At the request of state fish and wildlife agencies, the Fish and Wildlife Service has been sponsoring the national survey every five years since 1955. It is viewed as one of the nation’s most important wildlife-related recreation databases and the definitive source of information concerning participation and purchases associated with hunting, fishing and other forms of wildlife-related recreation nationwide.
According to the most recent data, wildlife-watching, in particular, has become ever-more popular, with an estimated 20% increase in the number of people engaged in activities such as photographing and birding from 2011 to 2016. An estimated 86 million people participated in wildlife-watching, many of them around their own home.
The survey likewise found an 8 percent increase in fishing participation since 2011, from 33.1 million anglers to 35.8 million in 2016.
Overall hunting participation decreased 16 percent from 2011 to 2016, with the preliminary findings released today estimating there were 11.5 million U.S. hunters last year. Total expenditures by hunters declined 29 percent from 2011 to 2016, from $36.3 billion to $25.6 billion.
Presently, there are approximately 305 million people in our nation and less than 6% of them buy hunting licenses; the vast majority of people do not hunt. 86 million people engage in wildlife-watching activities nationwide. Wolf-populated states are part of the national economy, and non-resident tourism and wildlife watching have become one of the largest growing industries nationwide. It supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, as well.
Compounding the effects of these demographic trends is the fact that while hunting is a seasonal activity, wildlife watchers/tourists, photographers, outdoor enthusiasts, etc. can provide states with a much more reliable, year round source of revenue. They comprise a broader base of resident and nonresident consumers who are eager and willing to assist in the funding of state wildlife agencies.
The wildlife in this country is owned by its citizens. This legal concept implies that we all share equal, undivided interests in our wild animals. The government holds wildlife in trust for our benefit and is empowered to manage it for the public good.
Until legislative changes in the structure and funding of hunter-dominated state wildlife agencies are implemented – policies that more appropriately reflect the most current peer reviewed science and the changing demographic trends in our nation – wolves and other predators are doomed to the same fate as when they were exterminated to the brink of extinction.