Predicting private landowner hunting access decisions and hunter density

• Published in: Human dimensions of wildlife Vol. 24; no. 2; pp. 99 - 115
• Main Authors: Burke, Conner R., Peterson, M. Nils, Sawyer, David T., Moorman, Christopher E., Serenari, Christopher, Meentemeyer, Ross K., DePerno, Christopher S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia Routledge 04.03.2019; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Demographics; Demography; Density; Housing; Hunter access; hunter density; Hunting; Income generation; Land use; landowner decisions; Landowners; Landscape; nonindustrial private land; North Carolina; Ownership; Properties (attributes); Regression models; Rural environments; Rural land use; Urbanization; white-tailed deer; Wildlife management
• ISSN: 1087-1209; 1533-158X
• DOI: 10.1080/10871209.2018.1545147

Urbanization and shifting landowner demographics are changing how and where hunting occurs. We surveyed nonindustrial private landowners (N = 1,843) in North Carolina, USA to examine how demographics and land-use predict whether hunting occurred and hunter density. The optimal logistic regression model correctly predicted whether hunting occurred on 96% of properties. Larger properties, male property ownership, longer ownership tenure, income generation from a property, and landowners originating from rural environments were positively related to whether a property was hunted. Properties with older landowners and properties surrounded by greater housing and road density were less likely to be hunted. Hunter density declined with property size, longer ownership tenure, and the presence of a landowner or family member(s) hunting the property. In the future, increases in hunter density on small properties may facilitate wildlife management through hunting as landscapes become more urbanized.