Washington Hunters' Participation in Hunting Various Species and Their Opinions on and Attitudes Toward Various Hunting Regulations

INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY

This study was conducted for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (hereinafter referred to as the Department) to gather information on hunters' opinions on and attitudes toward various hunting regulations, their desires regarding potential management strategies, and their participation in hunting various species. The study entailed a telephone survey of licensed Washington hunters, both resident and nonresident. Specific aspects of the research methodology are discussed below.

For the survey, telephones were selected as the preferred sampling medium because of the almost universal ownership of telephones among Washington hunters (both landlines and cell phones were called). Additionally, telephone surveys, relative to mail or Internet surveys, allow for more scientific sampling and data collection, provide higher quality data, obtain higher response rates, are more timely, and are more cost-effective. Telephone surveys also have fewer negative effects on the environment than do mail surveys because of reduced use of paper and reduced energy consumption for delivering and returning the questionnaires.

The telephone survey questionnaire was developed cooperatively by Responsive Management and the Department. The sample of licensed hunters was obtained from the Department. The sample was stratified by species type to obtain a set number of completed interviews among hunters of five species/ species groups: deer (130 interviews), elk (130), black bear (130), cougar (130), and small game (260).

Telephone surveying times are Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Saturday from noon to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., local time. The survey was conducted in August 2014. The software used for data collection was Questionnaire Programming Language. Responsive Management obtained a total of 914 completed interviews. The analysis of data was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences as well as proprietary software developed by Responsive Management.

SPECIES HUNTED

• Deer hunters, elk hunters, black bear hunters, cougar hunters, and small game hunters were asked to name all the species they hunted in the 2013-2014 season.
  • Deer hunters' top species are black-tailed deer (56%), elk (45%), white-tailed deer (40%), mule deer (35%), black bear (15%), and grouse (12%).
  • Elk hunters' top species (in addition to elk) are black-tailed deer (48%), mule deer (33%), white-tailed deer (16%), and black bear (12%).
  • Black bear hunters' top species (in addition to black bear) are elk (61%), mule deer (also 61%), white-tailed deer (39%), black-tailed deer (35%), cougar (30%), grouse (24%), and wild turkey (13%).
  • Cougar hunters' top species (in addition to cougar) are elk (76%), black bear (53%), black-tailed deer (43%), mule deer (41%), white-tailed deer (31%), and grouse (17%).
  • Small game hunters' top species are pheasant (49%), duck (35%), grouse (23%), geese (16%), quail (13%), elk (13%), white-tailed deer (12%), mule deer (11%), black-tailed deer (10%), and wild turkey (also 10%).
    • Note that the sample stratification based on one species did not preclude hunters from hunting other species, as evidenced, for instance, by small game hunters also hunting elk and deer.

HUNTING LOCATIONS IN GENERAL

• From a little over half to two-thirds of the various hunter groups had hunted outside of Washington at some time: 53% of deer hunters had, and 66% of elk hunters had. All other types of hunters fell between those percentages.
• Hunting on public land exceeds hunting on private land for all hunter types. Elk hunters have the highest percentage hunting on public land (45% do). On the other hand, deer hunters have the highest percentage hunting on private land (26% do). In looking at totals for public land (sum of "public" and "both"): 74% of deer hunters, 90% of elk hunters, 93% of black bear hunters, 88% of cougar hunters, and 84% of small game hunters hunt on public land at least some of the time.

