Decline In Hunters Threatens How U.S. Pays For Conservation (NPR)

[HeartachesNhangovers]

A new survey by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows that today, only about 5 percent of Americans, 16 years old and older, actually hunt. That's half of what it was 50 years ago and the decline is expected to accelerate over the next decade.

https://www.npr.org/2018/03/20/593001800/decline-in-hunters-threatens-how-u-s-pays-for-conservation

I lived most of my life on the urbanized CA coast, but knew several people who hunted and fished in the CA National Forests and BLM land, so I participated for many years. Every year I'd pay for a hunting and fishing license and get taxed on my guns, ammo & fishing gear. We didn't mind driving a long way to get to the hunting spots, but as the population and traffic exploded it just became logistically impossible to continue. We just didn't have enough free time to do the scouting necessary to have a chance of success when the season arrived (if you just show up to public land you don't know, you probably aren't going to have any success). We were definitely in the minority on the CA coast. Hardly anyone hunted.

[dhol82]

1. Interesting

I have no problem with people hunting for food.

[BigmanPigman]

2. THAT IS GOOD NEWS!

[NickB79]

7. Have you walked a forest overpopulated with deer?

It's a fucking disaster. They are literally eating species into extinction.

http://earthsky.org/earth/overgrazing-by-deer-is-changing-the-face-of-u-s-forests

[Wellstone ruled]

3. Intersesting isn't it,

Two Sporting Goods Retailers did Chapter eleven BK's in the past two years,why,major decline in Hunting Gear Sales. And the ones who are buying the Assault Type Guns are just accumulating them. Even fishing Licenses have taken a beating as well as fishing gear sales.

Watch for a Major Boat Manufacturer to bite the dust before Xmas.

[democratisphere]

4. Have a conservation fee added to everyone's taxes. Then make certain

the money is used for conservation.

[safeinOhio]

5. Buy my deer license every year.

Have not shot at one in years but do eat lots of road kill. Fresh right the front door. The cop gives me a free tag and always thanks me for keeping the highway clean.

Please don’t judge me

[OnlinePoker]

8. Granny Clampett, is that you? n/t

[lapfog_1]

6. could it be there simply isn't that much left to hunt?

my cousins only rarely go bow hunting for deer these days.

[HeartachesNhangovers]

9. I don't think so. Texas is over-run with feral hogs,

which are also invading California. And CA has so many deer, they starve in large numbers in drought years. There are plenty of animals, but there are so few hunters that the animals populations aren't "managed" anymore. They just boom when there's a lot of rain and acorns, and starve when it's dry.

[OnlinePoker]

11. Don't forget all the predator species that have been wiped out.

Every time a cougar or bear wanders into a residential area, it's summarily executed to keep the kids and pets safe. But ask for a cull of deer to compensate for the lack of predators and you're looked at as a bloodthirsty bastard.

[hatrack]

10. Deer are freaking everywhere . . .

Suburb near here (KC) had to hire professional hunters with silencers to come in and do a night hunt in a large (1,000-acre plus) city park. Car-deer wrecks, shredded gardens, chewed-over parkland.