Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports

What Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports does

The Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports (CAHSS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2009 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., that serves as the federally designated national coordinator for Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation (R3) efforts in U.S. hunting and shooting sports. Established in response to Executive Order 13443 and operating under the 2019 Modernizing the Pittman-Robertson Fund Act, CAHSS convenes state fish and wildlife agencies, conservation NGOs (Ducks Unlimited, National Wild Turkey Federation, Pheasants Forever, National Deer Association), and industry partners (NSSF, Bass Pro Shops) around shared R3 methodology to reverse declining participation that threatens the excise-tax-funded wildlife conservation model. The organization delivers programs through the National R3 Symposium (annual since 2018), state and regional R3 workshops, webinars, embedded partnership positions at SEAFWA, Missouri, Wyoming, and Alabama, and a network of 3,400+ R3 professionals.

CAHSS's core technology platform is the National R3 Clearinghouse, an online resource library at find.nationalr3community.org housing research, case studies, strategic plans, marketing materials, and reports for R3 practitioners. Layered on top are the R3 Practitioner's Guide (launched 2024, developed through 4,000+ hours of engagement with 117 stakeholders), the R3 Curriculum (nine self-paced e-learning modules launched 2025), and PUP AI (2026), an IHEA-USA-co-developed chat tool that performs knowledge retrieval over the Clearinghouse corpus. A private Facebook group established in 2016 serves as the National R3 Community for practitioner collaboration.

CAHSS operates as a grant-funded nonprofit with no commercial pricing; all resources are free to access. Primary revenue is Multistate Conservation Grant Program funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (up to $5 million annually through 2029), supplemented by modest private contributions (Bass Pro Shops $15,000 in March 2026, Lipsey's product-linked fundraising, Wildlife Management Institute co-development). Headcount is small, anchored by an Executive Director (Chuck Sykes, appointed 2024), four directors (Research & Partnerships, Operations, Marketing & Communications, plus an Operations & Resource Development Manager), and several embedded partnership staff shared with state agencies.

Name

Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports

Legal name

Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports

Website

https://cahss.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports (CAHSS) is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that serves as the federally designated national coordinator for Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation (R3) efforts across U.S. hunting and shooting sports, serving state fish and wildlife agencies, conservation NGOs, and industry partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wildlife Conservation Coordination Services

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Hunting and Trapping (1142), Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620)

SIC

Fishing, Hunting And Trapping (900)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Community Relations & Grassroots Program Management (MPAKAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

National Governing Bodies (NGBs) (MPAKAFAC)

Keywords

• Hunting and shooting sports
• Wildlife conservation coordination
• R3 recruitment retention
• Outdoor recreation participation
• Conservation funding education

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Multistate Conservation Grant Program (MSCGP): Primary funding mechanism secured in 2020 following passage of the Modernizing the Pittman-Robertson Fund for Tomorrow's Needs Act in 2019. The Act directs up to $5 million of excise taxes from archery equipment annually for national hunting and shooting sports R3 efforts. Funding backed through 2029.
2. Private Partnerships and Donations: The Council receives contributions from corporate partners such as Bass Pro Shops ($15,000 contribution in March 2026) and industry partners like Lipsey's (exclusive Ruger Mark IV Limited Edition benefiting the Council).
3. Government Appropriation: Funded by Multistate Conservation Grant (F25AP00113) from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, jointly administered with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports (CAHSS) is a national nonprofit organization that coordinates Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation (R3) efforts to grow participation in hunting and shooting sports. It produces the R3 Practitioner's Guide, R3 Curriculum e-learning modules, and the National R3 Clearinghouse; hosts the annual National R3 Symposium; runs state, regional, and national R3 workshops and webinars; and convenes a community of more than 3,400 R3 professionals across state agencies, conservation organizations, and industry partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• R3 (Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation): A nationwide movement to increase or maintain participation in and support for shooting sports, hunting, and angling, focused on bringing new participants into the field, keeping current enthusiasts engaged, and reconnecting those who have drifted away.
• PUP AI
• National R3 Clearinghouse
• National R3 Community
• National Hunting and Shooting Sports R3 Practitioner's Guide

