At the end of December, I wrote a column about how we sportsmen should consider passing on our hunting, fishing and trapping heritage to the next generation.
Wisconsin has about 100,000 fewer deer hunters today than it had in 2000, during the peak of the state’s harvest. Young people are busy with school sports, video games, social media and dating, and they are just not taking up hunting or fishing like they once did.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says there are about half the number of hunters under age 17 that there were 50 years ago.
There’s an organization that aims to change this trend, and its efforts in Wisconsin and other states make it easy for you to get involved. Pass it On – Outdoor Mentors also makes it easy for young or inexperienced hunters, anglers and trappers to enjoy these activities for the first time, and hopefully make it the lifelong passion we have.
Pass it On – Outdoor Mentors’ roots started in 2002 in Wichita, Kansas, after founder and operations director Mike Christensen coordinated an outdoor mentoring program that was part of the Kansas Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. It spun off in 2006 as its own 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
The program really took off when the organization hired Brittany French as CEO in 2016, said Bobby Cole, regional program coordinator. French worked with trapshooting clubs in high schools and colleges to help introduce new shooters to the shooting sports and hunting.
In 2021, Outdoor Mentors had expanded to Iowa, Missouri and Tennessee, Cole said. In 2024, the organization hired Quinn Erdmann, a Menominee Falls native and University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point wildlife ecology graduate, to coordinate the Wisconsin program.
The mentoring program has continued to spread to Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. The current CEO (formerly CEO of Delta Waterfowl), Scott Petrie, has an ambitious plan to spread Outdoor Mentors branches in 40 states within four years, Cole said.
In many cases, Outdoor Mentors contracts with state Departments of Natural Resources to provide a specific number of events (hunts, classes, etc.). Erdmann said he coordinates 12 Learn to Hunt or other events, six hunter education classes and about 120 mentoring events a year through the WDNR.
Although many seasoned hunters take their young charges on turkey or deer hunts, predator, raccoon, waterfowl, upland game, small game and almost any other hunting are OK, too, Erdmann noted.
Although there is no lower age limit to participate in a Wisconsin hunt, the hunter must be a hunter safety graduate. A parent or guardian also accompanies the hunter.
Although the mentee hunters receive a “Things to Know” guide about what to expect from their first hunt, he cautions mentors not to push their expectations on their young charges.
“’It’s a failure if I go duck hunting and I don’t limit on greenheads,’” Erdmann said of some mentors’ views. “They (new hunters) will be happy with one. Don’t diminish that because it’s not to your standards.”
The organization is funded on donations, fundraising events and raffles, including a Gun a Week raffle, all of which are listed on the website, Cole noted. Many sporting goods companies also have provided generous donations. An online auction each October includes a variety of hunting and fishing trips that anyone can bid on.
I’ve signed up to take a young hunter and a parent on a turkey hunt through Outdoor Mentors, and I hope you will, too. Our sport’s future depends on it. Erdmann said any experienced hunter or trapper can reach him by calling or texting him at 316-833-7890.
The easiest way to become a mentor or participate in a hunt or other activity is to visit the Outdoor Mentors website at https://outdoormentors.org/.
Click on the Mentor tab of the home page to fill out a mentor application form and get a mandatory background check (the records check is $25, but the organization will pay for it unless you want to make a donation to cover the cost). Erdmann will reach out to you via phone, text or email, and later put you in touch with an interested hunter, trapper or angler.
Young or inexperienced hunters interested in a hunt can click on the Participate tab. This tab also works for landowners who want to offer a place to hunt, shooting sports coaches who want to help and a list of events near you, which includes Outdoor Mentors-based hunter safety classes and Learn to Hunt events.
Ross Bielema is a freelance writer from New London and owner of Wolf River Concealed Carry LLC, offering monthly concealed carry classes in the New London area. Contact him at Ross@wolfriverccw.com.
