TY - GEN
T1 - Constraints on Hunter Effort in Illinois
AU - Wahlberg, Eric M.
AU - Stephens, Dan
AU - Miller, Craig
N1 - 80th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, January 26-29, 2020, Springfield, IL
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - Hunting participation in the United States, including Illinois, has declined over the past several decades. During the last 10 years, hunting license purchases among Illinois residents has decreased by 10%. Illinois and other states have committed to recruit, retain, and reengage hunters. Declining hunting participation may limit the effectiveness of hunting as a management tool. Our goal is to determine the impact of demographic, experiential, personal, and regulatory constraints on hunting participation during the 2017-2018 hunting seasons in Illinois. In 2018, we randomly sampled 6,102 Illinois residents that purchased an Illinois hunting license between 2006 and 2016. A mail-based questionnaire was used to determine their hunting participation and constraints to hunting participation in Illinois. We received 1,367 questionnaires for a 25% response rate. Constraints to hunting participation among Illinois residents was analyzed using bivariate analyses and logistic regression models. Among respondents, 56% indicated that their hunting effort over the last 5 years had decreased. Less than half of respondents (45%) hunted during the 2017-2018 hunting seasons in Illinois and hunting participation rates decreased drastically among hunters that do not hunt every year. The leading causes for decreased hunting effort were: hunting skills and knowledge, health problems, and frequency of hunting participation. Our model correctly classified hunting effort among 71% of respondents. In conclusion, we found that past experience and personal constraints had the greatest impact on hunting effort among Illinois residents during the 2017-2018 hunting seasons.
AB - Hunting participation in the United States, including Illinois, has declined over the past several decades. During the last 10 years, hunting license purchases among Illinois residents has decreased by 10%. Illinois and other states have committed to recruit, retain, and reengage hunters. Declining hunting participation may limit the effectiveness of hunting as a management tool. Our goal is to determine the impact of demographic, experiential, personal, and regulatory constraints on hunting participation during the 2017-2018 hunting seasons in Illinois. In 2018, we randomly sampled 6,102 Illinois residents that purchased an Illinois hunting license between 2006 and 2016. A mail-based questionnaire was used to determine their hunting participation and constraints to hunting participation in Illinois. We received 1,367 questionnaires for a 25% response rate. Constraints to hunting participation among Illinois residents was analyzed using bivariate analyses and logistic regression models. Among respondents, 56% indicated that their hunting effort over the last 5 years had decreased. Less than half of respondents (45%) hunted during the 2017-2018 hunting seasons in Illinois and hunting participation rates decreased drastically among hunters that do not hunt every year. The leading causes for decreased hunting effort were: hunting skills and knowledge, health problems, and frequency of hunting participation. Our model correctly classified hunting effort among 71% of respondents. In conclusion, we found that past experience and personal constraints had the greatest impact on hunting effort among Illinois residents during the 2017-2018 hunting seasons.
KW - INHS
UR - http://j6iidu.m.attendify.com/app/sessions/9okrPGU0Psnl4siV7M/details
M3 - Conference contribution
BT - Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference 2020
ER -