Products and services

• National Hunting and Shooting Sports R3 Practitioner's Guide A comprehensive, interactive virtual resource serving as the cornerstone reference for R3 practitioners working in hunting and shooting sports. Developed through a rigorous multi-stakeholder process, it consolidates best practices, case studies, planning tools, and programmatic guidance for agencies and organizations conducting R3 work.
• R3 Curriculum Free self-paced e-learning program covering nine interactive modules spanning R3 foundations, planning, program design, marketing, evaluation, and volunteer/mentor management. Accessible online with free account registration for R3 practitioners across agencies, NGOs, and industry.
• National R3 Clearinghouse Online resource library serving as a central repository of R3 research, case studies, strategic plans, marketing materials, photos, and reports. Provides R3 professionals with a single destination to access and share tools supporting hunting, shooting sports, and angling R3 work.
• PUP AI Interactive AI chat tool that helps R3 professionals quickly find and synthesize information from the National R3 Clearinghouse. Available as a floating chat button on the Council's website, it draws on Clearinghouse reports and data to formulate responses and guide users to relevant resources.
• National R3 Symposium Annual in-person national event bringing together R3 professionals from state agencies, conservation organizations, and industry. Features registration, sessions, speakers, sponsors, and exhibits; rotates venue nationally each year.
• R3 Workshops and Consultation State, regional, and national workshops that deliver R3 training, planning facilitation, and direct consultation to agencies, NGOs, and industry partners. Includes direct R3 consultation, webinars, and tailored planning facilitation engagements.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reversing declining hunting and shooting sports participation to maintain wildlife conservation funding
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• International Hunter Education Association (IHEA-USA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Collaborative development of PUP AI interactive chat tool for R3 professionals. IHEA-USA supports hunter education standards and programs integrated with R3 efforts.
• Wildlife Management InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Original co-developer of the National Hunting and Shooting Sports Action Plan (2016) and ongoing collaborator on R3 initiatives and research.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Primary federal funding partner administering Multistate Conservation Grant Program (MSCGP). The Modernizing the Pittman-Robertson Fund Act (2019) directs up to $5 million annually for national hunting and shooting sports R3 efforts through 2029.
• Association of Fish and Wildlife AgenciescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Joint administration of MSCGP grants with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. AFWA represents state fish and wildlife agencies and hosts regional R3 committees (NEAFWA, SEAFWA, MAFWA, WAFWA) that collaborate with the Council.
• National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry partner representing shooting sports manufacturers. NSSF partner in Find a Shooting Range feature linking to their range locator.
• DJ Case & AssociatescoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerContracted facilitation partner for R3 Practitioner's Guide development. Contributed to stakeholder engagement, focus groups, and content curation across 117 participants and 4,000+ hours.
• Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCross-sector R3 collaboration partner. RBFF provides angling R3 resources (Take Me Fishing) referenced in Council materials for fishing and boating R3.
• Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative SEAFWA R3 Coordinator position (Olivia Harmsen) shared between Council and SEAFWA, coordinating regional R3 efforts across 15 states and two territories.
• Missouri Department of ConservationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative Missouri Mentorship Program Specialist position shared between Council and Missouri Department of Conservation to establish and support statewide hunter mentorship program.
• Wyoming Game and Fish DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative Hunting & Angling Recruitment & Retention Specialist position shared between Council and Wyoming Game and Fish Department to support community-based R3 campaigns.
• Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural ResourcescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative Assistant R3 Coordinator of Outreach position among ADCNR, Council, and Grand Slam Club Ovis to conduct conservation education and outreach across Alabama.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Pheasants Forever: Pheasants Forever (and Quail Forever) is a habitat-focused hunting NGO cited as a CAHSS R3 stakeholder. It runs its own recruitment and habitat-access initiatives, providing a comparable model of combining state agency partnerships, volunteer chapters, and corporate funding to grow hunting participation.
• Ducks Unlimited: Ducks Unlimited is a large conservation NGO listed as a CAHSS stakeholder for R3 efforts. It runs its own hunting recruitment programs (e.g., DU Greenwing) and is significantly larger in membership and budget, but shares the mission of growing hunting participation to fund wetland conservation.
• Boone and Crockett Club: Boone and Crockett is a long-standing wildlife conservation organization (founded 1887) with historic involvement in hunting heritage policy and fair chase standards. It operates at a smaller scale than CAHSS but shares the wildlife conservation mission tied to hunter participation and federal excise tax policy.
• National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF): NSSF is the trade association for the firearms industry and a core strategic partner of CAHSS (e.g., Find a Shooting Range). It operates at a much larger scale and broader scope, but overlaps with CAHSS on R3 coordination, shooting sports promotion, and industry-funded conservation advocacy.
• National Wild Turkey Federation: NWTF is a major hunting-conservation NGO listed as a CAHSS R3 collaborator. It runs its own mentored hunting programs (NWTF Wheeling) and conservation delivery operations, overlapping with CAHSS on state agency engagement and hunting recruitment strategy.

Direct peers

• Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies: AFWA jointly administers MSCGP grants with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and represents state fish and wildlife agencies. It is CAHSS's closest institutional partner, with overlapping convening authority, regional committee structure, and reliance on the Pittman-Robertson funding ecosystem.
• International Hunter Education Association (IHEA-USA): IHEA-USA is CAHSS's co-development partner on PUP AI and shares the same audience of state agencies, hunter education instructors, and R3 professionals. Both are nonprofit organizations working on the hunting participation pipeline, with IHEA focused upstream on education and CAHSS on broader R3 coordination.
• Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation: CSF works on hunting, fishing, and shooting sports policy advocacy at the state and federal levels, sharing CAHSS's Pittman-Robertson/defense-of-hunting mandate and state legislative engagement. Both organizations depend on industry partnerships and operate in the hunting heritage and conservation funding advocacy space.
• Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF): RBFF is the most direct peer: it runs the parallel angling R3 mission (Take Me Fishing campaign), shares the same federal/state/industry stakeholder structure, and is explicitly cited in CAHSS materials as a cross-sector collaborator. Both organizations operate as national R3 coordination hubs funded by excise taxes and dedicated federal grants.
• Wildlife Management Institute: WMI is the co-developer of the National Hunting and Shooting Sports Action Plan (2016) and an ongoing collaborator on R3 initiatives and research. Both organizations operate as national coordination bodies bridging state fish and wildlife agencies with conservation and industry stakeholders on hunting and wildlife issues.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCYREmVN75d8TNOZEfuNjZUQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/groups/nationalr3community

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports