QDMA Articles

By: Kip Adams

Hunters pay many of the costs associated with wildlife management across the United States. This is not an egotistical statement made by a hunter (although I am an avid hunter) but a fact of the wildlife management system in our country. We could debate the advantages and shortfalls of this system but my intent is merely to establish the fact that hunters are critical to modern day wildlife management.

Unfortunately, we are losing hunters at an alarming rate. Less than 10% of the U.S. population hunts and the average hunter is nearly 50 years old. We are currently losing more hunters to old age than we are gaining from our youth. Why aren’t we recruiting more youth? A company from Harrisonburg, Virginia may have some answers.

Responsive Management (RM) is a nationally recognized public opinion and attitude survey research firm specializing in natural resource and outdoor recreation issues. In 2003, RM completed a survey titled Factors Related to Hunting and Fishing Participation Among the Nation’s Youth. The final report can be found at www.responsivemanagement.com. Responsive Management surveyed youths 8-18 years old from across the country and this article highlights some of the survey’s important findings.

Of the youths surveyed:
• 54% had shot a bow at some point in the past
• 47% had shot a gun at some point in the past
• 91% had a high or medium interest in wildlife
• 56% agree that hunting for food is okay
• 58% approve of legal hunting (33% disapprove of legal hunting)
• 24% had been hunting at some point and 15% had hunted in the previous year
• 44% expressed interest in going hunting
-those who were very interested in going hunting were significantly more likely to have a family member who hunts.
-those who were very interested in going hunting were more likely to have been fishing in the previous year.
-those who were interested in going hunting were significantly more likely to live in a rural area or to have grown up in a rural area.
• Males were more likely than females to be very interested in going hunting
• 88% think it is okay for girls to hunt and 91% think it is okay for boys to hunt
• 50% think hunting is unsafe (40% think it is safe)
• 71% think hunting is “cool”
• Very few youth see or hear information at school that helps them learn more about hunting or increases their interest in hunting
• 61% who hear about hunting at school say they hear good things about it (7% hear bad things about hunting)
• 47% did not know whether their teachers supported or opposed hunting
• Youths from a single-parent household were more likely to have hunted

Of the surveyed youths who had hunted:
• 95% liked hunting
• 69% would like to hunt more than they do
• The single most common reason for hunting was to have fun (34%) and to be with friends or family (30%)

The report also stated youth participation in hunting is positively related to being male, to having a family member who hunts, to having also been fishing, and to living in a rural area or spending time in rural areas. Youth hunters typically had a mentor who had a positive influence on their interest and/or participation in hunting. The top reason given that would encourage youth to go hunting or hunt more was being asked by another person such as his/her father, another family member or a friend.

The report is full of statistics and percentages but some of the key findings include:

• most youths think hunting is cool
• many youths would like to hunt more than they do
• few youths hear much about hunting at school
• youths that hunt likely fished at an early age

The above four bullets are a great starting point for anyone reading this article to make a positive impact on youth hunter recruitment. Whether you’re a teacher, carpenter, truck driver, business owner or wildlife biologist you can embrace the fact that hunting is “cool” to youths. Youths have the rest of their lives to do their part for wildlife management; let them have fun doing a “cool” activity in the early years. We all have a day or two each year we can forego our own hunting and take a youth to the woods. Being a mentor for merely one day can pay dividends to the youth and you. We all know a teacher or someone who works in a school system. Ask them to mention to the students that it is hunting season or to ask the students how many of them or their parents hunt. A single question may start a productive dialogue about hunting. Lastly, take a child fishing. We all could take a child (or a truck load of kids) to a trout stream or a farm pond full of bluegills. You don’t have to own land to take a youth fishing and you don’t even have to have much money. A $10 spinning rod and $2 pack of night crawlers are all that are necessary.

As hunters we owe it to the resource to do everything we can to protect future wildlife populations and their habitats. One of the most important things we can do is ensure there will be future hunters. The QDMA is a proud supporter of youth programs and I hope you are too.

Kip’s Korner is written by Kip Adams, a Certified Wildlife Biologist and Northern Director of Education and Outreach for the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA). The QDMA is an international nonprofit wildlife conservation organization dedicated to ethical hunting, sound deer management and preservation of the deer-hunting heritage. The QDMA can be reached at 1-800-209-DEER or www.QDMA.com.

This article was taken directly from a previous issue of Quality Whitetails, the bi-monthly journal of the QDMA. The $30 annual membership to QDMA includes a subscription to this acclaimed publication. For information on joining QDMA, click here.