H.E.F.T.Y.
A Cooperative Program.
Troubled youths in today's society are trapped on a vicious cyclone of
poor study habits, social disrespect, and troublesome judgment.
Beginning with simple classroom disruption the student is punished with
detention. Detention with other disruptive student who, in kind,
conspire a rebellion. This rebellion may lead to "hanging out" at
the local department store which in turn leads to peer pressure,
shoplifting or destruction of property. Punishable by community service
or possible incarceration throws the affected youth into a situation,
once again, where the social setting is more troubled youths and once
again, conspiring a rebellion. This in turn leads to more contact with
the "wrong crowd" and eventually to more socially unacceptable
behaviors. Eventually this cycle may direct a youth into drug use,
violent crimes, or further incarceration.
Hunters Education For Troubled Youth, (H.E.F.T.Y.) is a program designed to step in and interrupt this cycle, to guide youth into a new environment, and mentor them into a thought process of self respect, compassion, integrity, and high moral values. Hunters Education programs have proven on several levels to teach and mentor most of the traits in individuals that society as a whole desperately needs and deserves. To further set these traits into motion and create individual self esteem H.E.F.T.Y. incorporates additional field projects to promote self worth and fulfillment.
Through the cooperative efforts with community groups such as Pheasants Forever, The Elk Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, The Mule Deer Federation, or County and State agencies as well as local land owners, outdoor or indoor conservation and personal projects will be completed as a group allowing time for reflection and an insight into personal accomplishment. Working in a group to accomplish a common goal in a mentored environment provides youth with a positive direction and creates new activities to help remove the youth from their previous peer groups and negative roles in society.
My name is Karl Milner, I am a hunter Education Instructor, Outdoor enthusiast, Environment protector and habitat builder, and most importantly the father of two wonderful children and stepfather to two very bright and very self sufficient children. I have lived in the Gillette, WY area for over 15 years now, worked in the mining and methane industry and own a game bird and poultry farm. I am active in the community and belong to the local chapter of Pheasants Forever, a conservation and habitat improvement group that as a local chapter we have committed our efforts to youth education and activities. With experience in teaching photography and a vast number of hours spent in nature guiding fly fishing and mentoring others in environmental practices I have developed H.E.F.T.Y. as an inspiration to my part helping the environment and the community.
Accomplishments like the fore mentioned are extreme examples of the virtues learned during life events such as hunting and fishing. Connecting with nature in any hunting or fishing experience encourages and creates a deep emotional and spiritual realization that one is a small part of the bigger universe thus creating a deep humility, respect and reverence for oneself and his or her community.
In an interview conducted for the National Wildlife Foundation John Denver spoke of the ethereal connection to nature and where it has led him.
With the woes of war, crime in the street, drugs in the schools, and violent television, movies, and video games today’s youth have no inspiration to excel in life. Single parent homes, fathers that loose touch with their children trying to better the Jones, gangs in the very environment we as society have sent our youths have caused the very lack of leadership that is so desperately needed in today’s civilization.
A great deal of research has been done regarding youths that hunt verses youths that don’t hunt. In his book From Boys to Men of Heart: Hunting as Rite of Passage Dr. Randall Eaton explains the history of hunting and how it was then, as it is now, a rite of passage that it is not only the transition from boyhood into manhood but a profound realization that each of us are a small part of a bigger universe. This realization creates within the individual all the virtues needed to become a productive member of society. Virtues like respect, for oneself and for others, self worth, and integrity are just a few that have been shown to be gained by a simple connection to nature and the environment.
Programs like Outward Bound have for many years turned troubled youths into productive citizens by using this connection with nature and the elements. In the film "The Sacred Hunt II: Rite of Passage" Dr. Eaton interviewed Dr. Wade Brackenbury, Field Supervisor of S.U.W.S..
H.E.F.T.Y. is practically what it sounds like. Hunters Education For Troubled Youth, with a further twist of an project to be done as a group. Youths with minor offenses involved in the court system, or youths that are in trouble with the school system are especially qualified for this program. Essentially the program is designed to get youths, in groups of 10 to 20 students, away from the peer pressure and bad influences and into an environment with structure, education, and mentored self evaluation.
