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More than 600,000 new hunters go through hunter education courses annually in the U.S. and the International Hunter Education Association (IHEA-USA) is continually striving to communicate with those hunters using a variety of methods. Hunters Connect, part of HunterEd.Com, a new HunterEd R3 outreach program, was created to leverage digital media tools that lower the hurdles facing new hunters. Available beginning August 5, Hunters Connect’s digital video library will provide the “how-to,” “where-to,” “when-to,” “what-to” for new hunters.

The National Deer Alliance (NDA) reminds hunters, or anyone else who consumes wild cervid (deer and elk) meat, that there remains no scientific evidence that chronic wasting disease (CWD) is transmissible to humans despite comments by some that have garnered national attention.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is currently revising their standards for CWD management on deer farms, and they need to hear from deer hunters across the country. The agency is currently seeking comments from the public on this important program. The National Deer Alliance has teamed up with some of our strongest partners, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Archery Trade Association, QDMA, National Wildlife Federation, and Wildlife Management Institute, to create an opportunity for concerned citizens to easily provide comments.

Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium, the largest, most immersive fish and wildlife attraction in the world, has been voted as America’s Best New Attraction.

Wisconsin Assembly Bill 194, a measure to create a special crossbow hunting license and to permit the use of crossbows during regular archery big game seasons, is scheduled for a public hearing this week in the Senate Natural Resources Committee.

In a very special television event, Sportsman Channel will premiere the hour-long special Fred Bear: The Father of Bowhunting presented by Bear Archery this Friday, June 21 from 7 to 8 pm ET.

Word was received late yesterday afternoon of the death of archery industry pioneer bowmaker Tom Jennings, affectionately known by the moniker "Mr. Compound Bow," for his decades of innovative bow designs with the Jennings Compound Bow company and subsequent collaborations with other manufacturers. Mr. Jennings, who had been in failing health for several months after suffering a broken hip in 2012, passed away at the home of his stepson, Matt Cavanaugh, in Columbia, Mo. around 4:00 p.m. Feb. 25. Prior to his recent physical problems, Mr. Jennings spent the past decade at his home on the Honduras coast. Mr. Jennings was 88. A 1999 inductee in the Archery Hall of Fame and Museum, Jennings built his first bow in 1936 at the age of 12. His was the first company licensed under the H. Wilbur Allen patent to manufacture the Jennings Compound Bow. His were the first 2- and 4-wheel compounds commercially produced and marketed. In keeping with Mr. Jennings' wishes, there will be no services. Friends report his body will be cremated, with a portion of the remains interred beside those of his late wife, and the remainder scattered near his beloved Honduran home.

In the wake of last week's announcement by Reed Exhibition USA that manufacturers and vendors with legal AR-platform rifles, accessories, magazines and related items will not be permitted at next month's Eastern Sports and Outdoors Show ("The Harrisburg Show"), numerous archery manufacturers, retailers and bowhunting personalities have announced they are withdrawing from the event in support of The Second Amendment.

It may only be the second day of October 2012, but among major U.S. bow manufacturers, 2013 is already upon us. In this issue Corporate Members of The Archery Wire are unveiling some of their exciting new compound bows for the coming year, including Bear Archery, BowTech Archery, Diamond Archery, Elite Archery and Mission Archery.