Report Nr. 3426 Demographics, Recruitment, and Retention of Michigan Hunters

At least 868,000 people purchased Michigan hunting licenses each year during 2000-2002. Hunter numbers have increased slightly since the 1960s when an average of 858,000 people purchased licenses. Although the number of licensees has increased since the 1960s, the percentage of Michigan residents (included all ages) that have purchased a hunting license has declined from an average of 10.1% during the 1960s to 8.7% during 2000-2002. Currently, most hunters reside in the southern Lower Peninsula; however, a higher proportion of residents in the Upper Peninsula purchased hunting licenses. During 2000-2002, about 91% of the license buyers were males, but participation by females has increased since the 1980s. Hunting in Michigan has become increasingly focused on deer hunting; at least 91% of the hunting license buyers purchased a deer hunting license during 2000-2002. The proportion of residents that hunted deer has increased gradually in all regions of the state since the 1960s. The proportion of residents that hunted deer has increased for all age groups and sexes since the 1950s. About 80% of deer license buyers purchased a license during consecutive years, higher than for any other group of hunters. As deer hunting has gained popularity, small game hunting has declined. The proportion of males and females hunting small game in 2002 was among the lowest levels recorded since 1950. Deer hunters in 2002 were more specialized in their pursuit of deer than they were in 1970. In 2002, 62% of the deer hunters only purchased a deer hunting license, while 51% of deer hunters purchased only deer hunting licenses in 1968. In contrast, fewer small game hunters pursued only small game in 2002 than they did in 1968. In 1968, 45% of small game hunters only purchased a small game hunting license, while in 2002, 16% of these small game hunters only purchased a small game hunting license.