As structured, Hunters Education is a 12 hour course with topics covered including Hunter Responsibility, Firearms and Ammunition, Firearms Safety, Specialty Hunting, Wildlife Identification, Marksmanship and Shooting Fundamentals, Basic Hunting Techniques, Hunting Skills, Game Meat Care, Wildlife Management, Outdoor Survival, and Hunting in bear and Mountain Lion Country. At the end of the course is a test that each student must pass with a score of 70%. At the conclusion of the 12 hour Hunter Education Course will be an additional course promoting the outdoors. This course will be seasonally planned requiring a minimum of 8 hours and consist of projects such as reclaiming a habitat for better wildlife propagation, building a fly rod or spinning rod, nature photography trips, nature hikes, nature trail building, local crises cleanup, and community volunteer programs.
The intention of the combined programs is to teach new hobbies and habits encouraging positive roles as a citizen. Each student will gain self worth and self respect by reflecting on the completion of short term goals. Youths will be mentored in a positive environment while being introduced to new programs and outside groups such as law enforcement ride along, Boy Scouting, local conservation groups, and city, county, and state officials involved in nature and nature conservation. Guest instructors and mentors will include officials from DARE, Game and Fish, Community groups like Pheasants Forever, Turkey Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, and National Wildlife Federation.
Shoplifting, property damage, destruction, alcohol or drug offenses are all crimes punishable by detention or community service. Within the school system habitual misbehavior is corrected with in house detention and extra assignments. As an alternative to these punishments I would like to suggest H.E.F.T.Y. ,a 20 hour new direction course. Youths enrolled in the H.E.F.T.Y. program will be evaluated upon completion of each phase of the course, these evaluations will include meeting the required attendance, class participation, and successful completion of tests and projects. These evaluations will be forwarded to the official enrolling the student in written form or personal appearance of myself and the student.
At no cost to the participant, funding for the H.E.F.T.Y. program comes in the form of donated materials and funds from companies and community organizations such as Cabellas, Rocky Mountain Discount Sports, VFW, Elks, Eagles, County Weed And Pest, County Environmental Planning, City and County Police, Game and Fish, and local business and land owners. With strong mentoring and equally strong community support H.E.F.T.Y. will be a success to a great many youths.
"Every child has inside him an aching void for excitement and if we don’t fill it
with something which is exciting and interesting and good for him, he will fill it with
something which is exciting and interesting and which isn’t good for him."
-- Theodore Roosevelt --
The Program Needs
Please help with the H.E.F.T.Y.
Program. There is a desperate need for support in the form of
adult mentors, especially on the conservation project days. The
Ideal mentor would be a person that has a job, a family, or even a
hobby. I think that any adult that will spend 1 day with these kids,
working shoulder to shoulder with a youth, and telling of your
interests and experience would be a wonderful asset. Youths in today's
society need only to be paid attention to, someone to introduce them to
a new interest.
Land owners are needed to allow us to come to your property to do the conservation work. We need places to remove existing vegetation, build new habitat, guzzler style water basins, plant feed and cover crops, a place to came over night. There is no cost to the land owner, all we ask is that you allow the youths and their family to visit and use, Hunt or Fish, on the land for the following 2 years. This allows the youths that attended the program to see the results of their hard work.
As always we need financial support as well. A donation of $15.00 buy's the book the youths use to learn ethics, $25.00 purchases the materials used during the winter and indoor conservation games and learning activities. $35.00 pays for the food used by one youth on a weekend conservation outing. If you can support 1 or more of the youths in this program it is greatly appreciated.
Please feel free to contact me at any time for more information regarding the program, or to volunteer to help or even to make donations. Land owners are especially encouraged to contact me. Please, as a community, we can make a life changing difference in the lives of our youths.
A special note of thanks needs to be given to Randall L. Eaton Ph.D.. Author of a vast number of books, conductor of countless hours of award winning movies, and mentor to many young and old hunters and outdoor enthusiast.
Without his undoubting wisdom and advice this H.E.F.T.Y. program would not be what it is. His many hours of mentoring, counseling, and guidance is greatly appreciated as well as the vast amount of research material he has freely given.
Hunters Education For Troubled Youth, (H.E.F.T.Y.) is a program designed to step in and interrupt this cycle, to guide youth into a new environment, and mentor them into a thought process of self respect, compassion, integrity, and high moral values. Hunters Education programs have proven on several levels to teach and mentor most of the traits in individuals that society as a whole desperately needs and deserves. To further set these traits into motion and create individual self esteem H.E.F.T.Y. incorporates additional field projects to promote self worth and fulfillment.
