Scientists Challenge Habitat over Stocking Narrative
Enhancing Sport-Hunting Opportunities for Urbanites
Enhancing Sport-Hunting Opportunities for Urbanites
Author(s): John H. Schulz, Joshua J. Millspaugh, Daniel T. Zekor and Brian E. Washburn
Source: Wildlife Society Bulletin, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Summer, 2003), pp. 565-573
Published by: Wiley on behalf of the Wildlife Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3784340
Key Points:
> Hunting is a major source of funds for state wildlife agencies. Fewer hunters means less funding.
> It is not realistic to expect hunters will remain interested in recreational hunting if they only have access to public land where game animals are not abundant.
>The Habitat paradigm is overrated and not backed with empirical proof. Habitat cannot produce enough game where there are many hunters.
>The Authors propose 2 solutions for providing recreational hunting opportunities to residents of urban areas: 1) Managing public dove hunting fields to attract mourning doves and 2) implementing pheasant stocking.
Quotes
" We have become so entrenched in our thinking that the habitat factor has become unchallengeable professional dogma. All too often, wildlife biologists and administrators regard the outcome of many conservation programs as a foregone conclusion even though empirical data supporting a program's effectiveness are lacking (Weddell 2002). We have become so confident in our solutions that we perceive failure as only a matter of too little application of the patent remedy. We have become too comfortable in our problem solving ability and forget that we sometimes need to change our perspective".
"The paradigm of habitat management became well entrenched, not only among professional wildlife managers but also in the hunting public, as evidenced today by several nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) devoted to promoting habitat management for a specific species or suite of species (e.g., Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, Ruffed Grouse Society, Quail Unlimited)".
"We believe that small game-hunter declines and game-bird population declines are more causally linked than had been previously believed (i.e., the primary causes of the declines in small-game hunting are decreased availability of upland birds and the lack of opportunity to hunt and predictably harvest game animals close to home)."
"As survey data have previously shown, the remaining die-hard upland bird hunters travel farther and farther from home and make numerous trips out of state to find suitable hunting opportunities. Those hunters who have neither the financial resources nor the recreational free time to make a large commitment stop buying permits and likely give up the sport of hunting (Duda et al. 1998, Adams et al. 2000). (Duda et al. 1998, Brown et al. 2000)."
"Hunting today must fit into the existing hectic urban lifestyle and provide a reasonable expectation of success. Our profession can no longer expect young hunters to remain interested in recreational hunting if they only have access to public land where game animals are often scarce."
"Our hypothetical example demonstrates that regardless of how many acres are developed into optimum northern bobwhite quail habitat on public hunting areas close to urban population centers, only a small number of hunters can be accommodated among a potentially large number of available hunters."
"Although our data and assumptions may be criticized, no amount of data massaging will change the ultimate conclusion: we cannot bring about enough habitat change to maintain large enough game-bird populations to meet the potential hunter demand close to urban centers. In other words, optimal habitat alone can no longer meet the potential demand for hunting opportunities close to where urban residents live."
"Today, many state resource-management agencies operate fish hatcheries on the premise that recreational demands for fish are so high in some areas that natural reproduction of wild fish populations cannot keep up with recreational demand; some state agencies (e.g., Illinois and Wisconsin) even maintain pen-reared put-and-take game-bird facilities based on the same premise. How much different is a fish hatchery from a game-bird hatchery?"
"At this point, it is useful to develop a definition of hunting based on ideas proposed by Ortega y Gasset (1985), who stated that hunting is the act of a predatory animal taking possession, dead or alive, of a prey species wherein the outcome of any hunt is uncertain but successful enough to warrant continued participation. The key element in the act of hunting is the harvesting of an animal, and the act must occur with some regular frequency."
" Without a moderate chance of success, individuals new to hunting likely will abandon the sport for other recreational opportunities (camping, backpacking, golf; Cordell and Betz 2000) that provide more gratification. This is especially true for younger generations of potential hunters who have grown up multi-tasking video and computer games, watching satellite television, listening to CDs or MP3s on wireless headsets, and talking to friends on a cellular phone (Witt and Crompton 2000). Hunting all day and finding few, if any, shooting opportunities can't compete for the attention of an urban youngster who can find realistic and limitless shooting and killing opportunities in cyberspace."
"We propose 2 solutions for providing recreational hunting opportunities to residents of urban areas: 1) establishing crop fields to attract mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) and 2) implementing put-and-take hunting under certain restrictions."
SOURCE: Enhancing Sport-Hunting Opportunities for Urbanites Author(s): John H. Schulz, Joshua J. Millspaugh, Daniel T. Zekor and Brian E. Washburn Source: Wildlife Society Bulletin, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Summer, 2003), pp. 565-573 Published by: Wiley on behalf of the Wildlife Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3784340 .
