A Comparison of Harvest, Participation and Land Access among Resident and Non-resident Deer Hunters in Illinois

Grant/Contract No: W-112-R-17A random sample of 2,945 non-resident and 2,919 resident deer hunting license purchasers were mailed an 11-page questionnaire between January and April 2007. The questionnaire was designed to allow a comparison of deer hunting activities, methods of land access, expenditures on deer hunting and motivations for hunting deer in Illinois between resident and non-resident hunters. We received 1,916 (65%) valid responses from non-resident deer hunters and 1,744 (61%) from resident deer hunters. Both resident and non-resident hunters hunted the most days during the archery season, however, resident hunters harvested more deer during the regular firearm season than other seasons. Resident hunters harvested more does than other classes of deer, whereas non-residents harvested more bucks with ≥4 antler points per side than other classes of deer. Non-resident hunters harvested male deer and antlered deer at a higher rate respective to their harvest of female deer or antlerless deer. Resident deer hunters were more likely to harvest female or antlerless deer than males or antlered deer. Non-resident hunters leased land to hunt deer and hired outfitters more often than resident deer hunters. Resident deer hunters were more willing to harvest doe and buck fawns than were non-residents and faced fewer restrictions on their harvest placed by landowners. Non-resident deer hunters were more satisfied with their ability to access private hunting land, the number of other hunters seen and the quality of the Illinois deer herd than were resident hunters.INHS Technical Report Prepared for Illinois Department of Natural Resources; Illinois Natural History Surve

Results of the 2007-2008 Illinois Hunter Harvest Survey

Grant/Contract No: W-112-R-17A random sample of 3,000 potential hunters was selected from among 2007 Illinois Habitat Stamp and hunting license purchasers. An 8-page questionnaire was successfully mailed to 2,906 of the 3,000 individuals. We received 1,625 returned questionnaires, 1,620 of which were usable, for a 56% response rate. Comparisons of harvest estimates from the 2006-2007 season to the 2007-2008 season suggest harvest decreased for 10 game animal categories (rabbit, quail, pheasant, dove, gray partridge, fox squirrel, gray squirrel, red fox, gray fox, and opossum), and increased for 3 categories (woodcock, raccoon, and coyote). License sales increased 0.4% from 282,000 sold for the 2006 season to 283,000 sold in the 2007 season. This represents a recovery in license sales of less than 1% since the lowest level on record (since 1938) in 2005. Low license sales may be related to increasing difficulty in finding land to hunt. Resident hunters pursuing deer (61%) and small game species (51%) reported little difficulty in gaining access to hunting lands. However, all other seasons were associated with more difficulty in accessing land. Efforts should be undertaken to ensure that hunters are aware of the locations of public hunting lands associated with these seasons. Few residents reported leasing land (4%) or hiring outfitters (1%) to access land.INHS Technical Report Prepared for Illinois Department of Natural Resources; Illinois Natural History Surve

Assessing Ecological and Social Outcomes of a Bear-Proofing Experiment

Human-black bear conflicts within urban environments have been increasing throughout North America, becoming a high priority management issue. The main factor influencing these conflicts is black bears foraging on anthropogenic foods within areas of human development, primarily on residential garbage. Wildlife professionals have advocated for increased bear-proofing measures to decrease the accessibility of garbage to bears, but little research has been conducted to empirically test the effectiveness of this approach for reducing conflicts. Between 2011 and 2016, we conducted a before-after-control-impact experiment in Durango, Colorado where we distributed 1,110 bear-resistant trash containers, enhanced education, and increased enforcement to residents in 2 treatment areas, and monitored 2 paired control areas. We examined the ecological and social outcomes of this experiment, assessing whether bear-resistant containers were effective at reducing conflicts; the level of public compliance (i.e., properly locking away garbage) needed to reduce conflicts; whether the effectiveness of bear-resistant containers increased over time; and if the distribution of bear-resistant containers changed residents’ attitudes about bear management, support for ordinances that require bear-proofing, or perceptions of their future risk of garbage-related conflicts. After the bear-resistant containers were deployed, trash-related conflicts (i.e., observations of strewn trash) were 60% lower in treatment areas than control areas, resident compliance with local wildlife ordinances (properly locking away trash) was 39% higher in treatment areas than control areas, and the effectiveness of the new containers was immediate. Conflicts declined as resident compliance with wildlife ordinances increased to approximately 60% (by using a bear-resistant container or locking trash in a secure location), with minor additional declines in conflicts at higher levels of compliance. In addition to these ecological benefits, public mail surveys demonstrated that the deployment of bear-resistant containers was associated with increases in the perceived quality of bear management and support for ordinances that require bear-proofing, and declines in the perceived risk of future trash-related conflicts. Our results validate efforts by wildlife professionals and municipalities to reduce black bear access to human foods, and should encourage other entities of the merits of bear-proofing efforts for reducing human-bear conflicts and improving public attitudes about bears and their management

