CLfT Online - Conservation & Hunting in America (C&HA) is an online professional development program for natural resource agency and NGO professionals to explore the conservation theories, policy, and practices that apply to hunting and the sustainable uses of wildlife in North America.

This program grew from our highly successful Conservation Leaders for Tomorrow (CLfT) workshops with content being delivered by over 20 experts from the natural resource profession. The program is comprised of approximately 16 hours of total learning, divided into 11 hours of self-directed digital learning interspersed with (5) 1 hour facilitated discussion sessions. Each cohort will have a CLfT staff facilitator and on occasion 1 or 2 guest experts to help answer questions about the material covered during each discussion.

Cohort sizes are kept small and maintain the same 8-12 participants throughout to ensure meaningful conversation and the opportunity for every participant to ask questions and reflect on how the topics apply to their professional responsibilities.  To ensure that every participant can get their questions answered, each group will also have a discussion board, allowing questions to be sent to CLfT staff at any time while participants explore the digital content.

Each cohort is conducted over a 15-day period with Zoom discussions scheduled twice a week at predetermined times.  

Program participants are expected to have access to the internet, computer with a camera, and microphone in order to fully engage and complete the course.  It is expected that the total experience will require about 90-120 minutes per day on average, spread over 11 continuous working days.

The Wildlife Society allows 16 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) in Category l of the Certified Wildlife Biologist Renewal/ Professional Development Certificate Program.

Program Content Summary
Module 1Motivations Demographics of American Hunters
Module 2Hunter Safety and Education
Module 3Hunting Methods and Equipment
Module 4Hunting in Wildlife Conservation: Past, Present, and Future
Part 1 - Public Trust and the North American Model, then and now
Module 5Hunting in Wildlife Conservation: Past, Present, and Future
Part 2 - Career Relevancy of the “User pay – Public benefit” System
Module 6The Biological Basis of Hunting
Module 7Wildlife Laws, Regulations, and Enforcement
Module 8Hunter Responsibility and Ethics
Module 9Game as Food
Module 10Role of Hunting in Society
Module 11Hunting Types
Part 1 – Specific Types of Hunting
Part 2 – Hunting with Dogs
Module 12Trapping and Fishing: Gear, Terminology, and Methods
Module 13Contemporary Management Issues
Module 14A Hunt - Before, During, and After
Module 15Effective Communication
Closing Remarks
Pathways to Becoming a Hunter
  
Discussion Sessions Five, 1-hour, small group online discussions to explore content