Hunter Education Field Day

Hitchcock Nature Center - Join us at Hitchcock Nature Center on Saturday, March 13th from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. for an IDNR certified Hunter Education Field Day course. This event is offered in partnership with Pottawattamie County Pheasants Forever. Click here to find them online. This year's event will be primarily held outdoors due to COVID-19 safety concerns. Please dress accordingly. 

Hunter Education Field Day courses are offered by knowledgeable and certified volunteer instructors and Iowa Conservation Officers.

Advance registration is required to attend this Field Day. Field Day courses are typically 4 to 5 hours long and include firearms handling, ethics & responsibility, Iowa hunting laws, and a final exam. In order to receive certification, a student must successfully complete an Iowa approved online Hunter Education Course prior to registering and attending a field day.  To located an approved Iowa Online Hunter Education Course visit www.iowadnr.gov/huntered. Students will be required to provide a field day voucher, received after completion of the online course, to the instructor upon arrival to the field day. Students must also pass the final exam in order to receive certification.

Hunter education is a mandatory program that is designed to introduce students to several life-long skills that are important to many different types of outdoor recreational opportunities. The course teaches students basic survival and first aid skills, water safety, wildlife identification, and the basics of wildlife management, hunting laws, and firearm/archery safety. Hunter education also stresses the importance of individual responsibility and outdoor ethics.

Iowa law requires that anyone born after January 1,1972 must be certified in hunter education before they are eligible to purchase an Iowa hunting license.

Due to COVID-19 the format of this program has been adjusted. 

• 6-foot distance will be maintained between individuals/family groups
• Masks required while inside and requested when distancing is impossible outside
• This program will be held primarily outdoors
• Staff will wear masks when 6-foot distance is not possible or indoors
• Maximum registration has been reduced
• Participants must sign a participation waiver upon arrival

This event is not pet friendly, please leave your canine friends at home. Service animals are always welcome. Please meet at the Loess Hills Lodge. Weather Permitting.