On November 8, more than 80 percent of voters in both Indiana and Kansas approved ballot measures that amended their state constitutions to guarantee Hoosiers and Kansans the right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife. By ratifying the amendments, Indiana and Kansas became the 20th and 21st states to ensure the protection of their hunting, angling, and trapping traditions for future generations.
The Indiana Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus and the Kansas Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus both played instrumental roles in advancing the right to hunt, fish and harvest wildlife through the legislature and onto the November ballot.
Through the American System of Conservation Funding, Indiana’s 857,000 sportsmen and women generated around $38.5 million in 2015 for fish and wildlife conservation and fishing, hunting and boating access to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Likewise, in 2015, the 527,000 sportsmen and women in Kansas provided nearly $45 million through this same system of funding to the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
