Continuing into 2012, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and Friends of Hackberry Flat are offering a series of Saturday Programs at the Hackberry Flat Center located south of Frederick. On Saturday, Oct. 13 the series continues with a hunter education class provided by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.

The Hunter Education Class offered on Oct. 13 is the standard eight-hour course. It will start promptly at 8 a.m. and conclude at 5 .pm. The class is free of charge. Students attending the class will need to be able to take a written test. Please bring a sack lunch. Drinks and cookies will be provided by the Hackberry Flat Foundation.

Over the past 30 years, hunting related accidents and fatalities have declined by more than 70 percent in Oklahoma. Officials with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) say mandatory hunter education courses have not only reduced accidents within Oklahoma, but also in every state and Canadian province with similar programs. It is strongly recommended that anyone who plans on hunting or shooting complete a hunter education class.

Hunter education covers a variety of topics including firearms safety, wildlife identification, wildlife conservation and management, survival, archery, muzzleloading and hunter responsibility. It is available as a standard eight-hour course, the internet home study course and the workbook home study course.

For more information about the Hunter Education Class at the Hackberry Flat Center please contact Game Warden Ted Hasty at 580-305-1484.

The Hackberry Flat Center offers amenities for visitors, a meeting facility for events, wetland classrooms for school children and programs to help develop outdoor skills. For more information about the Hackberry Flat Center and Wildlife Management Area including scheduled events go to www.wildlifedepartment.com/education/hackberry_flat.htm. To get to the Hackberry Flat Center, from Frederick, go south of town one mile on Hwy 183, then turn east on Airport Road and go three miles. Follow the blacktop road south, and go six miles. Watch for Center signs.