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9/5/2007
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission

Arkansas Ranks High In National Survey of Wildlife Recreation

LITTLE ROCK – It’s no secret that Arkansans are passionate about hunting and fishing, but a recent national survey clearly illustrates the importance of the outdoors to Arkansas residents.

According to preliminary data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, Arkansas ranked fourth in participation rates in hunting and fishing. Some 14 percent of Arkansas residents age 16 and older hunted last year, and 21 percent of the state’s 16-and-over population went fishing.

The National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation has been conducted every five years since 1955 and is one of the nation’s most important wildlife-recreation databases. It’s considered the definitive source of information on participation and expenditures associated with hunting, fishing and other forms of wildlife-related recreation nationwide. The survey is carried out by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Montana had the highest rate of hunting participation in 2006 at 19 percent, while Alaska and Minnesota had the highest fishing participation at 28 percent. Texas had the highest total number of hunters with 1.1 million residents going hunting at least once last year, and Florida was first in total number of anglers with 2.8 million.

In addition to hunting and fishing, the survey counted wildlife watchers. Some 40 percent of Arkansas’s 16-and-over population took part in wildlife-watching activities last year. Wildlife watching includes feeding, closely observing and photographing wildlife. With hunting, fishing and wildlife-watching combined, half of the state’s residents age 16 and over took part in some form of wildlife-associated recreation last year.

“We’re encouraged to see the number of Arkansans who are participating in wildlife-associated recreation,” said Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Director Scott Henderson. “But we still need to be vigilant in our attempts to get more Arkansans involved in the outdoors. It’s especially important that we expose the state’s youth to these activities, to make sure they appreciate what we have and to pass on a conservation legacy for future generations.”

Nationwide, more than 87 million Americans, or 38 percent of the U.S. population age 16 or older, took part in hunting, fishing or wildlife-watching in 2006. They spent $120 billion pursuing those activities last year, an amount that is equal to 1 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. Some 30 million Americans (13 percent of the 16-and-over population) fished last year, and 12.5 million (5 percent) hunted in 2006.

The number of wildlife watchers (71 million) exceeded the number of hunters and anglers (34 million), but hunters and anglers spent much more money pursuing their activities, $75 million last year compared to $45 million spent by wildlife watchers. (Some people took part in both hunting/angling and wildlife watching, so the total doesn’t equal the 87 million listed in the preceding paragraph.)

The survey also shows trends in participation based on comparisons to past surveys. One disturbing national trend was a 12 percent drop in the number of anglers since 2001. The survey also showed a 4 percent decline in the number of hunters, but it is not considered statistically significant.

The number of Americans taking part in wildlife-associated recreation increased from 77 million in 1996 to 87 million last year, but the percentage of those people who hunted and fished declined from 51 percent in 1996 to 39 percent last year. Wildlife watchers have maintained their proportion in the overall increase but sportspersons have not.

“This shows that we must remain steadfast in exposing new sportspersons, especially our youth, to the abundant outdoor opportunities here in The Natural State,” Henderson said.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service carried out the survey at the request of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. It was developed with assistance from state conservation agencies, national conservation groups and wildlife-related recreation industries.

The survey provides estimates of wildlife-associated recreationists for 2006, but it isn’t designed to count the total number of active and potential recreationists, given that many individuals could be considered hunters, anglers or wildlife watchers even though they didn’t participate in 2006.

Information cited here is from preliminary reports. The final national report is scheduled for release in October, while the final state reports will be released in November.

The 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation State Overview report, as well as previous surveys and reports, can be found at http://federalaid.fws.gov/surveys/surveys.html.