When my wife Diane retired from teaching in 1999 and asked me to “bring her along” as a Maine deer hunter, I, and our two deer hunting sons, thought that was great! She took to it easily, and has become a capable hunter who has put meat on the table many times.

Although Diane’s late-in-life aspiration to hunt big game caught me by surprise, I knew from my own hunting experiences that she would discover a new and enjoyable chapter in her life. That was more than 20 years ago. Long before Diane’s conversion, women in Maine had hunted, but they were a small minority.

Much has changed since Diane became a hunter. More and more women are taking to the woods. Programs are springing up like Becoming an Outdoorswoman. Hunting magazines like Bugle and the Northwoods Sporting Journal carry regular hunting columns by women for women. Outdoor clothing retailers have awakened to the fact that there is a serious market for women’s hunting apparel.

Regardless of whether this is an outgrowth of female emancipation or some other social phenomenon, the dawn of the female hunter is a welcome development, not only for the conservation cause, but for the future of this country’s hunting heritage.

The Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA) has coined this thought-provoking phrase: “ It takes a hunter to make a hunter.” This is so true. Changing times, whether it be single-parent households or the electronic age, are having a deleterious effect on this country’s hunter demographics: there are fewer and fewer licensed hunters. Among licensed American hunters, women are the fastest growing segment.

Earlier this spring in Denver, Colorado a national rendezvous was held specifically for women who hunt or women who would like to hunt. The press release issued before the event does a good job of articulating the social significance of the women hunters’ movement:

“It takes a hunter to make a hunter” which is why women will be telling their stories next weekend in Denver at the 2014 National Rendezvous. Women who hunt have moved far beyond pink camo to techno fabrics, high end optics and a fitness level that will take them to the end of the road where adventures begin. We’ll share how we got into hunting, what we are involved in now and how we think we can encourage girls-and boys-to embrace the physical and mental challenges of hunting. Connecting with the land, learning about wildlife and being able to meet the challenges of the hunt helps young people, especially young women, develop self-confidence in meeting the everyday challenges of life. If you can survive in the backcountry, you can make it anywhere!

Women’s influence over the next generation of hunters is profound which means those of us who hunt have an important role to play in passing along our hunting heritage. A mother who hunts influences 64 percent of her sons and 50 percent of her daughters to hunt as well compared to 45 percent of sons and 13 percent of daughters who will hunt as adults if they are only taken hunting by their dad. “If it takes a hunter to make a hunter,” the data clearly shows that is especially true of girls who become women hunters.

All of this has relevance for Maine where we are losing licensed resident hunters at a rate faster than the national average. Our local fish and game clubs, conservation organizations, and state tourism might want to focus its outreach efforts toward attracting women to the hunting community. To its credit, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IF&W) has reached out to women with its Becoming an Outdoors Woman program. Called BOW, details of this wonderful mentoring program for women of all ages are available on IF&W’s website: www.mefishwildlife.com.

It is one way, not only to bring women to a challenging and pleasurable pastime, but to solidify Maine’s hunting heritage for generations to come.

The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WVOM-FM 103.9, WQVM-FM 101.3) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is vpaulr@tds.net.. He has two books “A Maine Deer Hunter’s Logbook” and his latest, “Backtrack.”