Managing the vanishing North American hunter: A novel framework to address declines in hunters and hunter-generated conservation funds

Abstract

As long as the funding mechanism supporting state wildlife conservation relies heavily on hunter-generated funds, declines in hunter participation are a threat to the conservation of both game and non-game species. To address options to bolster wildlife agency profit from the sale of hunting licenses, we developed a stage-based, stochastic population model of a hunter population, and demonstrate its utility within a decision-making framework to inform state wildlife agency decisions. We evaluated hypothetical youth and adult recruitment-focused outreach programs over 10 years to increase license sale profit. Using our model as the core of a decision analysis, state agencies can set hunter population or license profit targets, and evaluate management actions designed to achieve those objectives. We anticipate that our approach will provide a valuable framework for anticipating the future of hunting and hunting-generated conservation funds, and can be extended to other user groups, including target shooters and anglers.