Wildlife-Watching Activities
|
Participants and Days of Activity |
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| Home | In 2001,
1.1 million U.S. residents 16 years old and older fed, observed or
photographed wildlife in Oklahoma. Approximately 88 percent-997 thousand of
wildlife watchers-enjoyed their activities close to home and are called
"residential" participants. Those persons who enjoyed wildlife at least 1
mile from home called "nonresidential" participants. People participating in
nonresidential activities in Oklahoma in 2001 numbered 403 thousand-36
percent of all wildlife watchers in Oklahoma. Of the 403 thousand, 298
thousand were state residents and 105 thousand were nonresidents. Oklahoman 16 years old and older who enjoyed nonresidential wildlife watching with in there state totaled 298 thousand. Of this group, 298 thousand participants observed wildlife, 116 thousand fed wildlife and 78 thousand photographed wildlife. Since some individuals engaged in more than one of the three nonresidential activities during the year, the sum of wildlife observers, feeders and photographs exceeds the total number of nonresidential participants. |
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| Purchase a License | ||||||
| Wildlife Diversity | ||||||
| Fishing | ||||||
| Law Enforcement | ||||||
| Hunting | ||||||
| Wildlife-Watching Participants in Oklahoma | ||||||
| Outdoor Calendar | (State residents and nonresidents 16 years old and older) | |||||
| Total | 1.1 million | 100% | ||||
| Educational Programs | Residential | 997 thousand | 88% | |||
| Nonresidential | 403 thousand | 36% | ||||
| About the Department | ||||||
| Oklahomans spent nearly 3.7 million days engaged in nonresidential wildlife watching activities in their state. During 2001, they spent 3.1 million days feeding wildlife and 1.9 million days feeding wildlife. The sum of the days observing and feeding wildlife exceeds the total days of wildlife-watching activity because individuals may have engaged in more than one activity on some days. | ||||||
| Nonresidential (away from home) Wildlife-Watching Participation in Oklahoma | ||||||
| (State residents and nonresidents 16 years old and older) | ||||||
| Participation, total | 403 thousand | |||||
| Observe wildlife | 397 thousand | |||||
| Feed wildlife | 164 thousand | |||||
| Photograph wildlife | 139 thousand | |||||
| Days, total | 4.1 million | |||||
| Observe wildlife | 3.4 million | |||||
| Feed wildlife | 2.1 million | |||||
| Photograph wildlife | 526 thousand | |||||
Oklahoma residents also took an active interest in wildlife around their homes. In 2001, 997 thousand state residents enjoyed observing, feeding, and photographing wildlife within 1 mile of their homes. Among residential group 956 thousand fed wildlife, 627 thousand observed wildlife and 274 thousand participants maintained plantings for the benefit of wildlife. Another 185 thousand participants maintained natural areas of one-quarter acre or more for wildlife; 170 thousand photographed wildlife around their homes; and 71 thousand residential participants visited public parks within a mile of home. Adding the participants in these six activities results in a sum that exceeds the total number of residential participants because many people participated in more than one type of residential activity.
| Residential (around the home) Wildlife-Watching Participation in Oklahoma | |||||
| (State residents and nonresidents 16 years old and older) | |||||
|
Total |
997 thousand | ||||
|
Feed wildlife |
956 thousand | ||||
|
Observe wildlife |
627 thousand | ||||
|
Maintain plantings |
274 thousand | ||||
|
Maintain natural areas |
185 thousand | ||||
|
Photograph wildlife |
170 thousand | ||||
|
Visit public areas |
71 thousand | ||||
Wild Bird Observers
Bird watching attracted many wildlife enthusiasts in Oklahoma. In 2001, 760
thousand people observed birds around the home and on trips. The majority, 80
percent (608 thousand), observed wild birds around the home while 42 percent (321
thousand) took trips away from home to watch birds.
People bird watching in Oklahoma varied in their ability to identify different bird species. Within Oklahoma, 543 thousand of these 760 thousand birders (71 percent) could identify 1 to 20 different types of birds and 128 thousand birders (17 percent) could identify 21 to 40 types of birds.
| Wild Bird Observers in Oklahoma | |||||
| (State residents and nonresidents 16 years old and older) | |||||
|
Participants, total |
760 thousand | 100% | |||
|
Residential (around the home) |
608 thousand | 80% | |||
|
Nonresidential (away from home) |
321 thousand | 42% | |||
|
Days, total |
92.4 million | 100% | |||
|
Residential (around the home) |
89.0 million | 96% | |||
|
Nonresidential (away from home) |
3.4 million | 4% | |||
Wildlife-Watching Expenditures in Oklahoma
Participants 16 years old and older spent $193 million on wildlife-watching
activities in Oklahoma in 2001. Trip related expenditures, including food and
lodging ($30 million), transportation ($6 million) and other trip expenses such
as equipment rental ($33 million) amounted to $69 million. This summation
comprised 36 percent of all wildlife-watching expenditures by participants. The
average trip-related expenditure for nonresidential participants was $172 per
person in 2001.
Wildlife-watching participants spent $111 million on equipment-58 percent of all expenditures. Specifically, wildlife-watching equipment (binoculars, special clothing etc. totaled $104 million, 93 percent of the equipment total. Auxiliary equipment expenditures (tents, backpacking equipment, etc.) and special equipment expenditures (campers, trucks, etc.) amounted to $7 million-7 percent of all equipment costs. Special and auxiliary equipment are items that were purchased for wildlife watching recreation but can be used in activities other than wildlife-watching activities.
Other items purchased by wildlife-watching participants such as magazines, membership dues and contributions, land leasing and ownership, and plantings totaled almost $13 million-7 percent of all wildlife-watching expenditures.
| Wildlife-Watching Expenditures in Oklahoma | |||||
| (State residents and nonresidents 16 years old and older) | |||||
|
Total |
$193 million | ||||
|
Trip-related |
$69 million | ||||
|
Equipment |
$111 million | ||||
|
Wildlife-Watching |
$104 million | ||||
|
Auxiliary and special |
$7 million | ||||
|
Other |
$13 million | ||||
From the 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation