Hunting is ‘Slowly Dying Off’
In Pennsylvania, as well as most other states in the country, decreased revenues from hunting licenses and equipment are creating funding shortages for conservation efforts. The needs are becoming more urgent as development eats into habitat and as baby boomers age out of hunting. With hunters being the primary funding source for conservation of the past century, a disproportionate distribution of efforts toward game and away from non-game species has resulted. With more species becoming threatened and endangered, there are fewer resources and more needs – state conservation departments are being stretched desperately thin.
While many states are working to expand the sport’s appeal to women, minorities, and the growing number of locavores, the federal funding model is entrenched. A proposed tax on outdoor gear, for example, was killed by resistance from retailers and manufacturers. Perhaps movement is on the horizon, though; in December, Congress voted to give states greater discretion in their use of federal dollars from sales of hunting equipment. As of January 2020, House legislators are also working on a bipartisan bill to provide states and tribes with $1.4 billion annually from the general fund to restore habitats and implement key conservation strategies