An Investigation into hunting on public and private land in Illinois

Successful wildlife management programs incorporate an in-depth understanding of diverse hunter groups within the sport. This study aimed to understand satisfaction and perceived constraints of public and private land deer hunters in Illinois. The primary objectives were to 1) identify and compare factors that contribute to satisfaction of hunters who hunt public land only and those who hunt both public and private land and 2) identify and compare factors that contribute to managerial, personal, and situational constraints of hunters who hunt public land, private land, and public and private land. A random sample of 3,000 hunters were selected from adult 2019-2020 Illinois resident hunting license holders. The sample included 1,500 Illinois residents who applied for a waterfowl and/or deer hunting permit on public land and 1,500 residents who purchased an Illinois hunting license without applying for a permit to hunt on public land. Selected individuals were mailed an 8-page self-administered repeat questionnaire designed to query hunters about their hunting activities and constraints they face in Illinois. Respondents hunted most often on public lands (state, federal, and other public lands) (42%), private land owned by family or themselves (30%), and property not owned/leased by family or themselves (19%). A majority (62%) of public land hunters were satisfied with their overall hunting experience on state-owned (IDNR) lands in Illinois. To analyze constraints, hunter responses were divided into three groups: managerial constraints, situational constraints, and personal constraints

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Natural Res & Env Sciences

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Ashbrook, Alexa Lee

Contributors dc:contributor

• Miller, Craig A
• Vaske, Jerry J
• Ward, Michael P
• Ellis, Matthew B

• Hunting
• Satisfaction
• Constraints
• Public Land
• Private Land
• Hunting regulations

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022 Alexa Ashbrook

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/116127

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F116127