State wildlife management agencies are funded primarily by revenue from hunting and angling license sales as well as federal excise taxes on equipment. Declines in hunting participation across much of the United States throughout the last two decades have prompted researchers and wildlife professionals to search for explanations and solutions that will ensure a level of funding for state agencies that allows continued management of wildlife within biological and social carrying capacities, engagement in conservation initiatives, and development of recreational opportunities. (Investigating the Social Habitat of Deer Hunters in Michigan; Christopher Henderson)
State agencies have implemented several strategies to address the problems associated with declining participation. The most common efforts have been to attempt to increase hunting participation through recruitment and retention programs. Recruitment and retention programs are designed to help usher youth into the hunting population by providing hunting camps, mentoring programs, and hunter education courses with the hope that they will be retained as hunters into adulthood, continually supporting the agency through license and equipment purchases. However, these strategies have not always been effective at increasing participation, and uncertainty still exists about the best way to approach hunter recruitment and retention. (Beucler and Servheen 2008, Ryan and Shaw 2011, Larson et al. 2014).
Building on social-ecological theory, Larson et al. (2014) suggest a new framework for investigating hunter recruitment and retention, a social habitat for hunting.
To learn about this new theory and how it may be used to recruit hunters; read the following:
Exploring the Social Habitat for Hunting: Toward a Comprehensive Framework for Understanding Hunter Recruitment and Retention; Lincoln R. Larson et al
Investigating the Social Habitat of Deer Hunters in Michigan; Christopher Henderson
Larson, L. R., D. J. Decker, R. C. Stedman, W. F. Siemer, M. S. Baumer, and J. W. Enck. 2013.
Hunter Recruitment and Retention in New York: A Framework for Research and Action.
Human Dimensions Research Unit Series Publication 13-04. Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. 72pp.
It not just video games: What pulls people out of hunting is just as important as what pulls people in....
State agencies have implemented several strategies to address the problems associated with declining participation. The most common efforts have been to attempt to increase hunting participation through recruitment and retention programs. Recruitment and retention programs are designed to help usher youth into the hunting population by providing hunting camps, mentoring programs, and hunter education courses with the hope that they will be retained as hunters into adulthood, continually supporting the agency through license and equipment purchases. However, these strategies have not always been effective at increasing participation, and uncertainty still exists about the best way to approach hunter recruitment and retention. (Beucler and Servheen 2008, Ryan and Shaw 2011, Larson et al. 2014).
Building on social-ecological theory, Larson et al. (2014) suggest a new framework for investigating hunter recruitment and retention, a social habitat for hunting.
To learn about this new theory and how it may be used to recruit hunters; read the following:
Exploring the Social Habitat for Hunting: Toward a Comprehensive Framework for Understanding Hunter Recruitment and Retention; Lincoln R. Larson et al
Investigating the Social Habitat of Deer Hunters in Michigan; Christopher Henderson
Larson, L. R., D. J. Decker, R. C. Stedman, W. F. Siemer, M. S. Baumer, and J. W. Enck. 2013.
Hunter Recruitment and Retention in New York: A Framework for Research and Action.
Human Dimensions Research Unit Series Publication 13-04. Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. 72pp.
It not just video games: What pulls people out of hunting is just as important as what pulls people in....