Assessing Ecological and Social Outcomes of a Bear-Proofing Experiment

Human-black bear conflicts within urban environments have been increasing throughout North America, becoming a high priority management issue. The main factor influencing these conflicts is black bears foraging on anthropogenic foods within areas of human development, primarily on residential garbage. Wildlife professionals have advocated for increased bear-proofing measures to decrease the accessibility of garbage to bears, but little research has been conducted to empirically test the effectiveness of this approach for reducing conflicts. Between 2011 and 2016, we conducted a before-after-control-impact experiment in Durango, Colorado where we distributed 1,110 bear-resistant trash containers, enhanced education, and increased enforcement to residents in 2 treatment areas, and monitored 2 paired control areas. We examined the ecological and social outcomes of this experiment, assessing whether bear-resistant containers were effective at reducing conflicts; the level of public compliance (i.e., properly locking away garbage) needed to reduce conflicts; whether the effectiveness of bear-resistant containers increased over time; and if the distribution of bear-resistant containers changed residents’ attitudes about bear management, support for ordinances that require bear-proofing, or perceptions of their future risk of garbage-related conflicts. After the bear-resistant containers were deployed, trash-related conflicts (i.e., observations of strewn trash) were 60% lower in treatment areas than control areas, resident compliance with local wildlife ordinances (properly locking away trash) was 39% higher in treatment areas than control areas, and the effectiveness of the new containers was immediate. Conflicts declined as resident compliance with wildlife ordinances increased to approximately 60% (by using a bear-resistant container or locking trash in a secure location), with minor additional declines in conflicts at higher levels of compliance. In addition to these ecological benefits, public mail surveys demonstrated that the deployment of bear-resistant containers was associated with increases in the perceived quality of bear management and support for ordinances that require bear-proofing, and declines in the perceived risk of future trash-related conflicts. Our results validate efforts by wildlife professionals and municipalities to reduce black bear access to human foods, and should encourage other entities of the merits of bear-proofing efforts for reducing human-bear conflicts and improving public attitudes about bears and their management

A conceptual model for the integration of social and ecological information to understand human-wildlife interactions

There is growing recognition that interdisciplinary approaches that account for both ecological and social processes are necessary to successfully address human-wildlife interactions. However, such approaches are hindered by challenges in aligning data types, communicating across disciplines, and applying social science information to conservation actions. To meet these challenges, we propose a conceptual model that adopts a social-ecological systems approach and integrates social and ecological theory to identify the multiple, nested levels of influence on both human and animal behavior. By accounting for a diverse array of influences and feedback mechanisms between social and ecological systems, this model fulfills a need for approaches that treat social and ecological processes with equal depth and facilitates a comprehensive understanding of the drivers of human and animal behaviors that perpetuate human-wildlife interactions. We apply this conceptual model to our work on human-black bear conflicts in Colorado, USA to demonstrate its utility. Using this example, we identify key lessons and offer guidance to researchers and conservation practitioners for applying integrated approaches to other human-wildlife systems

Results of the 2005-2006 Illinois Trapper Survey

Job Completion Report, Federal Aid Project Number W-112-R-15, Job Number 101.2, Wildlife Restoration, Oct. 1, 2005 - Sept. 30, 200

Results of the 2007 Illinois Conservation Order snow goose survey

Illinois Department of Natural Resources; Illinois Natural History Survey Grant/Contract No: W-112-R-16INHS Technical Report Prepared for Illinois Department of Natural Resources; Illinois Natural History Surve

Results of the 2005-2006 Illinois Hunter Harvest Survey

Job Completion Report, Federal Aid Project Number W-112-R-15, Job Number 101.1, Wildlife Restoration , Oct. 1, 2005 - Sept. 30, 2006INHS Technical Report prepared for Illinois Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as required by Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act Illinoi

Results of the 2006-2007 Illinois trapper survey

Illinois Department of Natural Resources; Illinois Natural History Survey Grant/Contract No: W-112-R-16A random sample of 1,200 purchasers of the Illinois resident trapping license (2006-2007 series) were mailed a 5-page questionnaire between March and May 2007. We received 859 usable responses (73% response rate). Trapping license sales increased 52% from 2005-2006 (2,414 licenses) to 2006-2007 (3,660 licenses). Trappers set an average of 24.6 traps for an average of 28.3 days/nights during the 2006-2007 season, and they harvested an estimated 210,395 furbearers (127% increase from 92,835 furbearers harvested in 2005-2006). An estimated 93,819 raccoon (Procyon lotor, Wilson and Reeder 2005) were taken by trappers in 2006-2007, more than any other furbearer species. Estimated harvest of other species included 66,297 common muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), 3,784 American mink (Neovison vison), 22,617 Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), 1,219 red fox (Vulpes vulpes), 102 gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), 11,124 American beaver (Castor canadensis), 4,768 striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis), 47 least/long-tailed weasel (Mustela nivalis/M. frenata), 6,553 coyote (Canis latrans), and 85 American badger (Taxidea taxus). Sightings of gray fox, North American river otter (Lontra canadensis), and bobcat (Lynx rufus) by trappers, and harvest of furbearers by hunting trappers, were also documented.INHS Technical Report Prepared for Illinois Department of Natural Resources; Illinois Natural History Surve

Results of the 2005-2006 Illinois waterfowl hunter survey

Job Completion Report, Federal Aid Project Number W-112-R-15, Job Number 101.3, Wildlife Restoration, Oct. 1, 2005 - Sept. 30, 200