Bill,
More new hunters are definitely necessary, BUT...(you'd knew there would be one, right?
), most new hunters will come from the youngsters that are mentored by the oldsters. Thus, RETENTION of the oldsters is also a necessity, IMO. In fact, it's probably the most important aspect of the equation.
Below is a LAST SHOT column I did for AZ Hunter & Angler waaayyyy back in 1987. A lot in it still applies to the plight of today. -TONY
WE'RE LOSIN' 'EM
Copyright by Tony Mandile
It's no big secret the number of hunters on a national level has declined over the last two decades. With the growth of many small cities into larger cities, a less rural population has resulted. This alone has cut hunter numbers. The seemingly parallel decline occurring in Arizona -- once considered to have a very "rural" population -- is even more distressing.
Unquestionably, the cities here have also grown rapidly. In the Phoenix metro area alone, the population has jumped from 900,000 in 1965 to 2.3 million now. The state's overall people count has increased proportionally, too. Yet, despite the huge influx of people into Arizona, the sales of hunting licenses have fallen substantially from historic highs.
At a recent Arizona Game and Fish Commission meeting, Education Branch Chief Kerry Baldwin explained the history of license sales. He cited a steady growth in license sales from World War II into the 1970s. The gas crisis of the 1970s signaled the peak of license sales growth relative to the changing population across the country. The key years appear to be 1970-71, when most of Arizona's big-game hunts went to a permit system.
Baldwin also pointed to the large drop in youngsters between 10 and 20 years old now getting into hunting. Overall only 5.6 percent of Arizona's residents bought licenses in 1987 compared to 9 percent of the total population in 1967. The number of youths buying licenses declined even worse.
Many factors have played a part in the overall decline. A poor economy, adverse weather and high gas prices have had noticeable but short-term effects over the years. Declines in specific game populations and regulation changes like the permit system played key roles, as well.
More discouraging, though, are the long-term variables -- the ones that will carry over for the coming decades and possibly predict the future of hunting in this country.
First, we have an aging population. This especially shows among licensed hunters because of the lower recruitment of youngsters. As more hunters get older and quit hunting altogether, fewer people will take their place in the outdoors.
Earlier, I mentioned the growth of cities. With this upsurge in a more urban population, fewer and fewer youngsters get to experience the outdoors on a firsthand basis. Instead, they watch the Discovery or Disney channel to learn about wildlife and the outdoors. By the time they become adults, their only experiences with live animals other than a domestic pet might come from a zoo.
Lifestyles have also changed drastically in the last 30 years. In many families both parents MUST work just to pay the bills. Thus, they have less free time for hunting. Instead, the adults take up golf, tennis, bowling or other pastimes -- ones they can enjoy close to home and over a few hours. To them, finding time to play 18 holes is a lot easier than finding a few days to hunt deer. These people spend a large part of their expendable income closer to home, too.
No doubt the current trend in the family makeup accounts for at least some of the lack of recruitment among youths, and it's less than encouraging:
* 30 percent of all children live in a one-parent family;
* 50 percent of all children will live with one parent by age 18;
* 90 percent of all single-parent families have a woman as the that parent;
* 10 percent of the population is comprised of 15-19 year olds;
* 93 percent of the hunters in Arizona are males.
Most juvenile hunters come from homes where hunting and fishing have been a traditional part of the adult family member's lifestyle, according to Baldwin. If juveniles do not participate in hunting or fishing by the time they hit 18 years old, they likely never will. The current surveys support this; 85 percent of current hunting license buyers started before they reached 18 years of age.
Many of my neighbors show just how true these statistics are. At least three families on my block consist of a divorced mother and one or more children. One lives across the street. The mother has been alone for nearly 12 years and somehow has made do on her earnings from two low paying jobs. She was determined to keep herself and three kids off the welfare roles.
When I first talked to the oldest boy nearly 10 years ago, James was 11. I had been outside packing my truck for a deer hunt, and James was cutting his front lawn. He shut down the lawnmower and walked across the street just to visit. During our conversation, I found out he had never hunted and fished only at the park about a mile away. He told me his mother simply never had time to take him. From what I already knew, she probably didn't have the money to spend on even the most minimal equipment either.
Two weeks after the deer hunt, I invited James into my house to see my collection of trophy mounts. They somewhat awed him at first. During the next few months, though, he became a regular visitor. He always enjoyed talking about my trips and looking at the photos from the successful ones.
All my kids are long gone, and I always have these leftover fishing rods, reels, lures, line, baseball hats and other sundry goodies, courtesy of the manufacturers. Plus, my closet contains at least 15 firearms, and I can only use one at a time.
So about five years ago I decided to "adopt" James. During one of his visits, I asked if he thought his mother would let him hunt. He said he didn't know but he would ask.
A day later, I heard a loud knock. When I opened door, James was standing there with a very big smile on his face.
"She said I can."
"She said you can what?" I asked.
"I can go hunting with you."
"Aha, now I understand. Good. But first things first. There's a thing or two we need to get done. I want you to take a hunter education course. Just tell your mom I'll take care of the registration fee and get you get to classes."
The next day I called the game department and got the dates for the next hunter ed class in our neighborhood. James and I attended together, and he graduated with flying colors. A week later, I took him out to the desert and let him shoot some clay birds with my 20 gauge shotgun. We made two more forays to the desert before I felt he had progressed enough to shoot at a live bird without becoming discouraged over missing. On the way home from that third trip, I stopped at a license dealer and bought James his first hunting and fishing license. The next weekend James killed a limit of doves. A week later, we went fishing at Lake Pleasant.
He was hooked.
James is now 20 and attending an out-of-town college on an academic scholarship. He's majoring in biology because he wants to be a wildlife researcher. Although he finds little time for hunting and fishing now, he still manages to stop by my house and reminisce whenever he comes home to see his mom. Naturally, his mother is proud of James' scholastic accomplishments -- and deservedly so.
I have no doubt the youngster will get back to hunting and fishing once he graduates. Before he left for school last August, he told me he would be home for the Thanksgiving holidays and would like to do a little quail hunting with me and my German shorthair if I have the time.
Of course, I made the time. If hunting is to survive, we need all the help we can get. James and youngsters like him represent the best help around.
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