Through the cooperative efforts with community groups such as Pheasants Forever, The Elk Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, The Mule Deer Federation, or County and State agencies as well as local land owners, outdoor or indoor conservation and personal projects will be completed as a group allowing time for reflection and an insight into personal accomplishment. Working in a group to accomplish a common goal in a mentored environment provides youth with a positive direction and creates new activities to help remove the youth from their previous peer groups and negative roles in society.
My name is Karl Milner, I am a hunter Education Instructor, Outdoor enthusiast, Environment protector and habitat builder, and most importantly the father of two wonderful children and stepfather to two very bright and very self sufficient children. I have lived in the Gillette, WY area for over 15 years now, worked in the mining and methane industry and own a game bird and poultry farm. I am active in the community and belong to the local chapter of Pheasants Forever, a conservation and habitat improvement group that as a local chapter we have committed our efforts to youth education and activities. With experience in teaching photography and a vast number of hours spent in nature guiding fly fishing and mentoring others in environmental practices I have developed H.E.F.T.Y. as an inspiration to my part helping the environment and the community.
Background, history, and research
"If we can teach our children to nature’s gifts, the joys and
beauties of the outdoors will be here forever."
President Jimmy Carter,
Outdoor Journal
Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
President Jimmy Carter,
Outdoor Journal
Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
"Speak softly
and carry a big stick."
President Theodore Roosevelt, a world renowned conservationist and hunter,
won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906.
In 2001 He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously for his military actions,
the only president to win such an honor.
President Roosevelt was a world class big game hunter whose personal hunting efforts helped supply
the Smithsonian and many other national museums with taxidermy
models of flora, fauna, and insects from both South Africa and South America.
President Theodore Roosevelt, a world renowned conservationist and hunter,
won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906.
In 2001 He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously for his military actions,
the only president to win such an honor.
President Roosevelt was a world class big game hunter whose personal hunting efforts helped supply
the Smithsonian and many other national museums with taxidermy
models of flora, fauna, and insects from both South Africa and South America.
Accomplishments like the fore mentioned are extreme examples of the virtues learned during life events such as hunting and fishing. Connecting with nature in any hunting or fishing experience encourages and creates a deep emotional and spiritual realization that one is a small part of the bigger universe thus creating a deep humility, respect and reverence for oneself and his or her community.
In an interview conducted for the National Wildlife Foundation John Denver spoke of the ethereal connection to nature and where it has led him.
"my
greatest inspiration has always been the out of doors. The out of doors
was my first and truest best friend
and because of that when I began to try to express myself it was a perfectly natural thing for me
to use images from nature, and my songs are full of images from nature.
People may not know West Virginia but they know what take me home feels like and country roads are,
I think a part of everybody's life, and those simple things like, sunshine on my shoulders and
Annie’s song, you fill up my senses like a night in the forest or like a walk in the rain.
These are parts of peoples experience all over the world."
He, (John Denver) goes on to talk about the environment and people talking of how big it is and what can one person do. He states to them
"you do what you can do and I’ll do what I can do and between us we’ll do what needs to be done."
When speaking of his music he states that he can’t say that he owns his music, the songs that he wrote are gifts given to him and the
talent to sing them is a gift and he is grateful for those gifts given to him by the nature around him.
and because of that when I began to try to express myself it was a perfectly natural thing for me
to use images from nature, and my songs are full of images from nature.
People may not know West Virginia but they know what take me home feels like and country roads are,
I think a part of everybody's life, and those simple things like, sunshine on my shoulders and
Annie’s song, you fill up my senses like a night in the forest or like a walk in the rain.
These are parts of peoples experience all over the world."
He, (John Denver) goes on to talk about the environment and people talking of how big it is and what can one person do. He states to them
"you do what you can do and I’ll do what I can do and between us we’ll do what needs to be done."
When speaking of his music he states that he can’t say that he owns his music, the songs that he wrote are gifts given to him and the
talent to sing them is a gift and he is grateful for those gifts given to him by the nature around him.
With the woes of war, crime in the street, drugs in the schools, and violent television, movies, and video games today’s youth have no inspiration to excel in life. Single parent homes, fathers that loose touch with their children trying to better the Jones, gangs in the very environment we as society have sent our youths have caused the very lack of leadership that is so desperately needed in today’s civilization.
