Field & Stream Magazine Honors Three New Hampshire Fish and Game Volunteer Instructors
OutdoorHub 06.11.12
Three New Hampshire Hunter Education instructors were in the national spotlight after being selected as “Heroes of Conservation” in back-to-back issues of the renowned outdoor magazine Field & Stream.
Michael Morrison of Swanzey, N.H., was honored in Field & Stream’s May 2012 issue for his extraordinary contributions to conservation. A retired high school biology teacher, Morrison has continued to run the Monadnock High School Fish and Game Club in his spare time since 2006. His students learn trap-shooting and fly tying, stock pheasants and salmon fry, plant flood-damaged stream banks and build duck boxes. Morrison also volunteers to teach gun safety at another local school, assists with summer youth programs at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Barry Conservation Camp and instructs for the National Archery in the Schools Program. “There is a replacement generation out there that we need to get involved in these activities,” says Morrison. In addition to his work with youth, Morrison has been a Trapper Education instructor for Fish and Game for 17 years. He also teaches Hunter Education, is a Let’s Go Fishing instructor, a Fish and Wildlife Steward and a Becoming an Outdoors-Woman instructor.
Al and Lorri Menard, of New Boston, N.H., were designated Heroes of Conservation in the June 2012 issue of Field & Stream for their remarkable record of conservation contributions. The Menards – both of whom have full-time jobs – have spent the past 22 years volunteering as hunter and bowhunter education instructors with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, teaching a total of at least 10 courses each year. The couple has also spent 17 years co-teaching introductory firearms, orienteering and “snowshoe and shoot” courses at Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) workshops. “In my mind, BOW is probably the best thing going in outdoor education today,” says Al. “We’re there to give back to our hunting community and make sure the woods are safe,” says Lorri. “It’s an investment in the future of the sports.” They also help train new Hunter Education instructors and volunteer at Fish and Game’s Discover Wild New Hampshire Day.
“Volunteers are essential to the programs we run here at Fish and Game. All of our volunteers are great, but Al, Lorri and Mike are exceptional. To say they go above and beyond is an understatement,” says Joshua Mackay, Hunter Education Coordinator for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department.
“Hunters and fishermen have never been afraid to roll up their sleeves and get to work in the name of protecting America’s wildlife and wild places and these outstanding individuals are a great example of that ethos hard at work,” says Anthony Licata, Editorial Director of Field & Stream. “Conservation is and will always be an integral part of hunting and fishing, and men and women like this are crucial to keeping our traditions alive for generations to come.”
Each month Field & Stream honors three grassroots conservationists from across the country as part of its Heroes of Conservation program, which is dedicated to recognizing sportsmen who go above and beyond in the protection of fish, wildlife and habitat. Each Hero of Conservation receives a $500 grant from program partner Toyota. Field & Stream’s Heroes of Conservation program culminates each fall when the magazine names the “Conservation Hero of the Year,” who is awarded a new Toyota Tundra. For more information or to nominate an individual involved in a conservation project, visit http://www.FieldandStream.com/heroes.
