Decline In Duck Stamp Sales

Vince Pagliaroli

Vince Pagliaroli

Well-known member
"The study, "Economic and Conservation Ramifications from the Decline of Waterfowl Hunters" was published in the summer edition of The Wildlife Professional magazine. Although duck numbers are high, waterfowl hunter numbers are Low.

As a Baby Boomer who began duck hunting in 1963, I knew this day was coming. Sad to say......... Myself I believe that OVER REGULATION is the prime culprit. Laugh if you want, but "Duck Dynasty" may well be our best way to recruit New Duck Hunters.

I consider the decline a Very Serious matter, that needs addressed by all in the Waterfowl Community. I respect everyone's opinion, and a open mind is the only way we can bring new (young & old) people into Our Lifestyle.
 
This thread should get some good thoughts.
I work for the DNR but on the fishing side of things...we have seen the same decline during the same time. I think it has a whole lot to do with the economy and the lifestyle of today...and nothing to do with regulations. Look at what a boat costs today...a gun...shells...decoys, etc. etc. This along with any hunting sport is not an inexpensive sport. Add to that the idolization of the sport from shows much like DD...where we are fed to believe you have to have a half dozen $100 calls hanging from your neck and a $1600 shotgun, 6 dozen top end decoys hauled in a $60,000 truck and a $20K boat or a $16K Raptor ORV just to get your gear through the woods. It is easy to get into the sport and go a few times with your bud....but if he doesn't put you on the birds and get your blood boiling...there isn't going to be a second trip made because of...point 2....our lifestyles are so freaking busy this day and age...we just don't have the time. Again because of what we see on TV...with beuffy shows like Goody 2 shoes and Dance mommas...we are brainwashed into thinking we have to have our kids do everything our spouses see other kids do on TV. They have to be in kids acting guilds, dance teams, cheer teams, soccer teams, football teams, baseball teams, swim teams, scouts....and if there is any time left in the week...well we may unfortunately find the time to take them to church too....not set that time aside every week and make other things revolve around it. With all the time competition we have on what little spare time we have...if the hunt isn't a blast of a success...all that gear we just bought is going to go on the chopping block and wifey is going to get a new mini-van (oooppps...I forgot...these days they refuse to drive a mini-van...they have to have a $50K SUV) to haul the kids to the things SHE wants them to do instead of the thing your pop taught you and the neighbor kid to do 35 years ago...all while you figure out how to make that $6500 lawnmower turn where you want it to go instead of where those freaking hydraulics make it go.
Retention is the key for all outdoor activities. "Keeping up with the Joneses" is our greatest enemy. When it comes down to buying a $15 duck stamp or filling that gas tank up on that new mower (which by the way is at the shop because you managed to drive it through the garage door before it actually got all the way open)...guess which one you are going to do?
Now of course I'm being a bit ridiculous, but I hope you see where I'm coming from. Too much competition for our free time and actual economics is what is driving or crashing most recreation activities in my opinion.
 
Found it. Oddly enough they say the mid 90's. Alabama's trend is just the opposite. Stamp sales (which I assume correspond with duck hunter numbers) were on the decline until that period and then increased to near record levels through present day.
 
If Golfing, or any other activity including Driving, were Regulated a third as much as Waterfowl Hunting, would it hurt how many folks participate? People are still spending lots of $$$$$$$$ on what they enjoy. How many millions of folks already own pickups?

When Duck Hunters have the #1 show on cable TV Ever, and a Duck Hunter has a book on the Best Seller List for months, and that cannot be parlayed into more Duck Stamp sales, and Waterfowl hunter interest. (When has that EVER happened?)

Then we are missing the boat, no pun intended...........
 
I think it has to do with several things. There was a thread a while back about kids not being allowed to roam around and be kids. Many kids don't get to expience the outdoors. Instead they are inside doing something that gives instant gratification like video games. So they start off on the wrong foot. To Kieths point when you finally get the time and its not like it is on TV and people get discouraged. looking at an empty sky for a few hours when its 20 deg isn't relaxing for some people.... It is also expensive. I have friends of mine who want to try it out, but balk at the cost of getting a license and tags for something they may do only once even when I have spare waders, coat, gun and ammunition for them. That was in Oregon where they did not require hunters Safety course. I have had two people come with me without a gun to just see what it is all about. They enjoyed themselves but not enough to invest into the sport.
 
I can speak for myself and say without a doubt over regulation in MN was one of the primary reasons I hunt in Wisconsin (except for MN opener where I hunt to be with buddies). So many rules were put in place to protect the ducks (that really don't) at the expense of the hunt that it is not worth it to hunt in MN anymore. That and the decline in the good hutning locations close to where a majority of the hunters live and it is not worth it anymore.

