Satisfaction of Public Land Hunters During Long‐term Deer Population Decline

Abstract

White‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations and deer hunter participation on federal public lands within the Appalachian Mountains of the southeastern United States have been declining over the last 30 years. Our study focused on Chattahoochee National Forest hunters in North Georgia, a region that has sustained a 64% decline in buck harvest success rates and 68% decline in hunter participation during 1979–2018. To better understand factors influencing satisfaction of remaining hunters, we sent mail questionnaires to 1,271 hunters in February 2019. We received 441 completed questionnaires for a 36% adjusted response rate. First, we used principal component analysis to identify 4 unique motivations for deer hunting: 1) escaping the daily routine and spending time outdoors, 2) harvesting deer for food, 3) socializing with hunting partners, and 4) harvesting trophy bucks. Second, we used ordinal logistic regression, which indicated that perception of a low deer population density was associated with lower levels of satisfaction. Perception of the right number of hunters on the landscape was associated with higher levels of satisfaction. In addition, greater importance ratings of harvesting trophy bucks were associated with lower satisfaction levels. Last, we applied revised importance‐performance analysis to 19 aspects of WMA deer hunting, which revealed that managers should focus on increasing opportunities for hunters to see deer and harvest bucks for the best chance at improving hunter satisfaction. Considering the 64% decline in harvest success rates between 1979 and 2018, the positive relationship between hunter satisfaction and perception of deer density, and hunter desires to see more deer and have more opportunities to harvest bucks, we recommend managing the deer population to increase numbers. Overall, our findings suggested that hunters and managers agree on the direction of deer management on North Georgia public lands for the near future. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawn survival and the influence of landscape characteristics on fawn predation risk in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, USA

“…During 1979–2015, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR) recorded an 85% and 97% reduction in hunter harvest for male and female deer, respectively, on 8 Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) within the Chattahoochee National Forest of northern Georgia [ 2 ]. A 68% decrease in hunter participation also occurred on these WMAs during 1979–2018 [ 3 ] contributing to the decrease in harvest. However, buck harvest success rates (i.e., bucks harvested /hunter/days available) still fell by 64% during this time, even when hunters of these WMAs have indicated they mainly target bucks with minimal interest in harvesting does [ 3 ].…”

“…A 68% decrease in hunter participation also occurred on these WMAs during 1979–2018 [ 3 ] contributing to the decrease in harvest. However, buck harvest success rates (i.e., bucks harvested /hunter/days available) still fell by 64% during this time, even when hunters of these WMAs have indicated they mainly target bucks with minimal interest in harvesting does [ 3 ]. The reduction of buck harvest success was a likely indicator of decreasing deer densities [ 4 ].…”

“…The reduction of buck harvest success was a likely indicator of decreasing deer densities [ 4 ]. Restriction or elimination of antlerless harvest opportunities by GDNR to stabilize or reverse population declines have not been successful [ 3 ]. Decreasing deer densities may have contributed to improved herd condition as mean dressed weights and main antler beam sizes of yearling bucks increased by 21% and 92%, respectively, during the same time period [ 2 ].…”

The importance of structural, situational, and psychological factors for involving hunters in the adaptive flyway management of geese

“…Studies examining drivers and barriers of hunting (e.g., hunting frequency, bag size) commonly identify explicit, or stated, hunting motives related to nature or escaping from everyday life, social inclusion, achievement or excitement, and game meat 20 , 22 – 25 . In addition, hunting can provide collective gains for management 26 , 27 .…”

Success is dependent on effort: Unraveling characteristics of successful deer and elk hunters

“…Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau 2016). With fewer sport hunters afield (Stedman et al 2004, Rosenberger et al 2021, Rosenberger et al 2022), coupled with decreasing access for hunters on private lands (Haggerty and Travis 2006, Fontaine et al 2019), managers have fewer options to manage game populations across landownerships, including reduced decision space to lessen depredation of crops and other resources (Walter et al 2010, Johnson et al 2014). Thus, investigating factors that contribute to hunter success can help inform wildlife population management and hunting season structure (Schmidt et al 2005, Ward et al 2008).…”