Developing a strategic plan for future hunting participation in Texas

Abstract

This paper describes a 5‐year planning process that addressed the decline of hunting participation in Texas. We began the planning process by examining 20 years of research that revealed a decline in hunting participation and factors contributing to the decline. We convened a Hunting Think Tank meeting where we presented the 20‐year trend data to 30 individuals with vested interests in the future of hunting in Texas. One outcome of the first meeting was the development of a synthesis brochure, “The Future of Hunting in Texas,” to educate the hunting public and stakeholders about current trends and future implications and build support for the need to develop a strategic plan. The Future of Hunting information and brochure were presented to the Hunting Advisory Board of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, after which the Board added development of a strategic plan to its agenda. In fact, the 2002 Governor's Hunting Heritage Symposium was delayed one year until a strategic plan was developed. Group Solutions was hired to survey the hunting and nonhunting public about the future of hunting in Texas. Its survey data were used to define content of the strategic plan during a 2‐day meeting of 60 invited stakeholders before the annual conference of the Texas Wildlife Association. The strategic plan included, among other things, all issues and problems associated with the decline in hunting participation in Texas, an action plan to address the decline, and the requirements needed to activate the plan. Several other valuable outcomes derived from the planning process, beyond development of the Strategic Plan, were included in this report.

A perfect storm: two ecosystem engineers interact to degrade deciduous forests of New Jersey

“…This is especially true in eastern North America where the white-tailed deer's historical main predator, the mountain lion, is completely extirpated (McCullough 1997). At the same time, the number of citizens participating in deer hunting has steadily declined over the last two decades in part because of an increase in the proportion of the US population that lives in urban areas (Zinn 2003;Adams et al 2004). In addition, hunting opportunities have declined over the past decades as lands formerly in large forest tracts were fragmented and developed for housing and commercial purposes (Drake et al 2002;Riley et al 2003).…”

Expenditure and motivation of Australian recreational hunters

“…The USA Fish and Wildlife Service promotes the fact that 'the sale of hunting licenses, tags, and stamps is the primary source of funding for most state wildlife conservation efforts' (USFWS 2013a). A decline in hunting participation and expenditure in the USA is recognised by many wildlife managers as being financially detrimental for conservation in general in that country (Adams et al 2010;Peterson 2004). …”

Conservation with a Gun: Understanding Landowner Attitudes to Deer Hunting in the Scottish Highlands

“…In parts of the USA and Europe deer numbers are thought to be higher than at any time in history (Johnson 2006;Gill 1990). Altered environmental and habitat conditions such as milder winters and forest expansion, are known to be important drivers of the expansion of deer in terms of numbers and distribution (Milner et al 2006, Warren 1997, but decline in hunting effort is also important (Adams et al 2004;Brown et al 2000;Schulz et al 2003). The dramatic increase in wild deer populations is of concern due to the escalating cost of deer damage to agriculture and forestry crops, increased incidence of road traffic accidents and browsing damage to sensitive nature conservation sites (White et al 2004;Hunt 2003).…”