Hunting and Fishing Research
The dependence on hunters and anglers by management agencies like the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission makes the North American Model of Conservation unique, but vulnerable to declining participation in outdoor recreation. Family Fishing Nights, Outdoor Expos, and programs like Becoming an Outdoors Woman increase outdoor recreation, but to ensure the future of hunting and fishing in Nebraska we need to understand how sportsmen and women use Nebraska’s fish and wildlife resources and how they perceive the hunting and fishing opportunities available in Nebraska.
Working in conjunction with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, researchers from the Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln are conducting field interviews of sportsmen and women throughout Nebraska. Through these interviews we hope to better understand what motivates the public to fish and hunt, what the challenges are to maintaining the hunting and fishing heritage, and how hunters and anglers help to manage Nebraska’s fish and wildlife resources.
Who are sportspersons?
Sportspersons are men, women, and kids who fish or hunt for recreation. The sportspersons group includes four basic subgroups:
- Those that only fish
- Those that only hunt
- Those that fish and hunt
- Those that no longer fish or hunt
People often move among these subgroups. Some of the questions we seek to address are:
- What motivates someone to become a hunter, angler, or both?
- Why does someone stop fishing or hunting?