History and Purpose
The TOMO program was the brainchild of current South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Director John Frampton. The concept of the program was presented to the DNR Board by former DNR Director Dr. Paul Sandifer in 1999. After a year of development, the program was implemented in the summer of 2000.
TOMO is an innovative approach to introducing and re-introducing the youth and families of
South Carolina to hunting, fishing, and shooting sports, and other outdoor recreation. The
program has the ultimate goal of halting the local and national downward trend in participation
in these activities. TOMO is designed to teach students about the total outdoor experience, and
to increase their awareness of the value of wildlife and the natural environment by encouraging
experienced adults to “pass on” traditional outdoor skills. TOMO emphasizes teaching
background knowledge, skills, safety considerations, responsible behavior, conservation-related
issues, and character education.
The TOMO program is designed to target two focus areas:
- Outreach addresses the need to assist families, minorities, single-parent families, and others, by allowing their children to experience outdoor activities in a controlled, supervised environment.
- Education provides a specific mechanism for young students and adults, regardless of their background, to learn about safe and ethical hunting, fishing, and the conservation and responsible use of our natural resources.
In 2001, the Outdoor Heritage Mobile Education Trailer was
introduced as a promotional tool for the TOMO program. This 50-foot trailer houses three
shooting sports activities and is used to increase the public’s awareness of shooting
sports and wildlife education. The TOMO trailer contains:
- a 21’ indoor air gun range,
- DART Interactive Video shooting system
- Laser Shot shooting system
The DART and Laser Shot systems allow students to simulate shooting activities in a controlled
environment.
The Laser Shot system can be used with the trailer or as a stand-alone,
portable system which can be taken into places where the size of the trailer would be
prohibitive. The trailer and laser shooting system travel to events around the state and reach
approximately 15,000 young people and adults each year.
The most exciting part of the program is actually involving TOMO students and their families in unique TOMO hunts provided to them by the DNR and corporate sponsors.