3 Facts every Illinois Hunter and Angler needs to know

3 Facts every Illinois Hunter and Angler needs to know

Several weeks ago Capitol Outdoors wrote about the Illinois Sportsmen's Caucus Annual Dinner hosted by the Congressional Sportsmen Foundation.  While at dinner we read some information at the table regarding hunters and anglers.

There is a great deal of information that Illinois hunters and anglers need to know.  A problem occurs while trying to spread knowledge like this; information, statistics and facts are not as fun to read as a monster buck article.  Who could blame them? In today's world it needs to be short and sweet so people read it.

"The National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation is a partnership effort with the States and national conservation organizations, and has become one of the most important sources of information on fish and wildlife recreation in the United States. It is a useful tool that quantifies the economic impact of wildlife-based recreation. Federal, State, and private organizations use this detailed information to manage wildlife, market products, and look for trends. The 2011 Survey is the twelfth in a series of surveys conducted about every 5 years since 1955."  United States Fish & Wildlife Service

Here are three things that every Illinois Hunter and Angler needs to know.

1. We're Not Alone
• There are over 1.3 million anglers and hunters in Illinois.
• That's more then cities of Champaign, Peoria, Bloomington, Normal, Carbondale, Quincy, Jacksonville and Springfield combined.  
• Nationally over 33 million anglers and 13.7 million people hunted in 2011.  
2. Too Little Time
• The average sportsmen & women spend 13 days fishing & 15 days hunting. 
• When you think about it, that doesn't seem like that much time, especially considering the next point. 
3. Show me the Money
• The average anglers spends over $700 and the average hunters spends over $2000 a year on licenses, equipment, & other related expenses in Illinois.
• Over $900 million spent annually by anglers and over $1 billion by hunters just in Illinois alone.
• When you break down the amount of money the average hunter spends compared to the average number of days they hunt, they spend about $133 a day to hunt in Illinois. 
• There needs to be more days dedicated to hunting when you are talking about spending money like that :)

In 2016 another survey will go out and we'll be able to compare this survey to new information.  Are we growing? Declining?  Are people hunting in other states, spending money in other states? Only time will tell and Capitol Outdoors will make sure to bring you the information.

Remember Enjoy the Outdoors Good Luck and Stay Safe -

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