"People are always looking for gateways to a relationship with the natural world, often as an escape from daily pressures, sometimes to give some added meaning to their lives. Watching wildlife is easy—you just need to go to a natural place—and birds are by far the easiest wild animals to find and to watch. They're also among the most appealing, with colors and behavior that make them aesthetically pleasing and fascinating. There is, furthermore, a wealth of information available to help people understand what they're seeing."
Comparing Earlier Surveys
The 2001 survey was based on Census Bureau telephone interviews with 30,000 anglers and hunters, and 15,000 wildlife watchers. Interviews were conducted on May 31, 2001, October 31, 2001, and February 28, 2002.
Interviewees were questioned at least twice, and sometimes three times, to avoid "recall bias"—when asked only once to recall their activities over a one-year period, people tend to overestimate their investment of time and money.
Similar methodology allows comparisons to the surveys conducted in 1991 and 1996.
In its preliminary findings for 2001, the USFWS doesn't explore reasons for fluctuations in survey results across the years. It simply cautions that results of the last three surveys must be viewed in the context of the economic and social conditions of their times: recession, rising gas prices, and the Gulf War in 1991; a prosperous peacetime economy in 1996; and recession, terrorist attacks, and a military mobilization in 2001.
When the final report comes out in November, perhaps it will explain how each of these factors influences the wildlife activities of Americans.
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