FREDERICTON (GNB) – Marc Comeau of Cap-Pelé and Eldon Rogers of Miramichi are New Brunswick's 2013 Conservation Education Instructors of the Year.

Natural Resources Minister Bruce Northrup today presented the pair with commemorative watches, International Hunter Education Association prints and certificates of appreciation.

“New Brunswick has one of the lowest rates of hunting accidents in North America, and this is due in large part to the fine work of hunter education instructors such as Eldon Rogers and Marc Comeau,” said Northrup. “The courses they teach have laid the foundation for generations of safe and responsible hunters in New Brunswick.”

Rogers was recognized as the volunteer instructor of the year. He has been active in the Firearms Safety/Hunter Education Program for almost 40 years and has taught more than 1,500 students. He is certified as both a hunter education and firearms safety instructor.

Comeau is the Department of Natural Resources' Instructor of the Year. A resource officer with the department's district office in Dieppe, Comeau has been a conservation education instructor since 1990 and has taught almost 3,000 students. He is a certified bowhunter, hunter education and firearms' safety instructor.

Firearm Safety/Hunter Education courses teach students how to handle and use firearms in a safe and responsible manner. Students learn how to minimize the risk of hypothermia while hunting, what to do if lost and basic first-aid techniques.

The courses also cover hunter ethics, basic field techniques, wildlife identification and the role of hunting with respect to wildlife management.

Since the inception of hunter education in 1952, more than 90,000 New Brunswickers have completed this program.

Information about firearm safety and hunter education is online.

LINK:

●    Department of Natural Resources (go to the Firearm Safety/Hunter Education link)


05-09-13