Recruitment rates of youngsters in hunting and fishing have stabilized
after declining through the 1990s, according to a new report based on
preliminary data from the 2006 National Surveys of Fishing, Hunting and
Wildlife-Associated Recreation and information from previous surveys.
"These rates are critical to the future of fish and wildlife
conservation," said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dale Hall. "The
North American model of wildlife conservation, a system that keeps wildlife
as a public and sustainable resource, scientifically managed by
professionals and agencies such as the Service and state counterparts, is
funded in large part by hunters and anglers."
"From 1990 to 2000 there was a steady decline in the percent of kids
living at home who had ever participated in fishing and hunting," said
Service economist Jerry Leonard, who authored the report. "During the last
five years this decline has stabilized. Now, 42 percent of our nation?s
youth have gone fishing and 8 percent have gone hunting at least once."
The report also shows that many first time hunters and anglers - about 33
percent of all first timers -- are 21-years-old and older.
Recruitment declined the least among those with higher incomes, those
living in less populated areas of the U.S., and those living in the Midwest.
In contrast, the greatest declines were among people with the lowest
incomes, those living in urban areas, and those in the New England and
Pacific coastal, Rocky Mountain and Southwestern states.
The document, Fishing and Hunting Recruitment and Retention in the U.S.
from 1990 to 2005, is available at
http://library.fws.gov/nat_survey2001_recruitment.pdf. It is based on a
preliminary review of information being compiled for the 2006 National
Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, and on
information collected during the 1991, 1996, and 2001 Surveys. The Survey,
conducted every 5 years since 1955, is one of the Nation?s most important
wildlife recreation databases. The Survey is conducted at the request of the
National Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. The U.S. Census Bureau
collects the information and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service analyzes the
results and writes the reports. The Survey is considered to be the
definitive source of information concerning participation and expenditures
associated with hunting, fishing and other forms of wildlife recreation
nationwide.
Though recruitment rates of children have stabilized, retention rates for
fishing continued to decline from 2000 to 2005. "In 1990, 65 percent of
anglers fished in the previous three years," said Leonard. "That number fell
to 61 percent by 1995, 60 percent by 2000 and 57 percent by 2005."
Hunting retention rates look better. "Hunting retention rates leveled off
in the last five years," said Leonard. "During this period, the conservation
community maintained 43 percent of hunters after losing 4 percent from 1990
to 1995 and 2 percent from 1995 to 2000."
This summer, the Service expects to release information on the number of
people who fished, hunted, and observed wildlife in 2006, and the amount of
money they spent on these activities. Representatives of the media
interested in advisories and possible announcements can be included on a
media list by sending an e-mail with name, affiliation, e-mail address and
phone number to
Nicholas_Throckmorton@fws.gov.
The Survey is funded by an excise tax on firearms, ammunition, archery
and fishing equipment, and a tax on small-engine boats fuel under the
Federal Aid in Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Acts. A wide range of
individuals and groups depend on the Survey to provide an analysis of
hunting and fishing participation, total monies spent on outdoor recreation
and demographic characteristics of wildlife recreation participants.
