CHAPTER I 



INTRODUCTION 



Objectives 



This report presents a broad picture of both the qualitative and 

 quantitative aspects of deer hunting in Montana. People who hunt 

 deer in Montana are a very heterogeneous group. Some travel 3000 

 miles to hunt and others walk out their back door. Some spend 

 $ 10 on a trip and others $ 2000. Some hunt for meat, some for 

 trophies and others for less tangible reasons. This study 

 presents trip characteristics, hunter characteristics, and 

 expenditure data for several subgroups of hunters. The 

 presentation of these descriptive statistics and trip values 

 gains interpretive value when hunters are grouped by such factors 

 as residency, trip type, and motivation for hunting. The 

 qualitative dimension of this study assessed the values which 

 deer hunters place on their current hunting trips as well as the 

 value which they would place on trips which in some way had 

 improved hunting opportunities. These specific improvements were 

 doubling the chance of bagging a large buck, improving the 

 chances of bagging a doe or small buck and allowing a second deer 

 to be taken. Net economic values for hunters most current trip 

 as well as for the three improved trip scenarios are presented 

 for the entire sample, resident/nonresident and guided/nonguided 

 subgroups and for the seven Montana DFWP administrative regions. 



This study provides three primary contributions to existing data 

 on Montana deer hunting (Brooks, 1988) : 



(1) Descriptive statistics are reported for hunter 

 characteristics, trip characteristics and hunter 

 management preferences. 



(2) Changes in net economic values associated with 

 improvements to the deer hunting experience are 

 reported . 



(3) Economic values are stratified by different types or 

 "clusters" of hunters. These clusters define hunters 

 with similar motivations, expectations and 

 preferences. 



Definition of Economic Benefits 



The U.S. Water Resources Council Principles and Guidelines (1983) 

 require many Federal agencies to employ net willingness to pay in 

 measuring the value of both marketed and nonmarketed (e.g.. 



