What waterfowl hunters want: exploring heterogeneity in hunting trip preferences

Canadian and American waterfowl hunters were surveyed to identify their hunting trip preferences. Respondents were individuals that were now participating or had participated in waterfowl hunting, and most had hunted the majority of the last five years. We identified four latent classes of waterfowl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Wetlands (Wilmington, N.C.) N.C.), 2024-03, Vol.44 (3), p.35, Article 35
Main Authors: Sainsbury, Katherine A., Harshaw, Howard W., Fulton, David C., Cole, Nicholas W., Dayer, Ashley A., Duberstein, Jennie N., Raedeke, Andrew H., Schuster, Rudy M., Vrtiska, Mark P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Birds
Coastal Sciences
Ecology
Ecosystems
Environmental Management
Environmental protection
Freshwater & Marine Ecology
Habitats
Heterogeneity
Hunting
Hydrogeology
Joint ventures
Landscape Ecology
Latent class analysis
Life Sciences
Managers
Population
Population number
Preferences
Social and Economic Aspects of Wetlands
Travel
Waterfowl
Wetlands
Wildfowl
Wildlife conservation
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Summary:Canadian and American waterfowl hunters were surveyed to identify their hunting trip preferences. Respondents were individuals that were now participating or had participated in waterfowl hunting, and most had hunted the majority of the last five years. We identified four latent classes of waterfowl hunters that varied in their preferences for harvest, access effort, length of travel, quantity of waterfowl seen, and the potential for interference/competition. We found a diminishing return associated with the number of waterfowl harvested, and that ‘devoted’ and ‘local’ hunters did not perceive appreciable benefit from harvesting more birds beyond harvesting a single bird. Results highlight the importance of not only considering population size, but also the location of habitat for people and waterfowl. Our results provide waterfowl managers important insights into the heterogeneity of North American waterfowl hunters by highlighting differences in priorities for waterfowl hunting trips. Notably, to address this heterogeneity, managers could consider the balance of objectives, actions and resources designed to satisfy current waterfowl hunters. Managing access to improve the likelihood that hunters will see and have opportunities to harvest some waterfowl has benefit to hunters.
ISSN:0277-5212
1943-6246
DOI:10.1007/s13157-023-01744-w