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Future hunting trends may be related to growth in Sunbelt states, declining residential stability, urbanization, increasing education, and increasing participation in nonconsumptive activities. I used mail surveys to study relationships among these trends, wildlife value orientations, and participation in hunting, fishing, and gathering wild foods among Pennsylvania and Colorado hunting license holders ≥50 years old (n=598). State of residence predicted perceived similarity in value orientations of family members, hunting frequency, and fishing and gathering participation. Rural upbringing predicted perceived similarity in value orientations. Rural residence as an adult predicted gathering participation. Residential stability predicted perceived similarity in value orientations. Education related positively to strong utilitarian value orientations, perceived differences in value orientations, and gathering participation. Participation in nonconsumptive activities related positively to hunting frequency and participation in fishing and gathering. Complex findings and generally modest effect sizes suggest that the future of hunting is being shaped by many variables. Findings also suggest that hunting frequency, rural-urban differences, and residential stability should be measured on multiple scales and across many studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied outdoor recreation patterns among older hunting license holders in Pennsylvania and Colorado to better understand aspects of five trends that promise to impact outdoor recreation preferences, behavior, and management priorities: Sunbelt population growth, declining residential stability, urbanization, aging, and increasing levels of formal education. Results of our mail survey showed that the samples were similar in age, gender, and ethnicity, but Pennsylvania respondents were more likely to have lived their entire lives in the state and had spent more of their adult lives in rural areas. On the other hand, Pennsylvania respondents were less likely to have attended school beyond high school. Pennsylvania respondents hunted more frequently and were more likely to gather wild foods. Colorado respondents were more likely to fish, and they participated in more nonconsumptive activities. Education, rural/urban differences, and residential stability had a limited ability to predict differences in consumptive activities. Age, education, and residential stability predicted differences in nonconsumptive activities. Results suggest that cultural differences between regions may be more important than socio-demographic characteristics for understanding of outdoor recreation patterns in the past, present, and future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the authors investigated wildlife value orientations, gender, and concern about risks posed by a large, potentially dangerous predator—the mountain lion. A survey (58% response rate) was used to collect data from a random sample of adult residents (N = 2,469) in Colorado metropolitan areas. Both gender and parental role predicted concern about being attacked. Women expressed greater concern than men, and participants with children living at home expressed greater concern than participants without children at home. Participants with utilitarian values were more likely than those with protectionist ones to accept destroying a lion in a residential area, and men were more likely than women to accept destroying it. Additional research is needed to understand why women perceived more risk from a mountain lion but were less willing to accept destroying it, as well as to understand the relationships among gender, parental role, and environmental risk concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a study which assessed conflict with prairie dogs, compared attitudes toward prairie dogs and management preferences between residents in Colorado near colonies and the general population. Methods; Results; Management implications.