Wildlife as Recreation

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Wildlife as Recreation

One of the reasons frequently given for conserving wildlife and habitat is the aesthetic and recreational value of natural places. Human beings derive pleasure from natural places in large numbers, and in a wide variety of ways.

National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation

Americans have a rich tradition of enjoying nature. In fact, several of the country's most popular recreational activities involve wildlife and wild places. As part of its effort to conserve species and natural habitats, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service publishes a periodic report on how Americans use these natural resources. The data come from interviews conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. The most recent report is the 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, published in October 2002. In this survey, the Fish and Wildlife Service found that over 80 million Americans over the age of 16—39 percent of the population—participated in some form of wildlife-related activity in 2001. They spent a total of $108 billion on those activities—about 1.1 percent of the nation's Gross Domestic Product. (See Figure 11.1.)

During 2001, 34 million people in the United States fished, 13 million hunted, and over 66 million enjoyed some form of wildlife-watching recreation, including photography and feeding or observing animals.

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