LANDS ENROLLED IN PRIVATE LANDS ACCESS PROGRAMS

• From 8% to 19% of hunters have hunted on private lands enrolled in the Department's private land access programs. The highest percentages using these lands are small game hunters, cougar hunters, and elk hunters.
  • The most popular of the programs is the "Feel Free to Hunt" program, followed by the "Hunt by Written Permission" program.
  • The programs are perceived positively, with a majority of each type of hunter who used one of those programs saying that they were satisfied with the program. Among those who used one of the programs, satisfaction is at 72% among deer hunters, 81% among elk hunters, 80% among black bear hunters, 88% among cougar hunters, and 80% among small game hunters.
    • Common reasons for not being more satisfied include access problems, lack of game, poor habitat, crowding, and fees.
• Regardless of whether they use private land or not, or whether they use access programs, hunters of all types overwhelmingly think that access to private lands is important: the percentage responding with very important and somewhat important together range from 82% to 91%; no more than 10% of any hunter group think it is unimportant.
• Hunters are split on whether they support or oppose a requirement to purchase a permit or pass for access to lands enrolled in the Department's private land access programs, if the revenue was to be used by the Department to provide and manage these programs. For each hunter group except elk hunters, more support than oppose, but the percentages are close for all except small game hunters:
  • Among deer hunters, 48% support, but 41% oppose.
  • Among elk hunters, 41% support, but 45% oppose.
  • Among black bear hunters, 52% support, but 37% oppose.
  • Among cougar hunters, 52% support, but 40% oppose.
  • Among small game hunters, 63% support, while 28% oppose.
• A similar question to the one above asked about support for or opposition to the permit requirement, but this time the hunter was given the condition that the revenue be used by the Department to provide access to timber company properties. In this one, hunters are again split, with support just a bit ahead of opposition:
  • Among deer hunters, 53% support, but 37% oppose.
  • Among elk hunters, 46% support, but 42% oppose.
  • Among black bear hunters, 49% support, but 35% oppose.
  • Among cougar hunters, 56% support, but 35% oppose.
  • Among small game hunters, 56% support, while 31% oppose.
• Two questions asked about willingness to pay to hunt on private land.
  • The majority of all five types of hunters would be willing to pay a farmer or rancher for the opportunity to hunt on the farm/ranch land: from 59% to 73% would be willing to pay. Nonetheless, those not willing to pay make up not insubstantial percentages, ranging from 23% to 36%.
  • The majority of all except elk hunters would be willing to pay a timber company for the opportunity to hunt on the timber company land: 54% of deer hunters, 55% of black bear hunters, 59% of cougar hunters, and 56% of small game hunters would be willing to pay (among elk hunters, 45% would be willing to pay). Among elk hunters, 51% would not be willing to pay; the other groups range from 37% to 41% not willing to pay.

OPINIONS ON COOPERATIVE ROAD MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND ROAD CLOSURES

• Support for exceeds opposition to the cooperative road management systems on public lands and private timberlands to reduce hunter crowding and disturbance of wildlife; nonetheless, there is some opposition to contend with. Note that large percentages either have not heard of cooperative road systems, did not know whether they support or oppose, or answered neutrally.
  • Among deer hunters, 39% support, and 17% oppose.
  • Among elk hunters, 38% support, and 19% oppose.
  • Among black bear hunters, 41% support, and 18% oppose.
  • Among cougar hunters, 45% support, and 15% oppose.
  • Among small game hunters, 35% support, and 10% oppose.
    • Those who don't know or answered neutrally range from 40% to 55%.
• Support for far exceeds opposition to using road closures to maintain healthy game populations during critical periods of the year: support ranges from 73% to 78%; opposition ranges from 16% to 22%.

OPINIONS ON WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

• Providing the public with information about game management activities is considered important by overwhelming majorities of all five hunter groups, with most of them saying very important. The percentages saying this is important range from 92% to 95%; unimportant responses range from 2% to 7%.
• Controlling the use of ATVs and snowmobiles for hunting is also considered important by large majorities, but not as big as for the previous question. Controlling ATVs and snowmobiles is considered important by from 69% to 77%. Meanwhile, the percentages thinking this is unimportant range from 14% to 24%.
• A similar question asked about the importance of providing public access to private industrial timberlands: from 77% to 83% say this is important, while from 8% to 14% say it is unimportant.
• Agreement far exceeds disagreement that the Department needs to make more or better information available for people to understand the Department's game management practices: the percentages who agree range from 80% to 84%; disagreement ranges from 8% to 10%.
• The survey asked hunters about the best way to provide them with information about game management. Overall, brochures/pamphlets and the Department website lead the list, with email, other websites, and direct mail close behind.
• A question was asked about issues that ungulates face, asked of deer and elk hunters who had hunted deer and elk (note that a handful of hunters in each sample had not hunted deer or elk). Among deer hunters, the top perceived issue is predators, followed by loss of habitat/food supply, disease, and over-hunting. Among elk hunters, loss of habitat/food supply is the top issue, followed by predators, disease, and over-hunting.

