Area residents will have an opportunity to learn basic principles of safe hunting at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources hunter safety certification course. Participants must attend all 10 hours of instruction to complete the course and receive their safety certification.
The course will be offered in three times and participants must attend all three sessions: 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, March 1; 6-8 p.m. Thursday, March 3; and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 5 at the University of Illinois Extension Office in Carmi.
The course is geared toward youth, but older hunters are also encouraged to attend the classes since many states now require out-of-state hunters to show proof of certification. A 1996 Illinois law requires that all hunters born after Jan. 1, 1980 must successfully complete the hunter education course before they can receive their first hunting license. Participants completing the course receive a hunter education certification card which verifies they have passed the course.
The ten-hour course includes instruction in wildlife management, firearms safety, hunter ethics, game identification, first aid, survival techniques and regulations. There is no age limit but needs to be old enough to read the test. The lead instructor will be Mr. Bobby Lamp.
To register, one may call the Extension office at 382-2662 by March 1. The class is limited to 25 participants so don’t wait to register!
