The number of hunting license holders in Kentucky, and several states in the region, was up slightly in 2015, according to the latest data posted on the website of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the agency that tracks license sales and revenue in the U.S.
In 2015, Kentucky had 340,902 hunting license holders, 13,926 more than in 2014.
Despite some fluctuations, the trend is positive. In the past 20 years (since 1995), hunting license sales in Kentucky are up 18 percent. Of the seven states that surround Kentucky, five (Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Missouri) posted increases in the number of hunting license holders from 2014 to 2015.
But nationally, the trend has declined slightly in the past 20 years. There were 15.2 million hunting license holders in the U.S. in 1995. In 2015 there were 14.8 million.
Despite license sales declines nationally in the past 20 years, revenue has increased significantly, from $532.5 million in 1995 to $806.4 million in 2015, according to the USFWS. States use the funds generated from license sales to pay for wildlife management, habitat improvement and other conservation efforts (Photo Provided)
Keep in mind, these are paid license sales. Many hunters are license exempt. For example, in Kentucky, landowners who hunt on property they own, and live on, and their resident tenants, are not required to buy a hunting license. Also, active duty military on leave are license exempt.
Free hunting weekends, and similar promotions, offered by many states across the country to introduce youth and adult beginners, also make it difficult to determine exactly how many people are hunting.
Economic Impact of Wildlife-Associated Recreation
Despite license sales declines nationally in the past 20 years, revenue has increased significantly, from $532.5 million in 1995 to $806.4 million in 2015, according to the USFWS. This is because the price of hunting licenses and permits has gone up, and states now issue more types of permits.
States use the funds generated from license sales to pay for wildlife management, habitat improvement and other conservation efforts.
In a report of strategic plan accomplishments for 2014-15, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) posted on their website that wildlife-associated recreation in Kentucky, which included hunting, fishing, wildlife watching and boating, had a total economic impact of $5.94 billion. For the third year running, KDFWR has had a record volume of license and permit sales, and the state has an estimated 554,000 anglers, 347,000 hunters, 1.3 million wildlife watchers and 1.2 million boaters.
Indiana Voters Show Strong Support for Hunting and Fishing
In neighboring Indiana, voters on Nov. 8 showed that public support for hunting and fishing is strong.
Indiana passed a constitutional amendment to protect the right to “hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife,” with 78 percent of voters favoring, 22 percent opposing.
The constitutional amendment, on the ballot as Public Question 1, stated: “Shall the Constitution of the State of Indiana be amended by adding a Section 39 to Article 1 to provide that the right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife shall be forever preserved for the public good, subject only to the laws prescribed by the General Assembly and rules prescribed by virtue of the authority of the General Assembly to: (1) promote wildlife conservation and management; and (2) preserve the future of hunting and fishing?”
The amendment constitutionally protects the right to hunt and fish and the General Assembly’s position as the only authority that can change these laws.
For more outdoors news and information, see Art Lander’s Outdoors on KyForward.
“It’s important to protect Hoosiers’ hunting rights in the future,” said National Rifle Association (NRA) spokesperson Catherine Mortensen. “The NRA is thrilled that these protections will be in place now for the people of Indiana and for future generations.”
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 21 states now guarantee the right to hunt and fish in their constitutions.
While Vermont’s language dates back to 1777, the rest of these constitutional provisions have passed since 1996: Alabama, 1996; Arkansas, 2010; Georgia, 2006; Idaho, 2012; Indiana, 2016; Kansas, 2016; Kentucky, 2012; Louisiana, 2004; Mississippi, 2014; Minnesota, 1998; Montana, 2004; Nebraska, 2012; North Dakota, 2000; Oklahoma, 2008; South Carolina, 2010; Tennessee, 2010; Texas, 2015; Virginia, 2000; Wisconsin, 2003, and Wyoming, 2012.
Kentucky’s vote came on Nov. 6, 2012. House Bill 1, a legislatively referred ballot measure to add the right to hunt and fish to the state’s constitution, overwhelmingly passed, with a vote of 85 percent for, 15 percent against.
Art Lander Jr. is outdoors editor for NKyTribune and KyForward. He is a native Kentuckian, a graduate of Western Kentucky University and a life-long hunter, angler, gardener and nature enthusiast. He has worked as a newspaper columnist, magazine journalist and author and is a former staff writer for Kentucky Afield Magazine, editor of the annual Kentucky Hunting & Trapping Guide and Kentucky Spring Hunting Guide, and co-writer of the Kentucky Afield Outdoors newspaper column.