OPINIONS ON WOLF MANAGEMENT

• Hunters, for the most part, oppose wolf recovery in Washington. All hunter groups have a majority who oppose wolf recovery, with four of the five hunter groups having a majority in strong opposition. The most opposition is among elk hunters (76% oppose, with 68% strongly opposing); the lowest opposition is among small game hunters, but still a majority opposing (53% oppose, with 48% strongly opposing). Nonetheless, support ranges from a high of 34% among small game hunters to 17% among elk hunters.
  • Those who oppose wolf recovery were asked why they oppose (again, open-ended). The top responses are that respondents worry that wolves will kill too much game, that they will disrupt the ecosystem, and that they are a danger to livestock, people, and pets.
• A question that touches on a subject raised in the previously discussed open-ended question about opposition to wolf recovery directly asked hunters how concerned they are about the impacts wolves might have on ungulate populations, such as deer, elk, and moose. Each of the hunter groups had a majority being either extremely concerned or very concerned: from 58% (among small game hunters) to 80% (among cougar hunters) of hunters were in the top two concern levels.
  • Another question on this subject asked hunters if they would support or oppose some level of lethal wolf control to protect deer, elk, and moose populations in Washington. Support is overwhelming: from 83% to 96% of the groups support, with majorities in strong support (66% to 86% strongly supporting).
• Most hunters in each hunter group were aware prior to the survey that Washington has a wolf management plan: from 65% to 82% were aware.
• Three questions probed hunters' knowledge of wolves in Washington. It appears that there are some common misconceptions about wolves in the state.
  • The first question asked if the given statement was true or false: Wolves in the state of Washington are all federally listed as "Endangered."
    • Although a majority of each hunter group indicated that the statement is true (from 58% to 73%), the statement is actually false.
  • The second statement was as follows: Wolves caught attacking livestock in the eastern Washington recovery region may be killed by the livestock owner.
    • On this question, a majority of each hunter group (64% to 80%) gave the correct answer (true).
  • The third statement was as follows: If wolves cause a decline in deer, elk, or moose populations in the eastern recovery region, the Department can lethally remove wolves to curtail the decline.
    • On this question, a majority (55% to 65%) gave the correct answer (true).

OPINIONS ON LEADED AMMUNITION

• There is no consensus about whether non-lead ammunition is important for the future of hunting. For four of the hunter groups (deer, elk, black bear, and cougar hunters), disagreement exceeds agreement on this statement: from 44% to 60% of these groups disagree, compared to agreement at 28% to 35%. Among small game hunters, 38% disagree, while 50% agree.
• Hunters are split on support for or opposition to a potential new Department program to provide incentives for hunters to voluntarily use non-lead ammunition for hunting. Among deer hunters and small game hunters, support (at 50% and 48%, respectively) exceeds opposition (at 36% and 39%, respectively). On the other hand, among elk hunters and black bear hunters, support (39% and 43%) is below opposition (both at 47%). Cougar hunters are evenly split (43% support to 44% who oppose). Note, however, that most opposition is strong opposition for all groups.
• Hunters were read two statements about lead ammunition (shown below). They were then asked if they would support or oppose legal requirements that hunters remove game that was shot with lead ammunition from areas where they might be consumed by other wildlife, such as raptors. Opinion is polarized: from 38% to 49% of the hunters support, while 36% to 45% oppose. Additionally, most support and opposition is strong.
  • The two statements were as follows; note that the order of the statements was randomized so that about half the sample had them in the order below, and half had the order reversed.
    • Some believe that wildlife suffer from lead poisoning as a result of feeding on the remains of animals harvested by hunters using lead ammunition.
    • Some believe that the lead-poisoning may be unrelated to hunting activities and that more conclusive studies are needed to determine the source of lead poisoning.

