Iowa Department of Natural Resources Shooting Sports Program 2011 Annual Report & Five Year Recap Compiled by Ben Berka, Shooting Sports Coordinator 1 About the Shooting Sports Program The Iowa DNR Shooting Sports program was established by the department in October, 2006. The shooting sports program promotes target shooting programs and shooting ranges as a way to recruit and retain target shooters and hunters in the state of Iowa. Target shooting supports conservation efforts directly through excise tax generated via the Pittman Robertson act and indirectly by establishing relationships between sports men and women and the non-shooting general public. Iowa’s decline in resident hunting license sales Since 2006, the program has maintained three primary focus areas: 1. The National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) 2. The Iowa High School and Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) 3. The DNR Shooting Range Program The program is organized between the Law Enforcement and Wildlife bureaus of the DNR. Departmental staffing for the program is provided by one full-time Shooting Sports Coordinator, seven seasonal (780 hours per fiscal year) Shooting Range Safety Officers (RSOs) with state tournament event support from Law Enforcement and Wildlife Bureau field staff. Extensive non-departmental support for the program comes from school teachers and volunteers at the local level. The program has an annual operating budget of around $200,000 per fiscal year. 2 In October 2011, the Department hired a shared Shooting Sports Outreach Coordinator position shared with Iowa State University (4H Shooting Sports) to assist with existing programs and extend the reach of the programs to the general public. National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) The National Archery in the Schools Program promotes international-style target archery as part of the in-school curriculum, to improve educational performance and participation in the shooting sports among students in grades 4-12. NASP is currently installed in 46 states and in over 10,000 schools nation-wide. The Shooting Sports Coordinator serves as Iowa State Coordinator for the NASP program and is responsible for all aspects of the program in the state. This role will be shared with the DNR/4H Shooting Sports Outreach Coordinator in the future. The program reaches well over 20,000 Iowa youth each year as part of the regular school day. Teacher Training: The foundation of the NASP program lies in its standardized Basic Archery Instructor (BAI) training workshop conducted primarily by the Shooting Sports Coordinator and the Shooting Sports Outreach Coordinator with occasional assistance from select county conservation board staff. In the BAI workshop, teachers and volunteers are taught how to run a NASP program in-school ((typically for 2 weeks (10 hours) as part of the physical education curriculum)). Many community parents and volunteers also attend this training to start or assist with a club-based NASP program. Since 2005, 686 NASP Basic Archery Instructors have been trained in Iowa. 3 NASP Basic Archery Instructor Workshops NASP Equipment: The National Archery in the Schools Program uses standardized equipment. Equipment may be purchased direct by schools or schools may apply for equipment grants through the Iowa Archery in the Schools Foundation. Equipment may also be checked out by schools through the department for use in the in-school curriculum. Information on NASP equipment can be found at: http://www.iowadnr.gov/idnr/Recreation/ShootingSports/ArcheryintheSchoolsNASP/CoachProgramResources.aspx NASP Club Programs: Schools conducting NASP archery as part of the in-school curriculum are eligible to participate in the Iowa NASP League and State Championship events which is coordinated by the Department. The league promotes face-to-face archery matches organized and conducted at the local level with registration and league administration handled by the Department. League events themselves are organized and conducted by NASP volunteers. The league runs from mid December through the end of February. The last weekend in February each year is the Iowa NASP State Championships. 4 Iowa High School and Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) The Iowa High School and Scholastic Clay Target Program is a youth development program promoting participation in the organized clay target shooting sports for elementary through colligate age groups. Volunteer coaches and school teachers lead local area programs much like other, traditional youth sports. Local teams may participate in local, regional, state and/or national level matches for trap, skeet and/or sporting clays. The Shooting Sports Coordinator serves as state advisor with SCTP National and is responsible for all aspects of the program in the state of Iowa. The SCTP has experienced steady growth since the department’s involvement in 2007 with nearly 1400 Iowa youth participating in 2011. Program website: http://www.iowadnr.gov/idnr/Recreation/ShootingSports/ClayTargetProgramSCTP.aspx 