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Federation Position on Fish and Wildlife Department's Hunter Education Coordinator In these challenging economic times, the call to cut the size and the scope of state government is heard throughout our state. Some proposed cuts make sense. Some don’t Having a Fish and Wildlife Department without its hunter education coordinator – an idea currently on the table – is just pure nonsense. The hunter education coordinator is one of six positions in Fish and Wildlife scheduled to be sliced in the latest round of budget cuts. It is emblematic of other “at risk” positions. There’s not a single sound reason to lose that job, in fact, cutting it might be one of the worst things to happen to Vermont’s hunting heritage in a long, long time. Here’s why: It doesn’t cost a nickel: 25 percent of the position is paid by contributions from Vermont sportsmen, the 75 percent from excise taxes paid by Vermont hunters and shooters. Get this: the 25 percent doesn’t even come in money; it comes in the hours put in by some 300 volunteer hunter ed instructors. Cutting a program that doesn’t cost any money fails to save Vermonter’s a single dime. It’s a moneymaker for the department: Fish & Wildlife depends on license revenues to meet its budget, and the hunter education coordinator is directly responsible for expanding that pool of potential license buyers. Last year, for instance, more than 4,500 Vermonters successfully completed hunter, bow and trapper education courses. That’s 4,500 new customers able to walk in and buy a license. It’s a moneymaker for the state: Hunters spend more than $189 million annually in Vermont, much of that in small businesses like gun shops, hotels and grocery stores. It’s easy math: more hunters means more money all the way around. It’s about safety: Since 1975, when hunter education became mandatory in Vermont, the average number of hunting accidents has decreased almost 75 percent, from an average of 15 accidents a year to just four to five a year. Weakening a program with that kind of success is a huge disservice to all Vermonters. Slashing the hunter ed coordinator position from Fish and Wildlife illuminates again the need to secure a sustainable, long-term funding source for the department, a goal the Vermont Wildlife Partnership has been striving for. Carving out a tiny fraction of the sales tax is the way to go. It is an idea both supported by a wide majority of Vermonters according to a recent statewide poll and recommended by a recent legislative task force. This is what’s needed to keep the department afloat and insure that it doesn’t fall whim to politics of the day. It’s one idea that makes good sense.