...But today, that symbiosis is off kilter: Americans’ interest in
hunting is on the decline, cutting into funding for conservation, which
stems largely from hunting licenses, permits and taxes on firearms, bows
and other equipment. Even as more people are engaging in outdoor
activities, hunting license sales have fallen from a peak of about 17
million in the early ’80s to 15 million last year, according to
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data. The agency’s
2016 survey suggested a steeper decline to 11.5 million Americans who say they hunt, down more than 2 million from five years earlier. “The
downward trends are clear,” said Samantha Pedder of the Council to
Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports, which works to increase the
diversity of hunters. The resulting financial shortfall is hitting many state wildlife agencies... A national panel has called for
a new funding model
to keep at-risk species from needing far costlier emergency measures.
The crisis stands to worsen with as many as one-third of America's
wildlife species “at increased risk of extinction,” according to
a 2018 report published
by the National Wildlife Federation. In December, environmentalists and
hunters united in Washington behind two bipartisan bills aimed at
establishing new funding sources and facilitating the recruitment of
hunters...A few states are bucking the trend. New Mexico, where the number of licensed hunters grew
nearly 10 percent
over the past four years, credits its successes to R3 strategies such
as making license applications available online and reaching out to
Latino residents...
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1 comment:
Twenty five years ago, I was teaching at a rural state-supported university in Alabama. The students, knowing I was from California and would probably freak out, told me they had been out deer hunting before class and had bagged a deer. They then asked if I thought that was strange. My reply was "no, young people participate in activities that are in the local culture. Here it is deer hunting. Many of my students an California went surfing before class. They called it the 'Dawn patrol.' While they seemed genuinely interested in what other kids did and in sharing their experiences. All most of them knew about California they learned from viewing "Baywatch." I know the kids still hunt. I see the selfies on social media that their dads and moms post. but it does seem it is much less than when I was a kid. my cousins hunted with their dad. My dad did not hunt. he grew of on an island off the east coast.
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