National Bowhunter Education Foundation Attends R3 National Symposium
Posted on: Jun 09, 2025
RAPID CITY, SD (June 9, 2025) – The National Bowhunter Education Foundation (NBEF) applauds the national effort to grow and sustain participation in hunting and shooting sports.
NBEF Executive Director Marilyn Bentz attended the 2025 National R3 Symposium, held May 19–22 in Portland, Maine. The Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports’ recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) annual event gathered hundreds of attendees, including representatives from wildlife agencies, conservation groups, and industry stakeholders, all working together to boost outdoor participation and awareness.
“NBEF is committed to fostering a strong future for hunting by sharing educational resources and collaborating with others who share our vision of the responsible enjoyment of the outdoors,” said Bentz.
“We continue to make great strides in in both the effectiveness and scale of national R3 efforts, thanks to the strong collaboration of agencies, companies, and nonprofits,” noted Scott Lavin, Director of Research and Partnerships at the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports. “We are grateful for another successful National R3 Symposium which brought over 200 R3 professionals together to exchange insights, develop strategies, and forge valuable connections. We deeply appreciate the great work and collaboration from partners like NBEF, whose tireless efforts continue to expand our collective success.”
The first National R3 Symposium was held in May 2018 and led to an increased awareness and efforts. Two Virtual R3 Forums supported these efforts during the pandemic. Visit the Council’s website for more information.
NBEF helps bowhunters learn to be safe, successful and stewards of the sport. NBEF offers bowhunting instructional items, books, videos, 3-D models, apparel and more at nbef.org.
About NBEF
The National Bowhunter Education Foundation offers instructional content and tools for bowhunter education classes in the US. Helping bowhunters become safe and successful hunters and stewards of the sport are important NBEF missions. The NBEF provides bowhunter certification standards and class content that states and certain circumstances require in order to bowhunt. NBEF provides instructor training and certification.
NBEF oversees the International Bowhunter Education Program and works with the International Hunter Education Association and state agencies to coordinate a unified program. Europe and other countries accept the NBEF (IBEP) certification and conduct IBEP classes.
NBEF also oversees the International Crossbow Education Program and works with state agencies responsible for crossbow education to develop comprehensive online crossbow safety courses that teach students important laws and regulations, game identification, and safe, responsible handling of crossbow equipment.
NBEF is a 501(c)3 corporation that isn’t a membership-based organization. Tax-deductible donations to support this non-profit are welcome.
Learn more at nbef.org.
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