Table 4.12 — Trends in harvests of principal big game species and proportion of big game hunters 



pursuing species in the United States in 1975 



Proportion 



Species 



Principal range 



Index of ha 



rvest (mid-70's = 100) 



mid-1970's 



of hunters 



mid-50's 



mid-60's 



mid-70's 



Percent 













Number 





Deer, white-tailed 



Everywhere except western 

 mountains and prairies 



35 



80 



100 



1,740,000 



95 



Deer, mule 



Forested mountains, western 

 desert foothills to Cascade 

 Mountains 



210 



200 



100 



285,900 





Deer, black-tailed 



Forest from Cascade Mountains 

 west; coastal Alaska (Sitka black- 

 tailed) 



225 



270 



100 



51,800 



13 



Turkey 



Southeastern and Southern 

 deciduous forest (eastern); 

 Texas and Oklahoma (Rio 

 Grande); western mountains of 

 Colorado, Arizona, and New 

 Mexico (Merriam's) 



35 



60 



100 



167,200= 



7 



Elk 



Drier portions of Rocky Mountains 

 (Rocky Mountain elk) and 

 Cascade and Coastal Mountains 

 (Roosevelt elk) 



65 



85 



100 



98,800 



{ 



Bear, grizzly and 

 brown 



Forests of Wyoming, Idaho, 

 Montana, and Alaska (grizzly 

 bear); coastal areas of Alaska 

 forests (brown bear) 





95 



100 



750^ 



I 



Bear, black 



Isolated blocks of coniferous and 

 deciduous forest land 



110 



140 



100 



16,300 



2 



Pronghorn antelope 



Open grasslands from Texas to 

 Canada 



60 



75 



100 



81,900 



1 



Moose 



Riparian and wetland habitats 

 producing hardwoods in Alaska, 

 Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, 

 Minnesota, and Maine 



35 



80 

 70 



100 

 100 



10,0003 

 2,100" 



1 



Bighorn sheep 



High mountain ranges in Alaska 

 (Dall sheep). Northern Rockies 

 (Rocky Mountain sheep), and the 

 Southwest (desert sheep) 



50 



130 

 100 



100 

 100 



1,0003 

 400" 



1 



Mountain goat 



Above timberline in Southern 

 Alaska, Washington, Idaho and 

 Montana, and Colorado 



60 



80 

 165 



100 

 100 



8003 

 600" 



2 



Javelina 



Southwestern desert shrub and 

 adjacent habitats 



70 



65 



100 



9,800 



'Less than 1 percent- 



^Not reported. 



'Harvest in Alaska. 



'Harvest In contiguous United States. 



'About ttiree-quarters were eastern turkeys. 



Sources: Harvest information derived from U.S. Department of ttie Interior, 

 Fish and Wildlife Service. Big game inventory. Washington. D.C.. (annual reports) 

 1 950-1 970. and from National Rifle Association of America. NRA hunting annual. 

 Washington. DC, (annual publications) 1970-1977. Information on hunters 

 derived from U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. 1975 

 national survey ol hunting, fishing, and wildlife associated recreation. (Including 

 unpublished supporting statistical data.) Washington. DC. 



126 



