While the latest U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service five-year study of wildlife participation trends revealed that 40 percent of Americans enjoy watching wildlife, hunting or fishing, one participant group declined.
Hunting participation declined by 2 million participants from 2011 to 2016 to 11.5 million. Total hunting expenditures declined 29 percent from $36.3 billion to $25.6 billion.
Since taxes on hunting and fishing gear and hunting license sales help pay for wildlife management throughout the United States, that drop can have far-reaching consequences.
The survey is the 13th in a series conducted every five years since 1955.