National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife ... - All About Birds

household income in the 2001Survey.6. A question was added to the triprelatedexpenditures section toascertain how much of the totalwas spent in the respondent’s stateof residence when the respondentparticipated in hunting, fishing, orwildlife watching out-of-state.7. Boating questions were added tothe fishing section. The respondentwas asked about the extent of boatusage for the three types of fishing.8. The 1996 Survey included questionsabout the months around-thehomewildlife watchers fed birds.These questions were not repeatedin the 2001 Survey.9. The contingent valuation sectionsof the three types of wildlife-relatedrecreation were altered, using anopen-ended question format insteadof 1996’s dichotomous choiceformat.Section III. Important instrumentchanges in the 2006 Survey1. A series of boating questions wasadded. The new questions dealtwith anglers using motorboats and/or nonmotorboats, length of boatused most often, distance to boatlaunch used most often, neededimprovements to facilities at thelaunch, whether or not the respondentcompleted a boating safetycourse, who the boater fished withmost often, and the source and typeof information the boater used forhis or her fishing.2. Questions regarding catch andrelease fishing were added. Theywere whether or not the respondentcaught and released fish and, if so,the percent of fish released.3. The proportion of huntingdone with a rifle or shotgun, ascontrasted with muzzleloader orarchery equipment, was asked.4. In the contingent valuation section,where the value of wildlife-relatedrecreation was determined, twoquality-variable questions wereadded: the average length of certainfish caught and whether a deer,elk, or moose was killed. Plus theeconomic evaluation bid questionswere rephrased, from “What isthe most your [species] hunting in[State name] could have cost youper trip last year before you wouldNOT have gone [species] huntingat all in 2001, not even one trip,because it would have been tooexpensive?”, for the hunters, forexample, to “What is the cost thatwould have prevented you fromtaking even one such trip in 2006?In other words, if the trip cost wasbelow this amount, you would havegone [species] hunting in [Statename], but if the trip cost wasabove this amount, you would nothave gone.”5. Questions concerning hunting,fishing, or wildlife watching inother countries were taken out ofthe Survey.6. Questions about the reasons fornot going hunting or fishing, or notgoing as much as expected, weredeleted.7. Disability of participants questionswere taken out.8. Determination of the types ofsites for wildlife watching wasdiscontinued.9. The birding questions regardingthe use of birding life lists and theability to identify birds based ontheir sight or sounds were deleted.10. Public transportation costs weredivided into two sections, “publictransportation by airplane” and“other public transportation,including trains, buses, and carrentals, etc.”.Section IV. Important instrumentchanges in the 2011 Survey1. The series of boating questionsadded in 2006 was deleted.2. Questions about target shooting andthe usage of a shooting range inpreparation for hunting were added.The types of weapon used at theshooting range were quantified.3. Questions about plantings expendituresfor the purpose of huntingwere added.4. “Feral pig” was recategorized frombig game to other animals for allstates except Hawaii.5. “Ptarmigan” was included as itsown small game category, insteadof lumped in “other.”6. In previous Surveys, “Moose” wasincluded as its own category onlyfor Alaska. For 2011, “Moose”was included as its own big gamecategory, instead of lumped in“other,” for all fifty states.7. In previous Surveys, “Wolf” wasincluded as its own category onlyfor Alaska. For 2011, “Wolf” wasincluded as its own other animalcategory, instead of lumped in“other,” for all fifty states.8. The household income categorieswere modified. The top categorieswere changed from “$100,000 ormore” to “$100,000 to $149,999”and “$150,000 or more.”9. The “Steelhead” category wasdeleted from the saltwater fishspecies section, with the idea that itwould be included in “other.”10. The 2006 around-the-homewildlife-watching category thatquantified visitors of ”public parksor areas” was rewritten to wildlifewatching at “parks or naturalareas.” This change was to makeclear that respondents shouldinclude recreating at quasi-governmentaland private areas.11. The 2006 wildlife watching equipmentcategory “Film and developing”was rewritten to “Film andphoto processing.”1955 to 1985 SignificantMethodological Differences1955 to 1970 SurveysThe 1955 to 1970 Surveys includedonly substantial participants. Substantialparticipants were defined as peoplewho participated at least three daysand/or spent at least $5 (the 1955–1965Surveys) or $7.50 (the 1970 Survey)during the surveyed year. Under mostcircumstances, the Surveys may becompared for totals, but the effects ofdifferences should be considered whencomparing the details of the Surveys.114 2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Census Bureau