WDFW encourages hunter education to prepare for spring turkey season

With the spring turkey season set to begin April 15, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) urges prospective hunters to sign up now for hunter education courses to avoid missing out on any hunting opportunities in 2018.

"While other major hunting seasons don't open until September, now is the time to enroll in hunter education to ensure you can participate in the exciting spring turkey seasons," said David Whipple, hunter education division manager for WDFW. Spring turkey hunters enjoy a high success rate, with 52 percent of hunters harvesting a turkey statewide in 2016. In northeast Washington, that figure rose to 62 percent.

The turkey season is an excellent opportunity to introduce someone new to the hunting tradition, especially with a youth-only turkey hunt scheduled for April 7-8, Whipple said.

All hunters born after Jan. 1, 1972 must complete a hunter education course to purchase a hunting license.

If you are unable to make it to a hunter education course before the spring turkey season ends on May 31, new hunters may qualify to participate in the hunter education deferral. For more information on the deferral, see https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/huntered/he_deferral.html.

To find a course and learn about hunter education requirements, new hunters should visit the WDFW hunter education webpage at http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/huntered/classes/basic.php.