OPINIONS ON SPECIAL HUNTING OPPORTUNITIES

• Four questions asked hunters if they would support or oppose special hunting opportunities for four groups: first-time hunters, youth hunters, senior hunters, and hunters with disabilities. For all four, support for far exceeds opposition to the special hunting opportunities, with the most support for special opportunities for hunters with disabilities.
  • For allowing special hunting opportunities for first-time hunters, support ranges from 69% to 70%; opposition is at 23% to 26%.
  • For allowing special hunting opportunities for youth hunters, support ranges from 86% to 91%; opposition is at 7% to 12%.
  • For allowing special hunting opportunities for senior hunters, support ranges from 89% to 94%; opposition is at 4% to 9%.
  • For allowing special hunting opportunities for hunters with disabilities, support ranges from 94% to 97%; opposition is at 3% to 4%.

MENTORING

• The large majority of hunters in all groups have served as a mentor or helped another person get started in hunting: from 74% to 86% have done so.
  • From 25% to 44% are currently acting as a mentor or helping another get started in hunting.

DEER HUNTING

• A little more than a third of deer hunters (35%) harvested a deer in 2013-2014.
• The large majority of deer hunters use a rifle in Washington (78% do so). This is distantly followed by archery (18%), muzzleloader rifle (11%), and shotgun (6%).
• The majority of deer hunters were satisfied with their deer hunting in Washington during the 2013-2014 seasons: 74% report being satisfied, with 56% saying they were very satisfied.
• Nonetheless, a not insubstantial percentage were dissatisfied (23%).
  • Common reasons for dissatisfaction were not enough game, access problems, management restrictions, season lengths and timing, and crowding.
• Although a majority of deer hunters rate the Department as excellent or good (a combined 53%), a substantial percentage give a rating of fair (31%). Meanwhile, 12% give a rating of poor.
  • Common reasons for not giving a better rating are restrictive regulations, a dislike of the length or timing of the seasons, and not enough game.
• The survey asked about seven factors that might affect the quality of a deer hunt, and respondents were asked to indicate the importance of that factor in a quality deer hunting experience. The social factors led the list: 87% said that spending time with family was very important, and 81% said the same about spending time with friends. Other important factors in a second tier (in the ranking by very important) are the timing of the hunting season (74%) and the length of the season (72%).
  • Factors in the bottom tier (although still with a majority saying each is very important) are the chance of harvesting a deer (55%), the number of other deer hunters in the field (54%), and the opportunity to harvest a mature buck (51%).
• The majority of deer hunters (64%) say that the length of the deer hunting season is about right. Otherwise, about a third say it is too short (31%). Only 3% say it is too long.
• The majority of deer hunters (60%) are opposed to reducing the length of the archery season; most of that is strong opposition. On the other hand, 20% support.
• The overwhelming majority of deer hunters (82%) oppose reducing the length of the modern firearms deer season, almost all of that being strong opposition. Only 8% support reducing it.
• The large majority of deer hunters (66%) oppose reducing the length of the muzzleloader season, with most of that being strong opposition. At the other end, 12% support.
• The majority of deer hunters (59%) oppose hunting deer over bait (mostly strong opposition), and another 20% give a neutral answer. At the other end, 21% support the practice.

