Is participation in bird watching growing? Not according to the Outdoor Industry Foundation. As part of their comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Participation Study there is a section on bird watching. Here are two findings:
- "The combination of fewer Americans participating in bird watching and a sharp decline in the number of average outings in 2005 has lead to a total number of outings in 2005 that registered well below the total number of outings generated in 2001 and 2002. Demographically, the bird watching population has remained very stable."
- "Close to a third of bird watchers only participate in the activity once a year. Fifteen percent of bird watchers go out on excursions 11 or more times a year – a significant decline from 2003 when almost a quarter of bird watchers participated 11 ore more times a year."
According to OIF, the total number of estimated bird watching outings dropped from 569 million (2001) to 188 million (2005). That's a pretty substantial decrease. Are birders more sensitive to global climate change and subsequently driving less? Was it 9/11? There has been a steady decline for all outdoor recreation activities since 2001. Is it Electrolandia? Why the drop!?
Link: Adobe Acrobat PDF files of the complete OIF study.
From The Nature Conservancy, here's a story worth reading...
Today’s sportsmen and sportswomen are a powerful force for conservation
"When a hunter dreams of a trophy elk, thoughts run to frozen mornings deep in the Rocky Mountains. Minnesota seldom comes to mind, and there’s little reason why it should, since the state issued only five permits to hunt elk last year. Nonetheless, when The Nature Conservancy needed help acquiring a critical 800-acre piece of Minnesota grassland, it was the hunters of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, based in faraway Montana, who stepped up.
Like a large percentage of the other 37.8 million hunters and anglers in the United States, the 150,000 members of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation are a powerful force for conservation, albeit one that is often misunderstood by nonhunters."
Link: Read the full article from The Nature Conservancy.