Click Here to Read The Entire Report
Enhancing Sport-Hunting Opportunities for Urbanites
Author(s): John H. Schulz, Joshua J. Millspaugh, Daniel T. Zekor and Brian E. Washburn
Source: Wildlife Society Bulletin, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Summer, 2003), pp. 565-573
Published by: Wiley on behalf of the Wildlife Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3784340
Key Points:
> Hunting is a major source of funds for state wildlife agencies. Fewer hunters means less funding.
> It is not realistic to expect hunters will remain interested in recreational hunting if they only have access to public land where game animals are not abundant.
>The Habitat paradigm is overrated and not backed with empirical proof. Habitat cannot produce enough game where there are many hunters.
>The Authors propose 2 solutions for providing recreational hunting opportunities to residents of urban areas: 1) Managing public dove hunting fields to attract mourning doves and 2) implementing pheasant stocking.
Quotes
" We have become so entrenched in our thinking that the habitat factor has become unchallengeable professional dogma. All too often, wildlife biologists and administrators regard the outcome of many conservation programs as a foregone conclusion even though empirical data supporting a program's effectiveness are lacking (Weddell 2002). We have become so confident in our solutions that we perceive failure as only a matter of too little application of the patent remedy. We have become too comfortable in our problem solving ability and forget that we sometimes need to change our perspective".
"The paradigm of habitat management became well entrenched, not only among professional wildlife managers but also in the hunting public, as evidenced today by several nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) devoted to promoting habitat management for a specific species or suite of species (e.g., Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, Ruffed Grouse Society, Quail Unlimited)".
"We believe that small game-hunter declines and game-bird population declines are more causally linked than had been previously believed (i.e., the primary causes of the declines in small-game hunting are decreased availability of upland birds and the lack of opportunity to hunt and predictably harvest game animals close to home)."
"As survey data have previously shown, the remaining die-hard upland bird hunters travel farther and farther from home and make numerous trips out of state to find suitable hunting opportunities. Those hunters who have neither the financial resources nor the recreational free time to make a large commitment stop buying permits and likely give up the sport of hunting (Duda et al. 1998, Adams et al. 2000). (Duda et al. 1998, Brown et al. 2000)."
"Hunting today must fit into the existing hectic urban lifestyle and provide a reasonable expectation of success. Our profession can no longer expect young hunters to remain interested in recreational hunting if they only have access to public land where game animals are often scarce."
"Our hypothetical example demonstrates that regardless of how many acres are developed into optimum northern bobwhite quail habitat on public hunting areas close to urban population centers, only a small number of hunters can be accommodated among a potentially large number of available hunters."
"Although our data and assumptions may be criticized, no amount of data massaging will change the ultimate conclusion: we cannot bring about enough habitat change to maintain large enough game-bird populations to meet the potential hunter demand close to urban centers. In other words, optimal habitat alone can no longer meet the potential demand for hunting opportunities close to where urban residents live."
"Today, many state resource-management agencies operate fish hatcheries on the premise that recreational demands for fish are so high in some areas that natural reproduction of wild fish populations cannot keep up with recreational demand; some state agencies (e.g., Illinois and Wisconsin) even maintain pen-reared put-and-take game-bird facilities based on the same premise. How much different is a fish hatchery from a game-bird hatchery?"
"At this point, it is useful to develop a definition of hunting based on ideas proposed by Ortega y Gasset (1985), who stated that hunting is the act of a predatory animal taking possession, dead or alive, of a prey species wherein the outcome of any hunt is uncertain but successful enough to warrant continued participation. The key element in the act of hunting is the harvesting of an animal, and the act must occur with some regular frequency."
" Without a moderate chance of success, individuals new to hunting likely will abandon the sport for other recreational opportunities (camping, backpacking, golf; Cordell and Betz 2000) that provide more gratification. This is especially true for younger generations of potential hunters who have grown up multi-tasking video and computer games, watching satellite television, listening to CDs or MP3s on wireless headsets, and talking to friends on a cellular phone (Witt and Crompton 2000). Hunting all day and finding few, if any, shooting opportunities can't compete for the attention of an urban youngster who can find realistic and limitless shooting and killing opportunities in cyberspace."
"We propose 2 solutions for providing recreational hunting opportunities to residents of urban areas: 1) establishing crop fields to attract mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) and 2) implementing put-and-take hunting under certain restrictions."
SOURCE: Enhancing Sport-Hunting Opportunities for Urbanites Author(s): John H. Schulz, Joshua J. Millspaugh, Daniel T. Zekor and Brian E. Washburn Source: Wildlife Society Bulletin, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Summer, 2003), pp. 565-573 Published by: Wiley on behalf of the Wildlife Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3784340 .
Click Here to Read The Entire Report