ELK HUNTING

• About 1 in 7 elk hunters (14%) harvested an elk.
• The large majority of elk hunters (67%) use a rifle in Washington for elk hunting, distantly followed by archery (18%) and muzzleloader rifle (15%). All other types of equipment are at no more than 2%.
• Although the majority of elk hunters were satisfied (56%) with their elk hunting experiences in Washington in 2013-2014, a substantial percentage were dissatisfied (36%).
  • Common reasons for not being more satisfied included not enough game, access problems, restrictive regulations, crowding, and season length/timing.
• Just less than a majority of elk hunters rate the Department as excellent or good (a combined 47%); at the other end, 32% give a rating of fair and 20% give a rating of poor.
  • Reasons for not giving a higher rating include not enough game, restrictive regulations, season length/timing, access problems, lack of information, crowding, and the health of the herd.
• The survey asked about seven factors that might affect the quality of an elk hunt, with respondents indicating the importance of each factor in a quality elk hunting experience. As with deer hunting, social factors lead the list in a ranking by very important: spending time with friends (83%) and spending time with family (82%). A second tier consists of the timing of the elk season (71%), the length of the elk season (66%), and the chance of harvesting an elk (62%). The lowest ranked factors are the opportunity to harvest a mature bull (56%) and having a low number of other elk hunters around (45%).
• While about half of elk hunters say the length of the elk season is about right (48%), an equal percentage say it is too short (48%).
• Given the results above, it is not surprising that there is much more opposition (50%) than support (20%) for reducing the length of the archery elk season.
• The overwhelming majority of elk hunters (78%) oppose reducing the length of the modern firearms elk season (with 73% saying that they strongly oppose). Only 8% support reducing it.
• The majority of elk hunters (54%) oppose reducing the length of the muzzleloader season, with most of that being strong opposition. At the other end, 16% support.
• Most elk hunters oppose (68%) the hunting of elk over bait. Otherwise, 14% support it.

BLACK BEAR HUNTING

• The rifle is the overwhelming top choice of equipment for hunting black bears (86%).
• Otherwise, 13% use archery equipment, and no more than 4% use any of the other types of equipment.
• Most bear hunters say that they incidentally hunt bear while hunting other species (53% name this method of the three asked about). Otherwise, more of them say that they intentionally hunt bear every year (30%) than say that they intentionally hunt bear, but not every year (18%).
• The large majority of black bear hunters were satisfied with their black bear hunting in Washington (68%). At the other end, 21% were dissatisfied.
  • Common reasons for dissatisfaction included lack of game, restrictive regulations, season length/timing, and access problems.
• There is overwhelming support among black bear hunters for a spring bear season: 84% support, including 64% who strongly support. Otherwise, 11% oppose.
  • Common reasons for opposing are that hunters feel that spring is a time that black bear are nursing their young, that the bear are just out of hibernation (i.e., it is not fair to the bear), that the bear are small at this time/limited meat, and that a spring season would be bad for the overall population of black bear.
• Opinion is almost evenly split on support for or opposition to lethal removal of black bears to prevent damage to timber on commercial timberlands: 48% support (with 36% strongly supporting) and 47% oppose (33% strongly opposing).
  • Given the hypothetical situation where lethal removal is decided upon, black bear hunters overwhelmingly say that they would want hunters (82%) rather than contracted professionals (7%) to do the killing of the bear.
• The survey asked about four possible strategies to improve the Department's acquisition of data on harvested black bears. The most support is for offering incentives to comply with harvest reporting requirements (80% support, including 53% who strongly support).
• Otherwise, only one other option has a majority in support: increased penalties for failure to comply with harvest reporting requirements (53% support).
  • A majority oppose mandatory bear carcass checks (51% oppose), while 42% support. The least support is for implementing more conservative harvest limits rather than trying to increase compliance with harvest reporting regulations (35% support).

