CHAPTER 11
WILDLIFE AS RECREATION

One of the reasons frequently given for conserving wildlife and habitat is the aesthetic and recreational value of natural places. Human beings derive pleasure from natural places in large numbers, and in a wide variety of ways.

NATIONAL SURVEY OF FISHING, HUNTING, AND WILDLIFE-ASSOCIATED RECREATION

Americans have a rich tradition of enjoying nature. In fact, several of the country's most popular recreational activities involve wildlife and wild places. As part of its effort to conserve species and natural habitats, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service publishes a periodic report on how Americans use these natural resources. The data come from interviews conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. The most recent report is the 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, published in October 2002. In this survey, the Fish and Wildlife Service found that over 80 million Americans over the age of 16—39 percent of the population—participated in some form of wildlife-related activity in 2001. They spent a total of $108 billion on those activities—about 1.1 percent of the nation's Gross Domestic Product. (See Figure 11.1.)

During 2001, 34 million people in the United States fished, 13 million hunted, and over 66 million enjoyed some form of wildlife-watching recreation, including photography and feeding or observing animals. Many participants in one of these wildlife-related activities engaged in the others as well. The prevalence of wildlife-watching from 1980–2001 is shown in Figure 11.2.

Wildlife watching attracted over 66 million Americans in 2001, 31 percent of the total population. (See Figure 11.3.) These included residential participants who took a special interest in wildlife near their homes (62.9 million) as well as nonresidential participants who went on a trip the primary purpose of which was wildlife-watching (21.8 million).

Figure 11.4 shows the percent of total residential participants by wildlife-watching activity. The largest number participated by feeding wild birds or observing wildlife. As shown in Figure 11.5, a large majority of residential wildlife observers were interested in birds—96 percent. However, other animal groups, such as mammals, insects and spiders, reptiles and amphibians, and fish, also drew wildlife-watchers. People from non-metropolitan areas, or small metropolitan areas, were most likely to engage in residential wildlife watching. (See Figure 11.6.) Figure 11.7 shows the age breakdown of residential wildlife-watchers.

Nonresidential participants who observed, fed, or photographed wildlife showed particular interest in birds and land mammals. However, fish and marine mammals (including whales) were also well-represented. (See Figure 11.8 and Table 11.1.) Approximately 83 percent of all non-residential wildlife observers observed wildlife in their state of residence. About 30 percent traveled to other states to engage in wildlife-watching activity. Figure 11.9 shows the types of sites visited by nonresidential wildlife observers. Woodlands were the most popular, followed by lake or streamsides, open fields, brush-covered areas, and wetlands.

Table 11.2 focuses on the activities of birdwatchers. There were almost 46 million birdwatchers in 2001. Of these, over 40 million observed birds around the home, and over 18 million traveled to birdwatch.

ECOTOURISM

Tourism is one of the largest industries worldwide, generating 200 million jobs globally. The World Tourism Organization (WTO) estimated that there were some 663 million international travelers in 1999, and that these spent a total of more than $453 billion. Nature tourists perhaps account for 40–60 percent of all international tourists, with 20–40 percent focusing on wildlife in particular. In addition, nature tourism is increasing at an annual rate of 10–30 percent.

Ecotourism is a special form of nature travel that The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) defines as "responsible travel to natural areas which conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people." The World Conservation Union (IUCN) defines ecotourism as "environmentally responsible travel and visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and any accompanying cultural features—both past and present) that promotes conservation, has low negative visitor impact, and provides for beneficially active socioeconomic involvement of local populations."

The United Nations General Assembly designated 2002 the International Year of Ecotourism. Programs run collaboratively by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the WTO, and TIES focused on ecotourism's capacity to aid in the conservation of natural and cultural heritage, promote the exchange of ideas in ecotourism management, and allow for exchanges of experiences in ecotourism.

According to TIES, ecotourists are most often between the ages of thirty-five and fifty-four, are evenly split between males and females, and are usually college graduates (82 percent). However, recent increases in ecotourism among people with less education suggest that ecotourism is expanding into more mainstream markets. The majority of ecotourists (60 percent) prefer to travel as a couple, though others like to travel either with their families (15 percent) or alone (13 percent). In surveys, eco-tourists ranked their top priorities as "wilderness setting," "wildlife viewing," and "hiking/trekking."

