wildlife-related organizations are increasing moder- 

 ately and will probably continue to grow in the near 

 future. Although more comprehensive data collecting 

 is undoubtedly the cause of some of the apparent 

 increases, at the minimum, modest growth will occur 

 over the next few decades. '^ 



National projections of participation in hunting 

 and fishing can be made with somewhat more cer- 

 tainty. Available data suggest there will continue to 

 be substantial growth in the numbers of people who 

 want to participate. This growth will continue the 

 upward trends established during the past 30 years, 

 during which the number of licensed hunters has 

 doubled and the number of licensed fishermen has 

 more than tripled. Given the opportunity to partici- 

 pate at an acceptable cost, within a decade there will 

 be 20 percent more freshwater anglers and waterfowl 

 hunters and smaller increases in the numbers of big 

 game and small game hunters (fig. 4.2). '^ 



There are significant differences in the projections 

 of participation by region (table 4.4). The largest 

 increases will generally be on the Pacific Coast and in 

 the Southeast. 



Demands Related to Ecological Perceptions 



Ecological demands are concerned with values 

 other than those associated with market products or 

 social experiences. Included are demands that each 

 species be preserved and that at least the existing 

 variety of species be maintained throughout the 

 Nation. The Endangered Species Act is evidence of 

 the national demand or concern for the preservation 

 of each species. And taken together, the total com- 



'2 More, T. A. The demand for nonconsumptive wildlife uses: a 

 review of the literature. U.S. Department of Agriculture, For. 

 Serv. Northeastern For. and Range Exp. Sta. Tech. Rep. NE-52. 

 16 p. Broomall, Pa. 1979. 



'3 Dyer, A. D., and W. E. Wegert. Demand analysis and projec- 

 tion of use for hunting and fishing opportunities. M.S. disserta- 

 tion. College of Forestry and Natural Resources, Colorado State 

 Univ. Fort Collins. 1978. These projections are essentially extrapo- 

 lations to a growing population of past participation rates by age 

 groups, as reported in the periodic national hunting and fishing 

 surveys. Adjustments of some data were made to compensate for 

 changes in definitions among surveys. Because many of the deter- 

 minants of actual participation — such as energy availability and 

 disposable income — were not explicitly considered, the order of 

 magnitude of each projection is its most important characteristic. 



Figure 4.2 



Projections of Participation in Major l-lunting and Fishing Activities Under 

 Medium Level Population Assumptions, 1978-2030 



Index of Participation (1978 = 100) 

 260^ 



2030 



116 