COUGAR HUNTING

• For cougar hunting, 90% of cougar hunters use a rifle, which far exceeds any other type of equipment: archery (15%), muzzleloader rifle (10%), shotgun (7%), and handgun (4%).
• A majority of cougar hunters were satisfied with their cougar hunting in Washington (58% were satisfied); however, 33% were dissatisfied.
  • Common reasons for not being more satisfied included lack of game, restrictive regulations, season length/timing, and access problems.
• The survey asked about support for or opposition to requiring licensed cougar hunters to check for season closures on a website or by toll-free telephone number before hunting cougar each day. Cougar hunters are polarized: 43% support, but 52% oppose, and most support and opposition is strong.

PHEASANT HUNTING

• Among game bird hunters in the sample, 52% of them hunted pheasant in eastern Washington (with or without hunting other species).
  • Those who hunted in eastern Washington are split on satisfaction: 42% were satisfied, but 52% were dissatisfied.
    • The most common reason for not being more satisfied was the lack of game; other notable reasons included access problems and the perception that the habitat is poor.
  • A large majority of eastern Washington pheasant hunters think it is important that the Department release pheasants in eastern Washington (75% say so, with 63% saying it is very important).
• Among game bird hunters in the sample, 62% hunted pheasants in western Washington (with or without hunting other species).
  • The large majority of western Washington pheasant hunters were satisfied with their western Washington pheasant hunting: 66% were satisfied, while 34% were dissatisfied.
    • Common reasons for not being more satisfied included lack of game, access problems, crowding, and restrictive regulations.
  • Opposition to exceeds support for reducing the number of pheasants released in western Washington if it means that the current Western Washington Pheasant Permit fee would remain the same: 37% support, while 51% oppose.
  • A question on the same subject asked about support for or opposition to increasing the Permit fee to maintain the same level of pheasant releasing in western Washington. On this question, support exceeds opposition: 57% support, while 32% oppose.

QUAIL HUNTING

• In 2013-2014, a majority of quail hunters were satisfied with their Washington quail hunting: 59% were satisfied, compared to 32% being dissatisfied.
  • The most common reason for not being more satisfied was lack of game, far exceeding other reasons, the most notable of which were access problems and poor habitat.

CHUKAR HUNTING

• There was a low number of chukar hunters in the survey; for this reason, the sample sizes are low on these questions.
  • Almost all the respondents were satisfied (7 of the 8 respondents); none were dissatisfied (the sole remaining respondent answered neutrally).

FOREST GROUSE HUNTING

• The large majority of forest grouse hunters (74%) were satisfied with their forest grouse hunting in Washington in 2013-2014. At the other end, 22% were dissatisfied.
  • The most common reason for not being more satisfied was lack of game. This was distantly followed by restrictive regulations and access problems.
• Shotguns lead the list of equipment used by far: 78% use shotguns. Otherwise, 12% use centerfire rifles, and 12% use rimfire rifles.
• Most forest grouse hunters say that they intentionally hunt grouse rather than hunting grouse incidentally while hunting other species: 47% intentionally hunt grouse every year, and another 18% intentionally hunt grouse but not every year (a sum of 65%); meanwhile, 31% hunt forest grouse incidentally while hunting other species.
• Of the four months, September through December, encompassed by forest grouse hunting season, the majority of hunters hunt in the first two: 75% hunt in September, and 72% hunt in October, compared to only 42% in November and 34% in December.
• When asked whether they look for grouse mostly on foot or mostly from a motorized vehicle, forest grouse hunters most commonly say that they do so mostly on foot (45%). This compares to 17% who do so mostly from a motorized vehicle and 37% who use both methods.
• There is much more opposition to (59%) than support for (37%) limiting forest grouse hunting to shotgun or archery only.
• Two questions asked about the length and timing of the forest grouse season.
  • The large majority of forest grouse hunters (78%) think the current season length is about right. A low percentage think it is too short (5%), with slightly more thinking it is too long (13%).
  • Similar to the results above, the majority of grouse hunters (82%) say that the season starts at about the right time, while only 10% say it starts too early, and 4% say it starts too late.
• One question asked about bag limits for the four species of forest grouse that are hunted in Washington; however, prior to that question, grouse hunters were asked how comfortable they were with distinguishing the four hunted forest grouse species. Just over half are very comfortable (51%) distinguishing the four species in the field while hunting. Another 35% report being somewhat comfortable (a sum of 86% being comfortable). However, 12% say that they are not at all comfortable.
  • In the follow-up question, a majority of forest grouse hunters (56%) would support separate bag limits for the four hunted forest grouse species, but 39% would oppose.
• While forest grouse hunters most commonly say that the two possible access problems asked about in the survey have not affected their amount of forest grouse hunting, about a third say that road closures (35%) and restrictions by private landowners (also 35%) have decreased their participation level.

