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By Bob Humphrey Sunday, October 1, 2006

In response to hearing of his obituary in the New York Journal, Mark Twain was once credited with saying: "Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated."

Were the sport of hunting a person, it too could appropriately use that quote. Phrases like "declining hunter numbers"... "decreased popularity and acceptance" ... and "hunting is dead," have been bandied about in the media in recent years.

Truth be known, hunting is alive and doing quite well, thank you. And there's a significant body of evidence to prove it.

INVOLVEMENT

Many detractors have claimed that participation in hunting is on the decline. Among the evidence they cite is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey that shows 14.7 million people, or approximately 5 percent of Americans, purchased a hunting license last year -- a drop from previous surveys. However, the latest estimates from the National Sporting Goods Association report 20.6 million active hunters. Meanwhile, research commissioned by the National Sports Shooting Foundation shows 23 million Americans consider themselves hunters, even if latent or inactive.

However, according to a 2005 study by the Outdoor Industry Foundation, nearly 12 percent of Americans 16 and older (26.4 million people) said they hunted with gun or bow last year. Interestingly, OIF is typically not associated with the hunting sports, and thus might tend to be more objective. This was the first year they included hunting in their survey.

ACCEPTANCE

Anti-hunters are also quick to point out that sport hunting is an anachronism, and much less acceptable to the general public nowadays. However, a nationwide survey conducted by Responsive Management again found the opposite to be true.

According to the survey, approximately three out of four (75 percent) Americans approve of legal hunting. "We have been seeing public support for hunting increase in several states over the past decade where we had data, but this is the first nationwide study where we could verify that public support has increased over the past decade," said Mark Damian Duda, executive director of Responsive Management.

"In 1995, 73 percent of Americans approved of hunting while in 2006, 78 percent approved of hunting."

Reasons for the increased approval rate among the general public vary. Probably the biggest is that Americans are becoming more knowledgeable about the role of hunting in wildlife management. Much of this is attributable to dramatic increases in deer in urban areas, and the growing need to actively manage their populations.

More people are also becoming aware of how much money hunting and fishing contributes to fish and wildlife conservation efforts.

ECONOMICS

"Sportsmen are essential to wildlife protection and management," says Steve Williams, current president of the Wildlife Management Institute and former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"Game management programs, which are funded by sportsmen's dollars, have brought back numerous wildlife species from unhealthy population levels, such as wild turkey, wood ducks, white-tailed deer, beaver, pronghorn antelope, and Canada geese to name a few.

"In addition, sportsmen's dollars have purchased and managed millions of acres of fish and wildlife habitat benefiting all fish and wildlife species and the public who enjoy them."

According to the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, which is conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the very same survey often used to show declines in hunter numbers), sportsmen and women spend more than $70 billion on hunting and fishing each year.

And according to NSSF-commissioned research conducted by Southwick Associates, an average American hunter spends $17,726.59 on hunting equipment during his or her lifetime. If you add licenses and lodging, food and fuel, magazines and meat processing, the average lifetime expenditure on hunting jumps to $96,017.92.

Additional evidence highlighting the economic strength and growth of hunting is another 2006 NSSF survey that shows, "a majority of U.S. taxidermists report growing numbers of customers and increasing workload."

LOOKING AHEAD

While some continue repeating the mantra "hunting is dead," hoping it will come true, others are taking advantage of the facts. Mossberg, one of the nation's largest firearms manufacturers, has developed an entire line of guns -- which includes nearly two dozen different models -- specifically for youths and small-framed adults.

Recent surveys also suggest that while the number of young hunters may have leveled out, the fastest growing segment of the hunting population is women.

And what are we to do with all those youngsters who fall under the spell of the sportsman?

Don't worry. According to a 2006 Cornell University study, "children who hunt, fish or play in the wild before age 11 are more likely to grow up with deeper understanding and respect for nature."

Interesting, but we already knew that.

Bob Humphrey is a freelance writer and Registered Maine Guide who lives in Pownal. He can be contacted at: