Fairfax, VA – The National Rifle Association of America is pleased to announce the continuation of our partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation thanks to the overwhelming use of NRA’s free Online Hunter Education course by Oklahoma residents and the utilization of the NRA Public Range Fund. These milestones were celebrated on December 2nd at the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission meeting with a ceremonial check presentation. During this meeting, the Commission honored Peter Churchbourne, Managing Director of NRA Hunting/HLF, with an award recognizing “outstanding contributions to the sportsmen and sportswomen of Oklahoma.”
“Thanks to our partnership with the NRA, more than 29,000 Oklahoma sportsmen and sportswomen took the free hunter education course provided by the NRA over the past two and a half years,” said Lance Meek, Senior Communication and Education Specialist for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. “I’d encourage other states to look at offering the NRA course.”
The matching funds that the NRA’s free course provided for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, totaling $731,225, can be used to apply for Pittman-Robertson grants that will result in $2,193,675 of real dollars for the department. Also celebrated was the $25,000 awarded from the NRA Public Range Fund to assist with the building of the new Copan WMA Shooting Range.
“We appreciate the continued support from the NRA Public Range Fund that helps us provide safe shooting ranges for Oklahoma residents,” said Amanda Thomas, OK Shooting Range Coordinator. “To date this fund has provided $93,000 to the state of Oklahoma.”
“We are pleased to partner with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and applaud them for capitalizing on the opportunities that the NRA provides for state wildlife agencies and their state’s residents,” said Peter Churchbourne. “I am honored and humbled to have received their award and enjoy working with their agency and staff.”
Online Hunter Education: Designed and provided by the organization that built the first-ever hunter education program in the United States in 1949, the NRA Hunter Education online course offers a fresh and fully comprehensive approach to hunter education. The 15-chapter, online sequence features attention-grabbing videos, eye-catching graphics and diagrams, interactive modules, audio recordings, and dozens of action photos presented in appealing, easy-to-access components that provide the best method for teaching future hunters lessons they will remember for the rest of their lives. To take the NRA Hunter Education online course or learn more, visit NRAHE.org.
Public Range Fund: The NRA Public Range Fund was established in 2009 as a matching grant program to encourage city and county governments, and state and federal agencies, to work with the NRA on efforts to build and improve public ranges across the United States. With over $2,000,000 granted through 2024, this fund has helped Americans find safe and free places to exercise their Second Amendment Rights. To learn more, visit Range Services | NRA Explore.
