Explaining Hunting Participation in Ohio: A Story of Changing Land Use and New Technology

Long-term per-capita participation in hunting is declining in the United States, although trends vary by region and type of hunting activity. Numerous studies have identified diverse factors affecting individuals’ likelihood of participating in hunting, but relatively few have examined factors influencing involvement at a broader scale. Landscape and cultural changes associated with urbanization coupled with the distractions of entertainment technologies have been implicated as factors negatively influencing hunting participation at the broad, sociocultural scale. By examining factors related to Ohio hunting license and deer permit sales at the county-level (2007), we found that access to huntable lands, agriculture–forest matrix characteristics, proliferation of entertainment technologies, rurality, and racial/ethnic demographics were associated with participation rates. Although exurbanization drives parcelization and land use change, some regions are not yet saturated with technological infrastructure (e.g., southeastern Ohio) or have unique population demographics (e.g., Amish) that are likely to deter future declines in hunting participation.