A great deal of research has been done regarding youths that hunt verses youths that don’t hunt. In his book From Boys to Men of Heart: Hunting as Rite of Passage Dr. Randall Eaton explains the history of hunting and how it was then, as it is now, a rite of passage that it is not only the transition from boyhood into manhood but a profound realization that each of us are a small part of a bigger universe. This realization creates within the individual all the virtues needed to become a productive member of society. Virtues like respect, for oneself and for others, self worth, and integrity are just a few that have been shown to be gained by a simple connection to nature and the environment.
Programs like Outward Bound have for many years turned troubled youths into productive citizens by using this connection with nature and the elements. In the film "The Sacred Hunt II: Rite of Passage" Dr. Eaton interviewed Dr. Wade Brackenbury, Field Supervisor of S.U.W.S..
Dr. Brackenbury had this to say about "the meanest boy he had ever taken into
the wilderness" and the transformation that had taken place.
"There was this boy who was 15 years old, and he was a neo-Nazi. He was in a gang that believed in white supremacy.
He was just filled with hatred. I’ve never known anyone so filled with hate.
He had come to us because he had taken a shotgun and beat another boy, a little black boy, half to death.
We brought him out to the desert where we had him and other boys for about two weeks, and he didn’t show any signs whatsoever of changing.
"One of the integral aspects of our program was that we were hunter-gatherers,
but we also were hungry most of the time, just as the Indians probably were while they were out there.
I remember when we had gone two days without eating anything, and this boy was starving- all he could talk about was food.
"We were trying to get a marmot - a marmot is a large rodent like animal that lives in the Great Basin Desert….
This marmot we were particularly interested in trying to get would come down out of his hole in the morning,
we’d watch him over the ridge and just as he’d come to the water we’d run after him and
try to chase him and catch up to him before he got back to the hole.
And one day finally it got far enough away from the hole that we were able to catch up to it,
and that boy chased it underneath a rock. It wasn’t able to escape to its hole.
He took his hunting knife and bound it to the end of a stick and reached up under there and stabbed the marmot and wounded it.
And then we pulled the marmot out.
"I’ve never forgotten the look on that boy’s face as he looked into the marmot’s eyes - it wasn’t dead yet.
It looked up at him and there was a light of understanding or mutual empathy,
then the light went out of the eyes of the marmot and it died.
And that boy started crying, he just broke down and wept,
and the reason he was able to feel that was that he watched the marmot for several days.
He’d almost gotten to the point where he understood who that marmot was, how that marmot lived.
I think he almost got inside that marmot and could see the world through the marmot’s eyes."
That boy, several years later came back to the program to become a counselor.
"There was this boy who was 15 years old, and he was a neo-Nazi. He was in a gang that believed in white supremacy.
He was just filled with hatred. I’ve never known anyone so filled with hate.
He had come to us because he had taken a shotgun and beat another boy, a little black boy, half to death.
We brought him out to the desert where we had him and other boys for about two weeks, and he didn’t show any signs whatsoever of changing.
"One of the integral aspects of our program was that we were hunter-gatherers,
but we also were hungry most of the time, just as the Indians probably were while they were out there.
I remember when we had gone two days without eating anything, and this boy was starving- all he could talk about was food.
"We were trying to get a marmot - a marmot is a large rodent like animal that lives in the Great Basin Desert….
This marmot we were particularly interested in trying to get would come down out of his hole in the morning,
we’d watch him over the ridge and just as he’d come to the water we’d run after him and
try to chase him and catch up to him before he got back to the hole.
And one day finally it got far enough away from the hole that we were able to catch up to it,
and that boy chased it underneath a rock. It wasn’t able to escape to its hole.
He took his hunting knife and bound it to the end of a stick and reached up under there and stabbed the marmot and wounded it.
And then we pulled the marmot out.
"I’ve never forgotten the look on that boy’s face as he looked into the marmot’s eyes - it wasn’t dead yet.
It looked up at him and there was a light of understanding or mutual empathy,
then the light went out of the eyes of the marmot and it died.
And that boy started crying, he just broke down and wept,
and the reason he was able to feel that was that he watched the marmot for several days.
He’d almost gotten to the point where he understood who that marmot was, how that marmot lived.
I think he almost got inside that marmot and could see the world through the marmot’s eyes."
That boy, several years later came back to the program to become a counselor.
