The National Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation Symposium

Just as the NWTF has biologists, foresters and ecology professionals to conserve the wild turkey, the NWTF also uses R3 (recruitment, retention and reactivation) to deliver on its mission, to preserve North America’s hunting heritage.

NWTF R3 coordinators are strategically placed staff members who focus solely on growing social support for hunting and shooting sports, while increasing participation within new and diverse audiences. R3 coordinators work with state natural resources agencies and partners to create engaging events that make hunting and shooting a perennial activity in participants’ lives.

Recently, the NWTF’s R3 staff gathered at the National R3 Symposium, hosted by the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports, to network and collaborate on new ideas to reverse the declining trend in hunting and shooting sports participation across the country. Here are their takeaways from this year’s conference.

Mandy Harling, NWTF National Director of Education and Outreach

The NWTF Outreach and Education staff recently gathered with the best and brightest R3 practitioners from around the country in beautiful Albuquerque, New Mexico. During the three-day conference, we heard the latest research, developments and insights into the hunting and shooting world. From hearing the latest participation trends and research, to learning how to engage new audiences, we were overwhelmed by the amount of information shared. We also had the opportunity to network with our state wildlife agency counterparts and many from the R3 community. 

I have a passion for learning, and find myself taking notes, pictures and gathering business cards to follow up on ideas and opportunities. Personally, this was one of the best conferences I’ve attended lately in that there was new information, new ideas and an enthusiastic “competition” called R3 Minutes where new ideas are shared in a fast-paced, Ted-Talk-type presentation where participants have three minutes to share an idea. This is a fun and exciting way to hear innovative ideas from agencies, organizations and the industry. 

This year, the message that resonated most with me is the latest research from Responsive Management that shows a statistically significant decrease in approval of hunting and target shooting. Given this information, our work to increase support for hunting is incredibly important.

Jesse Warner, Hunting and Shooting R3 Coordinator, Arizona

The biggest thing I took away from the symposium is the sheer number of possible partners. The room was packed with R3 professionals of all scales – including nongovernmental organizations, state and federal agencies, private companies, and more – who are all interested in promoting hunting and shooting sports.

To quote John Frampton, former president of CAHSS and CEO: “We have to think about partnerships and partners at scales that we’ve never even imagined.”

With this in mind, I think the future is bright for R3 and conserving our nation's wildlife and wild places.

The partnership between Marvel Entertainment and USA Archery alluded to this innovative approach. Beyond the individual partnership, I think it could open the doors to other nontraditional partnerships to reach a broader audience than we currently engage. In my side-life as a bow technician, we see very real upticks in interest for archery when it is a part of a movie, such as with the Hunger Games movies and the cartoon Brave. While I am not expecting much out of movies to depict hunting, it would be interesting to see something where it plays at least a small role.

Bre Bashford, R3 Coordinator, Georgia R3 Initiative 

I think it is worth reflecting on the sheer number of individuals who are impacted by shooting sports activities in the school system (NASP, SCTP, USA Clay Target League, etc.). The National Archery in the Schools Program alone has reached over 18 million students in 21 years. With the appeal of competitive sports and extracurricular activities, a student’s attention is challenging to acquire and even more difficult to retain. A presence in the school system helps conservation and the target shooting industry remain relevant to young participants over time.

Kasie Harriett, Hunting and Shooting R3 Coordinator, Oklahoma

I loved the idea of companies and state wildlife agencies using mandatory Human Resources personal development training to encourage agency staff to take people hunting or learn to hunt. I've already spoken to my director about getting the ball rolling.

Michael Addison, Hunting and Shooting R3 Coordinator, Nebraska

The biggest takeaway from the National R3 Symposium was the discussions on mentoring from within an organization. Whether it was a state agency or private industry, there were plenty of valuable examples of creating buy-in throughout an organization by making R3 activities a core focus of the training and continuing education processes. To me, this model is something that every stakeholder in the R3 movement can learn from. We often focus on recruiting, retaining and reactivating external participants, but rarely does an agency or NGO think about its own internal participants. People who come to work for these organizations do so because they have a passion for conservation and the outdoors. These activities and trainings can help keep that passion going, and keeping that spark lit through these programs can have a sizeable impact in helping employees stay actively involved. That leads to a higher commitment to continued improvement in projects and programming, strengthening the R3 movement. It’s a win-win all around! 

Teresa Carroll, NWTF Outreach and Education Coordinator

With the rise in firearm ownership (45% of households have a firearm) up from 42% last year, the number one reason for buying a firearm is self-defense. It's an excellent time to host a CWP class and introduce folks to NWTF through this event, perhaps capturing new audiences we would not normally have attend banquets or events.

Morgan Register, Hunting and Shooting R3 Coordinator, Michigan

This year's R3 Symposium was my first, and it also marked the capstone to my first year in the position. Coming into the meetings, I had a year's worth of gathered knowledge, ideas and questions, and the Symposium was the perfect place to network and discuss with practitioners from across the country to see what has been done and where we can grow from here. The biggest takeaway was the collaborative and conversational nature of the 240 attendees, all willing and ready to help or provide insight into their work in their own arenas. Specifically, while in attendance, I participated in the Advanced R3 Evaluation training that I hope to implement into my own R3 efforts in Michigan to better assess how we can improve our outreach efforts moving forward. Additionally, many discussions provided insight into innovative ways to lean into our advanced recruitment efforts, which will continue to introduce hunters to new courses and experiences where they gain the confidence and knowledge to hunt on their own.