WHEATLAND-- The Wyoming Game and Fish Department will offer a hunter education course at the Platte County Library, beginning May 26. Classes for the five-day course will be held on May 26 and 28 and June 2, 4 and 6. Classes the first four days will run from 5 to 9 p.m. each night. On Saturday, June 6, class will begin at 9 a.m.

Although classes are open to all ages, they are required for anyone hunting in Wyoming who was born on or after Jan. 1, 1966. Certain elk areas around Jackson and the National Elk Refuge require all hunters, regardless of age, to have a hunter education certificate.

Classes cost $10 per person. Topics include firearm safety, survival skills, wildlife identification and management, ethics, archery, muzzle loading and law enforcement. To receive a hunter education card, students must pass a 100-question multiple-choice test as well as a gun-handling test.

The minimum age for hunting big and trophy game in Wyoming is 12, but hunters under 12 may hunt small game and upland birds if they have passed a hunter education course, or if they are taking part in the department’s Hunter-Mentor program. Click here for more information on the Hunter-Mentor program.

Register for this class on-line on the Hunter Education site . From there click on the Education link then the Hunter Education link. For more information call the WGFD Laramie office at 745-4046.

New classes are added to the Web site as they become available. However, because the volunteer instructors are hunters themselves, classes are seldom offered during fall hunting seasons. The department encourages hunters to take care of this requirement now rather than waiting until hunting seasons are upon us.