Interim Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies identified the need for an interim survey to provide actionable national and regional estimates of participation in fishing, hunting, and wildlife recreation between the 2022 and 2027 National Surveys, both conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago (NORC). For this proposed project, NORC will conduct a rigorous, nationally representative Interim Survey of approximately 30,0000 interviews that will provide detailed information about outdoor recreation participation in the United States. The purpose is to provide data that track changes in participation in outdoor recreation activities between rounds of the National Survey and offer new insights into participation in these activities. The Interim Survey’s results will allow state agencies and industry organizations to assess and more readily respond to key measures of participation. State agency representatives have told us that comparing national-level changes in participation from an interim survey, including among key demographic subgroups, to their data on state-level participation would be helpful in shaping their programming, policymaking, and agency priorities. The Interim Survey will also provide new, more detailed data points that are not included in the National Survey, which can be used to further bolster programming and recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) efforts. New proposed data points include: the number of hunters who practice at shooting ranges; how many people identify as hunters/anglers/wildlife watchers; the species that different types of participants pursue in fishing, hunting, and wildlife watching; the types of locations where people observe birds; what people enjoy about fishing, hunting, and watching wildlife; details about bowhunting participation; and more. The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies’ National Survey Technical Workgroup asked NORC to design and propose the project for an MSCGP grant. NORC has worked closely with the Technical Workgroup, AFWA, and representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to assess what aspects of the National Survey should be collected more frequently, and what new information should be captured in the Interim Survey. In addition, NORC has consulted with a range of industry organizations to identify the data points that would be most useful to them. We have received endorsements for this proposal from the Archery Trade Association, the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation, the American Sportfishing Association, the National Audubon Society, the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports, and the National Shooting Sports Foundation. NORC will seamlessly apply a consistent methodological approach for the Interim Survey to produce data on fishing, hunting, and wildlife watching participation that can be used for analysis alongside findings from the National Surveys. The 30,000 interviews from the Interim Survey will allow for detailed analysis of outdoor recreation participation among U.S. residents age 6 and older, including among key demographic and geographic subgroups. After conducting the survey, NORC will provide AFWA, USFWS, states, and industry organizations with takeaways and analysis in a variety of accessible formats to maximize the value and use of the data. NORC will disseminate the results in the following ways: - Public-facing report summarizing findings - One-page fact sheets that highlight results for key topics, including regional analysis - Data files for public use designed to facilitate analysis - Webinar that demonstrates how to use public data files - Short video tailored for sharing on social media highlighting important takeaways - Presentation at the 2026 AFWA annual meeting The goal is to put these findings in the hands of people in state agencies and industry organizations who can use the information for designing and implementing policies, which will maximize the impact of the grant award.