Shooting To Reach More Kids

Earlier this month, I attended the Shot Show, a trade show of more than 30,000 manufacturers, trade reps, retailers and media for the biggest shooting, hunting and outdoor trade show in the country. Various meetings are hosted during the show by the trade show’s parent organization, the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

Leave No Trace was invited to attend a National Shooting Sports Foundation meeting of shooting sports-based organizations from the Isaac Walton League to the NRA, Youth Shooting Sports Alliance, and the International Hunter Education Association. During the meeting I had the opportunity to talk briefly about Leave No Trace and its relevance to the hunting and youth.

As with virtually all meetings I’ve attended in the last year, Richard Louv’s book “Last Child in the Woods” was sited during the gathering. The shooting sports groups seem to have the same concern and worries about increasing participation as everyone else. Outdoor communities are scrambling and scratching their heads about getting kids off of their Game Boys and into their backyards — hunting is no exception.

It is heartening to see, even among such diverse outdoor groups, common threads regarding kids and the outdoors. Our common thread as we talk to various factions that are working to get kids outside, is that Leave No Trace is a vital companion to any of these efforts.