The Program and the Proposal
H.E.F.T.Y. is practically what it sounds like. Hunters Education For Troubled Youth, with a further twist of an project to be done as a group. Youths with minor offenses involved in the court system, or youths that are in trouble with the school system are especially qualified for this program. Essentially the program is designed to get youths, in groups of 10 to 20 students, away from the peer pressure and bad influences and into an environment with structure, education, and mentored self evaluation.
As structured, Hunters Education is a 12 hour course with topics covered including Hunter Responsibility, Firearms and Ammunition, Firearms Safety, Specialty Hunting, Wildlife Identification, Marksmanship and Shooting Fundamentals, Basic Hunting Techniques, Hunting Skills, Game Meat Care, Wildlife Management, Outdoor Survival, and Hunting in bear and Mountain Lion Country. At the end of the course is a test that each student must pass with a score of 70%. At the conclusion of the 12 hour Hunter Education Course will be an additional course promoting the outdoors. This course will be seasonally planned requiring a minimum of 8 hours and consist of projects such as reclaiming a habitat for better wildlife propagation, building a fly rod or spinning rod, nature photography trips, nature hikes, nature trail building, local crises cleanup, and community volunteer programs.
The intention of the combined programs is to teach new hobbies and habits encouraging positive roles as a citizen. Each student will gain self worth and self respect by reflecting on the completion of short term goals. Youths will be mentored in a positive environment while being introduced to new programs and outside groups such as law enforcement ride along, Boy Scouting, local conservation groups, and city, county, and state officials involved in nature and nature conservation. Guest instructors and mentors will include officials from DARE, Game and Fish, Community groups like Pheasants Forever, Turkey Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, and National Wildlife Federation.
Shoplifting, property damage, destruction, alcohol or drug offenses are all crimes punishable by detention or community service. Within the school system habitual misbehavior is corrected with in house detention and extra assignments. As an alternative to these punishments I would like to suggest H.E.F.T.Y. ,a 20 hour new direction course. Youths enrolled in the H.E.F.T.Y. program will be evaluated upon completion of each phase of the course, these evaluations will include meeting the required attendance, class participation, and successful completion of tests and projects. These evaluations will be forwarded to the official enrolling the student in written form or personal appearance of myself and the student.
At no cost to the participant, funding for the H.E.F.T.Y. program comes in the form of donated materials and funds from companies and community organizations such as Cabellas, Rocky Mountain Discount Sports, VFW, Elks, Eagles, County Weed And Pest, County Environmental Planning, City and County Police, Game and Fish, and local business and land owners. With strong mentoring and equally strong community support H.E.F.T.Y. will be a success to a great many youths.
"Every child has inside him an aching void for excitement and if we don’t fill it
with something which is exciting and interesting and good for him, he will fill it with
something which is exciting and interesting and which isn’t good for him."
-- Theodore Roosevelt --
The Program Needs
Land owners are needed to allow us to come to your property to do the conservation work. We need places to remove existing vegetation, build new habitat, guzzler style water basins, plant feed and cover crops, a place to came over night. There is no cost to the land owner, all we ask is that you allow the youths and their family to visit and use, Hunt or Fish, on the land for the following 2 years. This allows the youths that attended the program to see the results of their hard work.
As always we need financial support as well. A donation of $15.00 buy's the book the youths use to learn ethics, $25.00 purchases the materials used during the winter and indoor conservation games and learning activities. $35.00 pays for the food used by one youth on a weekend conservation outing. If you can support 1 or more of the youths in this program it is greatly appreciated.
Please feel free to contact me at any time for more information regarding the program, or to volunteer to help or even to make donations. Land owners are especially encouraged to contact me. Please, as a community, we can make a life changing difference in the lives of our youths.
Karl Milner
86 Coyote Trail Rd,
Gillette, WY 82716
(307) 686-5705
(307) 299-2084
86 Coyote Trail Rd,
Gillette, WY 82716
(307) 686-5705
(307) 299-2084
A special note of thanks needs to be given to Randall L. Eaton Ph.D.. Author of a vast number of books, conductor of countless hours of award winning movies, and mentor to many young and old hunters and outdoor enthusiast.
Without his undoubting wisdom and advice this H.E.F.T.Y. program would not be what it is. His many hours of mentoring, counseling, and guidance is greatly appreciated as well as the vast amount of research material he has freely given.