Texas Hunting Leases

A recent survey by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on Fishing, Hunting & Wildlife-Associated Recreation reaffirms what we already know.  Outdoor recreation, namely hunting and fishing, is big business.  How big?  How about $64 Billion - if you include wildlife watching, you get that number to $120 Billon.  And the two do go hand in hand as many hunters support the observation of game through their management efforts as well as their license and tax dollars. 

The survey is conducted every five years and has some interesting facts to share.  The good news is that 38% of Americans over the age of 16 enjoy some recreational activity related to fish and wildlife.  That is over 87 million people.  The bad news is that the number of those who hunt is shrinking.  Between 1996 and 2006, there was a 10% drop in the number of hunters from 14 to 12.5 million.  The drop in big game hunters was only 2%, but the big hit came from the migratory bird hunters – down 22%!  Now part of the Duck hunter in me wants to blame it on the fact that most of my baby boomer friends say that they are too old and fat to enjoy putting out 1,000 goose rags or humping it through a marsh with a bag of dekes on their backs.  In reality, we all know it’s the decline in habitat and thus the decline of duck populations that have lead many to give up the sport.

Some other hunting related facts include the following:

• Big game, such as deer and elk, attracted 10.7 million hunters.
• Migratory birds attracted 2.3 million hunters.
• The average expenditure per hunter was $1,814.

I always find it amusing when “animal rights” groups call for the abolishment of hunting and fishing.  But all the discussion in the world won’t add habitat and resources.  And, that is about all these groups have to offer since most of their budgets go towards talk and no real action.  But I will leave this for another blog. 

I never went to camp.  My parents never really encouraged it – probably because my dad did not like his camp experience as a young man.   The letters to my grandparents could have been used as a script for  Alan Sherman’s famous Camp Granda song.  But, if they had a camp like Outdoor Texas Camp I might have broke with tradition.   Offering camp sessions for both hunting and fishing, these camps are backed by the Christian Outdoor Alliance and offer both boys and girls hands on experience with trained instructors.  Doug Pike recently wrote about this in an article in the Houston Chronicle.

It probably should go without saying that parents who enjoy the outdoors, usually have introuduced their children to the wonders afield.  But, with urbanization and population concentrations limiting kids opportunities to get out, camps like this one can go along way to preserving our sporting heritage here in Texas.  I am definately going to tell my kids about the Outdoor Texas Camp, all while wishing I were a kid again.  Maybe they need some more instructor help?  You never know!