Capitalizing the user value of freshwater fishing yields an overall user 

 value of $8.4 billion. (User value per day is $7.67). 



HUNTING 



In 1970 about 3.5% of the population in the Southeastern United States 

 hunted big game, 7.4% hunted small game, and 1.3% hunted waterfowl. About 25% 

 of the hunters used public lands for hunting at one time or another. The 

 percentage of the population in the Southeastern United States that hunted was 

 10.1% in 1955, 11.5% in 1960, 9.2% in 1965, and 8.1% in 1970 (U.S. Department 

 of Interior 1970). 



In Florida in 1975 the 493,000 hunting licenses sold generated 10.53 

 million man days of hunting. Of this total, 330,000 hunted big game (3.48 

 million man days), 302,000 hunted for small game (4.0 million man days), 

 317,000 hunted for migratory birds (2.35 million man days), and 78,000 hunted 

 for other birds and animals (652,000 man days). Of the hunters, 321,000 

 hunted deer (2.8 million man days) and 79,000 hunted wild turkey (454,000 man 

 days). The hunters spent $103.1 million for big game, $54.3 million for small 

 game, $30.4 million for waterfowl, and $1.9 million for other animals for a 

 total of $196.6 million. In 1975, each hunter in Florida spent about $398.84 

 for hunting. Most of the expenses were for equipment, supplies, and transpor- 

 tation. 



The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in a press release in 1981, reported 

 that 253,619 people in Florida spend nearly $3.7 million for hunting licenses. 



SOUTHWEST FLORIDA OVERVIEW 



FACTORS AFFECTING RECREATION AND TOURISM 



Resource Characteristics 



Socioeconomic and natural resource characteristics and factors that 

 affect recreation and tourism in Southwest Florida are discussed in the fol- 

 lowing paragraphs. 



The major socioeconomic factors for evaluating recreation and tourism are 

 age, income levels, population size and density, and housing demand. In 1960- 

 79, the population of Southwest Florida increased 107% (from 1.1 million in 

 1960 to nearly 2.3 million people in 1979). The greatest increase was in 

 Charlotte County (413.6%) and Collier County (399.6%). Different kinds of 

 recreation are usually preferred by different age groups. For example, young 

 people prefer canoeing, hiking, tennis, and camping, whereas older adults 

 prefer golf and nature study. Those people with higher incomes usually prefer 

 beach recreation and recreational vehicle camping, but those with a lower 

 income usually associate more with neighborhood playgrounds. Because of 

 increased leisure time and higher standards of living in recent decades, there 

 has been an increase in the number of seasonal (second) homes. In 1972, there 

 were over 5,000 second homes along the Florida gulf coast. 



173 