One guys opinion.

And don't even get me going on the fishing reg's. You need a book the size of an encylopedia to understand it all. This lake the hours are such and such, the slot size is this, the limit is "X" on one lake and "y"on another and so on and so on.... You are constantly watching over your shoulder praying you aren't breaking any rules you do not understand or were unaware.


Mark W
 
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As some of you know I work in this profession, and there is a lot of professional discussion and debate about hunter numbers. We are all trying to figure out what is going on and if there are ways to reverse the long-term trend. I'll share some of my personal perspective and some facts.

Waterfowl populations in the last 5 years have been at record numbers for many recreationally important species. http://flyways.us/status-of-waterfo...2013-total-breeding-duck-population-estimates

Goose harvest are 2 to 3 times higher than 30 or 40 years ago.

Duck and goose regulations are more liberal now in all flyways than any time since the 1940s.

Duck regulations overall have been stable and liberal since 1995.

Duck and goose harvest in the last 10 years is higher than anytime since they started keeping records.

Check out those facts for yourself at http://flyways.us/regulations-and-harvest/harvest-trends

As has been mentioned duck hunting is expensive in terms of equipment and time, waterfowl hunting has become very specialized, access to hunting areas has become very difficult in many areas, society's attitudes towards hunting and guns has changed dramatically since 1970 (most graphs show an inflection point in about 1970 or 1971), Americans are no longer rural residents but urban dwellers, there is a nature deficient among younger Americans (kids don't go out after school and wander in the fields or marshes), there are many more competing activities for families on weekends now. Nevertheless the last survey of Americans participating in hunting and fishing http://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/fhw11-nat.pdf shows modest increases in the numbers of hunters and fishers. So there is still concern but some optimism that the rate of decline has stopped and we are starting to rebuild hunter numbers.
 
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Well I'll be the devil's advocate again and throw this one out....
I know back during the first big economic crash, art sales...especially print sales plummeted and really haven't recovered. Stamp sales also took a plunge during this time period. People just had more important things to do with their $$ than buy duck stamps...especially a second or third for collecting.
So, with that being said, perhaps more regulations are needed...regulations that require all users of public lands to purchase a game lands license or whatever the public hunting land is called in your state. Also with this regulation...require all that make use of waterfowl habitat...photographers and birders...also purchase a duck stamp.
 
I'll agree with Neal on the instant gratification. I work around a lot of young men (18-30) and am amazed at the numbers that do nothing but play video games, drink beer,and watch movies. These are guys that do physical labor but only go outside to shop. It seems that the young guys I"ve met, that are taking up hunting now are more educated.
Just my observation, John
 
You wouldn't know their was a decline out here in MI
Click to expand...

Not here either. We just had our area duck blind drawing a few weeks ago and there must have been 750 to 1000 entries for the drawing. There are only 86 blinds available! I've never seen so many people show up before. I've been hunting here since the 60's.

I will agree with Kieth though. Here in Illinois our hunting and fishing lic and stamp money goes into the states general fund. For instance we have a 50 mile long Great River bike path that goes from Savanna, IL in northern Illinois to the Quad City area where I live. Hunting and fishing money provided the funds for the bike path. I use the bike path too. Of course there are walkers that use the path as well as bikers. It would be nice if all those that enjoyed the path would provide funds for the upkeep of the path or additional bike paths that are being build all over Illinois. Their aurgument is "I paid taxes for this" I agree with them I did too but... After all everytime I launch my boat from a state boat ramp I have to pay a fee. I paid taxes for that to I believe. I sure would like to see the state develope more public hunting and fishing opportunities with that money. At one time that's what the money was used for.
 
Same here in AL. I don't know how we could handle a significantly large increase in waterfowl numbers here in part of coastal AL without it creating issues.
And I think Eric would say the same about the TN River Valley lakes.

Regulations are certainly not a problem in AL either.
Might be in other states (which state is the state "where nothing is legal"???).
I think limited access might be an issue in other states as well, but we actually have a lot of public water to hunt and if you put in the time to scout, you can have a good season without ever stepping foot on private lands/waters.
 
As both an avid wildfowler and Certified Flight Instructor (early retired from Cessna Aircraft -- whole 'nother story), please allow me to draw some parallels between the diminishing numbers of waterfowl hunters and a declining pilot population. Nationwide, eight out of every 10 student pilots are "dropouts" and just quit before earning their Private Pilot certificates. As a part-time flight instructor here in central Kansas, this is what I'm likewise experiencing with my students.

