Our Accomplishments

Since 2021, the Council has advanced its mission through measurable, nationwide impact. Through strategic leadership, collaboration, and data-driven action, the Council has strengthened the R3 community, expanded professional capacity, and advanced best practices that support hunting, the shooting sports, and wildlife conservation across the country. The following accomplishments reflect that sustained progress and the collective momentum built with partners and practitioners nationwide.

Collectively, these efforts have built the infrastructure, partnerships, and shared understanding needed to move R3 work forward at scale. By connecting practitioners, aligning strategy, and grounding decisions in research and real-world application, the Council has helped ensure that hunting and the shooting sports remain accessible, relevant, and supported as essential drivers of conservation funding and America’s outdoor heritage.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS HIGHLIGHTS

National Hunting and Shooting Sports R3 Practitioners Guide

Created the National Hunting and Shooting Sports R3 Practitioners Guide, a living website serving as the central hub for R3 best practices, guidance, and resources and the foundation for 9 virtual R3 curriculum modules

Multistate Conservation Grant Applications

Provided technical assistance, review, or partnership on 38 Multistate Conservation Grant Applications

National R3 Symposium

Hosted one virtual and four in-person National R3 Symposia, assembling over 200 R3 professionals and key conservation partners each year to advance adoption of best practices, challenge misconceptions, and coordinate national R3 effort.

R3 Stakeholder Summits

Consulted with conservation organizations and state fish and wildlife agencies on 24 organization-wide R3 plans and 11 R3 stakeholder summits

National R3 Trainings & Workshops

Hosted 15 state, regional, and national R3 trainings or workshops

R3 Case Studies

Produced and distributed 40 R3-specific hunting, shooting sports, and trapping R3 case studies

R3 Webinars

Hosted 25 community-wide R3 Webinars, showcasing best practices, recent research, and highlighting community priorities

National R3 Community Networking

Networked with over 3,451 members of the National R3 community through engagement on virtual platforms

National R3 Clearinghouse Assets

Curated over 33,000+ assets in the National R3 Clearinghouse

Regional & National R3 Session Facilitation

Attended, presented at, or facilitated R3 sessions for 70 regional and national meetings

Partner Organization R3 Working Group Facilitation

Facilitated more than 75 partner organizations in multiple community-wide R3 working groups responsible for driving adoption and implementation of R3 principles and best practices nation-wide

Research

Drove primary research on shooting range participant demographics, regulation complexity and five annual Hunting License Indexes

Stakeholder Surveys

Performed annual R3 practitioner needs assessments and administered five annual stakeholder surveys, the results of which were used to inform strategic priorities

R3 Practitioner Directory

Created and maintained a comprehensive R3 Practitioner Directory that now houses over 136 R3 professionals from all conservation sectors, making it easy to find your local contacts for hunting, shooting sports, range development, and fishing R3 efforts.

Hunt for Good Campaign

Partnered with the National Wild Turkey Federation on the development of the Hunt for Good Campaign, designed to increase public support for hunting. Co-facilitated one national and two regional implementations of the campaign, reaching over 45,652,842 people with content expressing the positive benefits of hunting and contributions hunters make towards conservation.

MAFWA Small Game Marketing Toolkit

Co-created the MAFWA Small Game Marketing Toolkit, recorded and aired Into the Outdoors: Shooting Sports television broadcast episode, filmed short-form “What is R3?” video series, and implemented the Council’s first in-house national marketing campaign with an emphasis on shooting range access across the country

Shared R3 Positions

Launched the Council’s first shared positions including the Regional R3 Coordinator in partnership with the Southeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA), two R3 positions with Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and one R3 position with Wyoming Game and Fish Department.