Hunters struggle to find quiet places to hunt
Hunters want to hunt where the hunting is good. But drill a little deeper into the answers given in a recent internet survey and discover that hunters are struggling to find not only a place to hunt but their place in American culture amid a decline in hunting.
The survey by Southwick Associates, a Floridabased market research and economics firm specializing in hunting, shooting, sport-fishing and outdoor recreation, asked hunters to share the top factors in finding a place to hunt. At the top of that list, to no one’s surprise, was the availability and abundance of game hunted. In a question that allowed for multiple answers, 48 percent of those surveyed said a large game population was critical to their decision.
The other top factors in choosing a place to hunt were convenience relative to home, with 45 percent of those surveyed citing that as a key reason, and the ability to escape crowds or find a “quiet place to hunt,” chosen by 45 percent of those surveyed. Other reasons listed in order include:
32% Past hunting success on that property.
27% Location provides access to private land.
13% Land allows for public access.
13% Location is recommended by a friend or family member.
12% Size of the property. 12% How much it costs to hunt there.
The final answer may portend a pay-to-hunt sea change in which most properties are posted and hunters pay a fee for access, challenging the stability of the user-pay North American Wildlife Conservation Model.
Rob Southwick, president of Southwick Associates, suggested in a statement that the survey showed American hunters were looking for places to get away from it all.
“Finding ways to provide hunters with relatively convenient and uncrowded places to hunt, along with a decent chance of encountering game, is a real challenge in many parts of the country,” he said. “But [it] is one the hunting and wildlife management community must continue to pursue.”
Since the 1930s, American hunters and recreational shooters have footed most of the bill for wildlife management through excise taxes applied to hunting and shooting gear and the sale of state hunting licenses. In recent years, however, the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act has generated less revenue than states need to pay for wildlife programs. A collapse
of the North American Model would transfer the cost of wildlife stewardship to taxpayers, who have shown little awareness of the problem or willingness to pick up the bill.
Steelheading
Following a general membership meeting of Penn’s Woods West Trout Unlimited, it was all steelhead talk with a spokesman from the four-season steelhead guiding service Steelhead Jones, currently based at Folly’s End Campground in Erie County. The group meets 7-8:30 p.m. Dec. 10 at Christ Church at Grove Farm, 249 Duff Road, Ohio Township (15143). Information: 412-741-4900.