Wiidlife and Fish 
Demand-Supply—The 
Outlook 
Outlook Overview 
e As land use intensifies on private 
lands, the National Forest System and 
other public lands will become more 
important for their unique wildlife and 
fish habitats, and especially significant 
for the some 166 threatened and 
endangered species found on national 
forests. 
e Big- and small-game hunting are 
expected to decline slowly but steadily 
in the next 5 decades. 
e Migratory-bird hunting will also 
decline somewhat to 2000 before it 
rises again. 
e Increases in supply of opportunities 
for cold-water fishing, migratory-bird 
hunting, big-game hunting, and small- 
game hunting could lead to somewhat 
higher demand trends for these wildlife 
and fish recreation activities. 
e Increases in nonconsumptive uses 
will grow about twice as fast as 
population to 2000, while warm- and 
cold-water fishing will increase about 
the same as population growth. Rates 
of growth will accelerate slightly after 
2000. 
e Analysis of participation rates for 
wildlife recreation opportunities 
indicates that national forests and other 
public lands are expected to become 
relatively more important for big- and 
small-game hunting and cold-water 
fishing if access remains generally 
unrestricted and free. 
e Hunting in designated areas for a 
fee, especially on private lands is 
expected to become more important in 
the future and increase the pressure on 
public lands. 
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Context for Analysis 
Wildlife and fish are integral parts of 
all environments—from pristine 
wilderness to urban settings. The 
values associated with wildlife and fish 
have broadened from the utilitarian 
views held by early subsistence and 
market hunters. Wildlife and fish 
populations are now recognized as 
barometers of the health and diversity 
of ecosystems, providing important 
social, environmental, and economic 
benefits to society as a whole. This is 
reflected in the passage of laws 
intended to ensure protection and bring 
about management of this resource, in 
the membership increases enjoyed by 
wildlife and fish interest groups, and in 
public interest in policies and programs 
affecting wildlife and fish. 
The supply of wildlife and fish is a 
function of the quality and quantity of 
habitat, animal and fish populations, 
and investment in management. The 
demand for fish and wildlife is a 
function of the number of people 
actively using fish and wildlife 
resources, their preferences, and their 
willingness to allocate time and dollars 
to hunting and fishing. Thus, the 
demand-supply outlook for wildlife 
and fish is described in terms of 
habitat, population levels, numbers of 
users, and harvest levels. 
Current Status and Recent 
Historical Trends in Habitat 
Viable populations of fish and wildlife 
require appropriate habitat— 
availability of food, cover, and water. 
There are many different ways to 
measure and classify habitat. The most 
straightforward for wildlife that lives 
on land is habitat by land cover and 
how the land is used—whether it is 
forest, range, or cropland. 
Forest Land—tThe plant cover on 
forest land is diverse and varied around 
the country. For example, 73 percent of 
all U.S. vegetation types are 
represented on National Forest System 
lands. Because of this diversity, it 1s 
estimated that at least 90 percent of the 
total bird, amphibian, and fish species 
and at least 80 percent of the mammal 
and reptile species can be found on 
forested lands. 
Over time, the forest cover on any area 
changes, either naturally or through 
human actions. Changes in forest 
cover, trends in forest successional 
stages, and trends in the size, shape, 
and spatial distribution of different 
habitats affect the health and diversity 
of fish and wildlife populations. 
Maintaining the diversity of wildlife or 
fish species that are potential 
inhabitants of any forest ecosystem 
type requires not only that all 
successional stages of forest vegetation 
be represented but also that important 
structural characteristics within plant 
communities be maintained. Many 
species are benefited by a mosaic of 
forest conditions; other species require 
large tracts of homogeneous forest. 
Over time, the area of forest land has 
declined in the North and South and 
stayed about the same in the West, but 
there have been changes in the forest 
cover on some of these lands. 
Rangeland—Rangeland cover 
supports a wide diversity of wildlife 
and fish species. For example, 84 
percent of the mammal species found 
in the United States are associated with 
rangeland ecosystems during some part 
of the year. In addition, 38 percent of 
the Nation’s fish species and 58 
percent of its amphibious species occur 
on rangelands despite the dry climates 