I hate sounding like just another 60-something white male, but after giving these twin topics much thought, it's just a simple matter of change. Whether we like it or not, our world is changing. If it helps, you can blame it on increased regulation and rapidly escalating technology. I refuse, however, to blame my younger generations; they've just had too many forces twisting their interests against what could have become a singular, personal passion.

I grew up watching "Sky King" on television, hearing and reading stories of World War II pilot bravery, while absorbing word for word the outdoor writing of Bert Popowski (anybody remember him?), Jack O'Connor, Ted Trueblood and others. Where are these sort of examples today?

As one young student pilot once related as he quit flying -- "It's just too hard." I could argue that it wasn't his lack of ability or drive,\; in my opinion it's just too hard nowadays to develop the sort of passion for an activity that becomes a lifestyle.

I'm proud to be both a hunter and a pilot. While its bothersome to consider that we're a diminishing minority subject to mounting regulations, I intend to continue to enjoy my passions and try to be a suitable example to those who may somehow become interested.
 
Dani, I think those of us who live in the southeast are quite luckily living in states that don't have a 50 page booklet of hunting regulations.
Ever try reading the regs from some of the states up north or out on the west coast? Mind-boggling lists of where you can & cant hunt, what's legal and what is not.....
Fishing regs can be almost as bad or worse.
 
If by "regulations" you mean bag limits, I'd have to disagree since the limits are twice what they were when I was a kid hunter in the early 70s. While indeed sometimes complicated and wordy, I'd have to say the more detailed regional and species-specific regulations have contributed to the nice waterfowl numbers we're experiencing today. I also see the need to switch to non-toxic shot as a necessary but distasteful one made more distasteful by ammunition makers knowing they have us over a barrel (in this case, a 12-gauge one) and driving away their real and potential customers by making little effort to bring down the prices.

As others have mentioned, there are so many other non-outdoors things that parents plug their kids into these days and I don't see that reverting back any time soon. TV is certainly one of those. I doubt Duck Dynasty will do much if anything to recruit new hunters since hunting has such a small role in the show. The positive side of DD is that in a time when most "reality" TV teaches kid that it's okay to talk smack behind other people's backs and to do generally mean stuff, it's largely done in good fun on DD.
 
I think it is just about every factor that has been mentioned in this thread combined.

Culture, access, economy, regulations....

I can think of specific examples of just about every reason given above. However, I think it is mostly cultural. We are becoming a society of lazy SOBs. I am amazed at the increasing number of people who simply would not dream of investing the time and effort necessary for waterfowling into just about anything. They are teaching that same ethic to their children too!

They won't take time to take their children to the ranges, scout, or maintain their gear. When they do go to hunt, they become a self fulfilling failure. No birds, kid can't shoot, gear fails. "Hey but we made it to our tuesday night municipal southside junior pee wee soccer league, didn't we buddy?!... just continue playing your gameboy while daddy paddles out and gets the decoys."
 
Some thoughtful responses above.

It's not just hunting. Here in Maine we have fewer campers, fewer anglers, fewer hikers, fewer canoe paddlers, and fewer people taking whitewater rafting trips.

And not just the outdoors. They say participation in things like bowling leagues is down, too.

I think a big part of it is that parents and other mentors are less available---working longer hours; more tied to the computer and cell phone on their time off, and less likely to spend 4-8 hours in the marsh or woods.
 
I really appreciate every ones input, and very valid points, as to how, and why we got in this decline. With all the brain power, and wealth of knowledge of many, and all. How do we STOP the decline?

When I was growing up, most all public schools had Conservation Clubs, that nurtured the Outdoor Life Style. I do believe that would really help us get young people involved. We have very good teachers, that just need the opportunity to teach.

I worked the local fair last week at the DU booth. I Saw and met, many forks wearing Duck Dynasty t-shirts. NONE of them hunted Waterfowl (but did hunt deer). All young and old stated, that because of the show they wanted to try it.

American Chopper increased the sale of motorcycles greatly. Why can't DD increase duck stamp sales, and duck hunting interest? The opportunity is Knocking, but are we listening?

Uncle Sam has a beard. Dress Phil up like Uncle Sam, pointing a finger saying "I Want YOU To Buy A Duck Stamp NOW!" Or better yet Uncle Si.........

Go ahead and laugh, but put them in Post Offices, and all places they sell duck stamps, (even on line), and watch what happens?.

We already have enough "Studies". Lets work on some solutions Together, or our life style is in danger of slipping away.
 
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