TIES' list of popular ecotourism destinations and activities includes hiking and camping in U.S. National Parks (more than 424 million visitations in 2001), visiting nature reserves in South Africa (5,898,000 visitors in 1998), going on safari in Kenya (826,000 visitors in 1993), visiting national parks in Australia (1.7 million visitors in 1998), birdwatching in Peru (642,336 visitors in 1999), visiting national parks in Brazil (3.5 million visitors in 1998), trekking in Nepal (50,708 international trekkers in 1997), visiting parks and reefs in Belize, and viewing wildlife in the Galapagos Islands (60,000 visitors per year on average).

A nationwide survey conducted by TIES in 1998 asked the question, "What type of nature-based activities did you participate in during your last nature-based vacation?" The top twelve answers in order were: visiting parks, hiking, exploring a preserved area, observing wildlife (non-birds), walking nature trails in ecosystems, viewing unique natural places (sinkholes, dunes), participating in environmental education, birdwatching, biking, freshwater fishing, snorkeling or scuba diving, and exploring a major protected swamp or marsh.

BIRDING

Birding is a wildlife-related recreational activity that enjoys worldwide appeal—there are countless national and regional birding organizations. More than 46 million Americans engage in birdwatching every year. Important conservation studies such as the U.S. Breeding Bird Survey rely largely on volunteer birders to help document long-term population trends and distributions of over 400 North American breeding bird species.

The American Birding Association (ABA) is the largest association of amateur birders in the U.S. Membership has grown steadily since its founding in 1968 and stood at nearly 22,000 in 2004. In terms of birding activity, a 1997 ABA survey showed that 16 percent of members bird more than 80 days a year, and 24 percent bird between 40 and 80 days a year. In addition, 17 percent of members traveled more than 10,000 miles to go bird-watching, while another 20 percent traveled between 5,000 and 10,000 miles. Birdwatchers see diverse species on their outings—21 percent reported identifying 401 species or more in the last year, 17 percent identified 301–400 species, 25 percent identified 201–300 species, and 22 percent identified 101–200 species. A large majority—over 80 percent—of members maintain a "life list" of all the bird species they have ever seen. Among other activities, 82 percent feed birds in their backyards, 67 percent participate in bird counts, 36 percent photograph birds, 6 percent record bird songs, and 41 percent are active with a local bird club.

WHALE WATCHING

Whale watching has become increasingly popular in recent years, contributing to coastal economies worldwide. (See Figure 11.10.) In 1995 the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, based in Bath, England, estimated the industry's value at $504 million. In August 2000 the International Fund for Animal Welfare reported that the industry had grown to $1.049 billion by 1998. It also reported that over 9 million people in 87 countries went on whale-watching expeditions in 1998—an increase of over 3.5 million people since 1994 and more than double the figure of 4 million people in 1991. According to the report, the number of whale watchers increased by an average of more than 12 percent each year during the late 1990s. In 1998 nearly 48 percent of all whale watching occurred in the United States, with an estimated 4.3 million people participating.

A few American cities—Provincetown, Massachusetts, and Lahaina, Hawaii, in particular—reap significant economic benefits from whale watching. Countries such as Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Iceland, and Mexico have also developed lucrative whale-watching industries. Smaller nations, including St. Lucia, Namibia, Oman, and the Solomon Islands, also run profitable whale-watching operations. By 1998 whale-watching programs featured not only the most popular species—humpback whales, fin whales, minke whales, and pilot whales—but eighty-three additional cetaceans, including orcas, or killer whales, and highly endangered northern right whales. The California gray whale, recently removed from the Endangered Species List, is the star of the whale-watching industry on the U.S. West Coast. In addition, commercial whale-watching vessels frequently serve as forums for educational outreach and scientific research.

CANNED HUNTING

In the 1980s a controversial form of hunting known as "canned hunting" swept the United States. Originating in Texas, canned hunting now occurs in most states.

In a canned hunt, the hunter pays a set fee and steps onto private property where an animal—most often a boar, ram, bear, lion, tiger, zebra, buffalo, rhinoceros, or antelope—is confined. The hunter then kills the animal with the weapon of his or her choice. The animals are easily cornered—some have been domesticated or raised in facilities where they've become friendly to humans. A 1994 Humane Society investigation found that there may be several thousand canned-hunting facilities in the United States.

There are no federal laws restricting canned hunts. A 2001 survey by Laura J. Ireland revealed that only California, Delaware, Georgia, Montana, New York, Oregon, Wisconsin, and Wyoming had laws prohibiting or regulating canned hunts of exotic species or big game mammals. Zoos frequently sell "surplus" animals either directly to canned-hunt facilities or to dealers who then sell animals at auctions attended by canned-hunt organizers. Some pressure has been exerted on zoos to acknowledge their responsibility for the animals they discard.