WILD TURKEY HUNTING

• The large majority of wild turkey hunters were satisfied with their turkey hunting in Washington in 2013-2014: 79% were satisfied (with 58% being very satisfied), while 17% were somewhat dissatisfied (none were very dissatisfied).
  • The common reasons for not being more satisfied include lack of game and access problems.

WATERFOWL HUNTING

• A majority of waterfowl hunters in Washington in the 2013-2014 season were satisfied with their wild turkey hunting: 67% were satisfied. However, a not insubstantial percentage (29%) were dissatisfied.
  • Notable reasons for not being more satisfied with their waterfowl hunting were lack of game, the weather, personal issues such as health or time constraints, restrictive regulations, access problems, and crowding.
• Public land is a bit more used than private land in waterfowl hunting in Washington: 44% of waterfowl hunters do so mostly on public land, while 34% do so mostly on private land (20% do so on both about equally).
  • About 1 in 5 Washington waterfowl hunters (19%) lease private land for waterfowl hunting.
• About 1 in 6 waterfowl hunters in Washington (16%) are current members of a duck club.
• When asked in an open-ended question (i.e., the list of responses was not read to the respondents) to name what the money that is raised from the sale of state migratory bird stamps is used for, the majority of waterfowl hunters did not know (51% gave this response). Otherwise, 34% said the money is used for enhancing bird habitat on existing public lands, 17% mentioned it being used to purchase bird habitat threatened with loss or degradation, 9% said it is used to work with private landowners to gain access, and 7% said it is used to work with private landowners on habitat enhancement. (Multiple responses were allowed.)
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  • A follow-up question asked waterfowl hunters to indicate what they think should be the priority uses of the money raised from the sale of migratory bird stamps. In this instance, the four choices were read to respondents. The results among the four uses are close (ranging from 17% to 28%); in other words, there is no consensus. The highest ranked, with 28% thinking it to be the top priority, is purchasing migratory bird habitat threatened with loss or degradation. But this is closely followed by enhancing migratory bird habitat on existing Department or other public lands (24%), working with private landowners to gain hunting access (21%), and working with private landowners to enhance migratory bird habitat (17%).
• The large majority of waterfowl hunters support (68%) the practice of flooding agricultural grain fields for waterfowl hunting, with most of that being strong support. On the other hand, 20% oppose, most of that strong opposition.

BIGHORN SHEEP, MOOSE, AND MOUNTAIN GOAT HUNTING

• Hunters who had applied for a permit to hunt of any of these three species were asked to choose between two preferences: increased odds of a trophy animal but fewer permits issued, or decreased odds of a trophy animal but more permits issued. They are somewhat split, with 34% preferring decreased odds/more permits, and 20% preferring increased odds/fewer permits. Most commonly, they did not express a preference (41% had no preference).
• Regardless of how these permit applicants responded to the previous question, the survey asked all of them to indicate which possible methods they would prefer for increasing the odds of drawing a permit to hunt any of these three species (the list of possible methods were read to the respondents). Most commonly, they said that they do not support a change to the current system (36%), which far exceeds any other response, none of which has more than 16% in support of it. The top responses are allowing only hunters with the most points to draw (16%), reserving a portion of the permits available for those with the most points (14%), or creating a new drawing category for hunters age 65 years or older (12%). Other options have only single-digit support, as shown on the graph.