Hunter education is required for anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1975, who wants to purchase an Idaho hunting license.

The overall goal of the program is the prevention of hunting- and- firearm-related accidents, but emphasis is also placed on improving knowledge about wildlife management, the heritage of hunting and promoting hunting ethics and responsibility.

If your sights are set on hunting this year and you need to complete Idaho’s hunter education requirement, now is the perfect time to sign up for a course. You can even start hunting in the spring in Idaho’s spring turkey and bear seasons if you complete the requirement now.

An instructor-led course is considered the best option for youths up to age 14 and for individuals having a limited hunting background. These are easy to sign up for by going to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game website.

A second option is an online course. This option is available for older students with excellent reading comprehension. While convenient and allowing much of the course to be taken at home, the online option requires that students register for and attend a field day where a field exercise and written exam are given.

For more information, or to register for a course or field day, visit the Fish and Game website at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov. Click on the “Education” tab, or the “Hunting’ tab (both at the top of the front page). You will next see the “view and sign up for courses” tab.

Several options will be available by opening the tab, including instructor-led courses, internet courses, field days and trapping classes.

If you are looking for an instructor-led hunter education class in the Panhandle Region, these classes will be listed under the first box, “Hunter and Bow-hunter Combo Instructor-Led Class.” You will find there are several classes currently scheduled in the Panhandle. All instructor-led classes in the Panhandle provide certification in both hunter education and archery education. To sign up for a class in the Panhandle, you will only find Panhandle area classes on the hunter/bow-hunter combo class list.

Another option is getting a Hunting Passport. This special opportunity is a component of the Idaho Fish and Game mentored hunting program. The Passport allows any first-time hunter (resident or nonresident), age 8 and older, to try hunting with a licensed adult mentor…without first having to complete an Idaho hunter education course. Those who have previously held a hunting license in any state are not eligible. The cost is only $1.75.

The Hunting Passport allows a beginning hunter to experience hunting before committing to the coursework required to complete hunter education. But this option is only possible for new hunters who have a licensed, adult mentor who will accompany them at all times while hunting on the passport.

Volunteer hunter education instructors are the backbone of Idaho’s hunter education program. They are excellent instructors because they have spent a lot of time in the field on their own hunts. When the fall rolls around, these volunteers will be in the forests and fields creating new hunting memories, and they will spend less time in the classroom. Therefore, fewer spaces are available to take instructor led classes in the fall once the hunting seasons begin. If you can spare a few hours now for completing the training, you will be ready to go create some memories of your own.

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Phil Cooper is a wildlife conservation educator employed by Idaho Fish and Game in the Panhandle Region.