Kirk Lingofelt, statewide hunter education coordinator for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, will lead a hunter training program field day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at the shooting range on Mud Bay Road.
Students who have successfully completed the online portion of the $15 hunter education course through the Alaska Hunter Education Course website are required to participate in a field day to earn a certification card, which is valid for life.
Lingofelt said these field days happen in Haines about once a year. Participants will review classroom materials, practice unloading and loading a gun, learn gun handling, tree stand safety and survival skills, pass a proficiency shoot test and more. Lingofelt said only about four or five hunters are registered for this weekend’s event, and more spots are available.
Lingofelt will also lead an archery instruction workshop 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Klukwan School. He will teach any adults willing to instruct archery as part of the National Archery in the Schools Program. School teachers are the predominant instructors, but anyone is welcome.
Students in both Haines and Klukwan are among 7,000 students throughout the state that participate in the program, he said. Lingofelt said it’s a great program because kids don’t have to be the faster runner or the best athlete to be good at archery. “Every kid can do this.”