5 Coach Certification: Certified coaches are the backbone of the SCTP. Coaches participating in the program must complete a coach certification program. The Department has developed the Iowa DNR Basic Shotgun Coach Certification Program which is a one-day, discipline specific (i.e. trap, skeet or sporting clays) coach training conducted by the Shooting Sports Coordinator. Through 2011, the Shooting Sports Coordinator has certified 431 coaches with the program through 2011. Basic Shotgun Coach Certification Program Since 2007 The Shooting Sports Coordinator is also a member of the NRA and USA Shooting National Coach Development Staff (NCDS) and offers the Level I Shotgun Coach program. In 2011, 31 6 NRA/USAS Level I coaches were certified by SCTP National Staff assisted by the Shooting Sports Coordinator. Iowa High School and Scholastic Clay Target Program League The Iowa High School and SCTP league is where the bulk of the program participation takes place and where future program capacity lies. The league capacity is limited only by the number of events volunteer coaches are willing to host and by available facilities. League events are organized and conducted entirely with volunteer efforts. The Department’s role is in event advertizing and post-event results posting and tabulation. In 2011, there were 161 registered league events conducted in the state. Iowa High School and Scholastic Clay Target Program State Championships The Department is responsible for organizing the state championship events for the Iowa High School and Scholastic Clay Target Program. Four events are conducted each year in May and June (skeet, sporting clays, SCTP trap and High School Trap). Much like the rest of the program growth, the state championship events have grown. Skeet and trap events are currently near capacity given the current format of these shoots. 7 # Participants at Annual Iowa High School and SCTP State Championship Events Iowa Shooting Range Program The Iowa Shooting Range program provides 12 state facilities, general consulting to non-state shooting ranges and grant programs to support ranges and departmental programs. Iowa Shooting Range Areas The Iowa DNR currently has twelve shooting range areas across the state. These ranges typically reside on or near state wildlife areas or state parks. Of the twelve areas, two are fully staffed (Banner and Olofson) which are fee-based and two are partially staffed (Hawkeye and Princeton) during operating hours. The other 8 have no departmental supervision and are open from sunrise to sunset, 365 days per year. The ten partially staffed, or non-staffed ranges are open to the public for no charge. 8 Additional information on Iowa DNR Shooting Ranges can be found at: http://www.iowadnr.gov/idnr/Recreation/OtherActivities/IowaShootingRanges.aspx Iowa DNR Shooting Ranges Fully Staffed Ranges Banner Shooting Range (Indianola), located north of Indianola is owned and operated by the department. The range is managed by the Shooting Sports Coordinator and operated by five departmental Range Safety Officers (RSOs) who are seasonal (780 hours per fiscal year) employees. 9 Banner Range RSO Staff John Lalli – Chief RSO I started working for Iowa Department of Natural Resources as a Range Officer at Banner Shooting Range in 2002. I am currently a NRA certified Chief Range Safety Officer, NRA Certified Pistol Instructor and a DNR Basic Shotgun Coach. I graduated from the US Army small arms repair school. As a retired US Army Infantry Non-Commissioned Officer, I have extensive experience in small arms use and instruction. I have been reloading custom ammunition for approximately 10 years. My goal is to continue to educate the public in the sporting use of firearms, especially handguns. Garry Canny - RSO Gary Canny has worked at the Banner Shooting Range for over six years during which the range was rebuilt several times. The range is now a class operation that gets very positive comments from the users of the range. Gary is an NRA certified range safety officer and is an NRA certified handgun instructor. Spare time activities include fishing and shooting sports. Tyler Seuferer - RSO I have worked for the Iowa DNR since December of 2009 at the Banner Shooting Range while also employed for the Warren County Conservation Board in the summers. I’m currently a certified NRA Range Safety Officer and a NRA certified Pistol Instructor. I graduated in 2009 from Upper Iowa University with a Bachelors Degree in Conservation Management. I have hunted for the last 15 years for all animals in Iowa but live for bow hunting. My goals as a DNR employee is to further educate the public on gun safety and procedures and advance the shooting sports in the state of Iowa and to gain full time employment for the Iowa DNR. 10 Viken Koundakjian – RSO I have certifications in NRA Range safety officer and Basic Pistol Instructor. Like most of us, I grew up shooting bb guns learning the basics of target shooting and safe handling. As I grew up I got more exposure to the shooting sports with trap shooting and pistol shooting.