Upon receipt of an application from an officer or other designated official representative of any nonprofit organization that has as one of its stated purposes to educate youth on Virginia's fish and wildlife resources, the Director may issue a permit to an officer or representative of the organization that allows youths under the age of 18 years old who participate in a fish and wildlife educational event of the organization to hunt and fish. This permit shall serve in lieu of having to purchase a state youth resident combination hunting license pursuant to § 29.1-303.3 or state resident basic hunting license pursuant to § 29.1-303, the special license for hunting bear, deer, and turkey pursuant to § 29.1-305, and the state resident fishing license pursuant to subsection A of § 29.1-310. The permit shall be valid for a period of 48 hours. The permit fee shall be $25 or as subsequently revised by the Board pursuant to § 29.1-103. The application for the permit shall state the date upon which it will be used, the general area in which it will be used, the name of the person and organization responsible for the group of participants, and the number of participants to be covered by the permit. All youth participating in a hunting event covered by the permit shall comply with the provisions of subsection A of § 29.1-300.1 regarding competence in hunter education, or shall be accompanied and directly supervised by an adult over the age of 18 who has, on his person, a valid Virginia hunting license.

For the purposes of this section, "accompanied and directly supervised" occurs when a person over 18 years of age maintains a close visual and verbal contact with, provides adequate direction to, and can immediately assume control of the firearm from the youth participant.

2009, c. 45.