USA hosts Get Youth Outdoors Day in Pine Bluff, Arkansas

by Kate Nation on 23 Oct 2017 Nearly 200 youth, plus guardians, participated in a day filled with outdoor activities at the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance’s (USA) Get Youth Outdoors Day at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park Pond in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, yesterday.

The USA’s Get Youth Outdoors Day engaged both youth and adults in hands-on activities including learning how to fish and shooting archery and air guns. Volunteers from USA, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and Arkansas AFL-CIO provided fishing instruction and conservation education. Participants also enjoyed lunch provided by Arkansas AFL-CIO, and youth received free fishing gear courtesy of Pure Fishing.

“Get Youth Outdoors Day is a great example of the efforts needed to preserve North America’s outdoor heritage through hands-on events that instill a love for the outdoors in today’s youth,” said Maurice Jackson, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission family and community fishing program coordinator. “We are proud to say we played a part in introducing so many kids to those opportunities.”

“The USA seeks to promote our outdoor heritage through mentoring the next generation of sportsmen and women,” said USA Conservation Manager Robert Stroede. “This event provided the perfect opportunity to interact with youth in the community who may not have otherwise had the opportunity to experience all that the outdoors have to offer.”

According to a recent survey conducted by U.S. Fish and Wildlife, released in September, the U.S. has experienced a net loss of 2 million hunters in just the last five years. Since 1980, hunter numbers have fallen from nearly 18 million to the current estimate of 11.5 million. Youth are growing more and more disconnected from the outdoors, America is losing wildlife habitat at an alarming rate, and access to quality outdoor experiences are becoming more difficult to find. Reconnecting youth with the outdoors is critical to preserving our heritage.