting and angling through the Youth Hunting and Fishing Exchange Program, and I congratulate Ms. House and her chaperone for the trip, Krista Perry, on having a safe and successful hunt,” said the Honourable Terry French, Minister of Environment and Conservation. “The fact that we had approximately 300 qualified candidates speaks to the interest that youth in our province have in our natural heritage and hunting traditions.”

The Youth Hunting and Fishing Exchange Program is endorsed by the governments of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. The program is intended to create opportunities for youth in Atlantic Canada to experience hunting and angling in neighboring provinces, and also gain a greater appreciation and understanding of conservation values and wildlife management within their own communities. Youth between the ages of 12 and 17 who participated in the provincial Firearms Safety/Hunter Education Course between July 2010 and June 2011 qualified for this year’s draw, as well as youth who participated in other events sanctioned by the wildlife division such as youth hunter skills events.

The Nova Scotia winner was 17-year-old Aaron Creamer who fished for Atlantic salmon during his trip to Newfoundland and Labrador. Mr. Creamer, accompanied by his father, spent four days at Tuckamore Lodge in Main Brook.

Each year, a number of sponsors in the hosting provinces provide accommodations and services which permit the delivery of the program.

“The success of this program relies on the many volunteers and sponsors, and I would like to offer my gratitude to Barb Genge and her staff at Tuckamore Lodge who have consistently supported this program since it began in 2001,” said Minister French. “I also want to recognize the significant contribution that firearms safety and hunter education instructors make to our communities by helping to ensure that students have the knowledge and skills to become safe and responsible hunters and firearms owners, along with an understanding of sustainable wildlife conservation principles and values.”

Additional sponsors for this year’s exchange program were Bay of Islands Volunteer Search and Rescue, Barnes Sporting Goods, the Newfoundland and Labrador Outfitters Association, the Newfoundland and Labrador Conservation Officers Association, the Nova Scotia Federation of Anglers and Hunters, Jabs Guide and Outfitting Services, Nova Scotia’s Hunter Education instructors, and the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources.

For more information about the Atlantic Province’s Youth Hunting and Fishing Exchange Program, visit www.gov.nl.ca/env/wildlife/education/index.html or contact Jason Foster at 709-637-2063.

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Photo: Angelina House, provincial winner of the 2011 Atlantic Province’s Youth Hunting and Fishing Exchange Program, and Krista Perry on their white-tailed deer hunt in Nova Scotia.

Media contact:
Melony O’Neill
Director of Communications
Department of Environment and Conservation
709-729-2575, 689-0928
moneill@gov.nl.ca 

2011 11 17             11:55 a.m.