The future of wildlife conservation funding: What options do U.S. college students support?

Authors

• Lincoln R. Larson, North Carolina State University at Raleigh
• Markus Nils Peterson, North Carolina State University at Raleigh
• Richard von Furstenberg, North Carolina State University at Raleigh
• Victoria R. Vayer, North Carolina State University at Raleigh
• Kangjae Jerry Lee, North Carolina State University at Raleigh
• Daniel Y. Choi, North Carolina State University at Raleigh
• Kathryn Stevenson, North Carolina State University at Raleigh
• Adam A. Ahlers, Kansas State University
• Christine Anhalt-Depies, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
• Taniya Bethke, Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports
• Jeremy T. Bruskotter, The Ohio State University
• Christopher J. Chizinski, University of Nebraska, LincolnFollow
• Brian Clark, Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources
• Ashley A. Dayer, Virginia Tech
• Kelly Heber Dunning, Auburn University
• Benjamin Ghasemi, Texas A & M University - College Station
• Larry Gigliotti, South Dakota State University
• Alan Graefe, The Pennsylvania State University
• Kris Irwin, University of Georgia
• Samuel J. Keith, University of Georgia
• Matt Kelly, Michigan Tech University
• Gerard Kyle, Texas A&M University
• Elizabeth Metcalf, University of Montana
• Wayde Morse, Auburn University
• Mark D. Needham, Oregon State University
• Neelam C. Poudyal, University of Tennessee
• Michael Quartuch, Colorado Parks & Wildlife
• Shari Rodriguez, Clemson University
• Chelsie Romulo, University of Northern Colorado
• Ryan L. Sharp, Kansas State University
• William Siemer, Cornell University
• Matthew T. Springer, University of Kentucky
• Brett Stayton, RIFF Outdoors
• Richard Stedman, Cornell University
• Taylor Stein, Department of Forest Resources and Conservation
• Timothy R. Van Deelen, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
• Jason Whiting, California State University
• Richelle L. Winkler, Michigan Technological University
• Kyle Maurice Woosnam, University of Georgia

ORCID IDs

Lincoln R. Larson

Adam A. Ahlers

Jeremy T. Bruskotter

Ashley A. Dayer

Kelly Heber Dunning

Benjamin Ghasemi

Gerard Kyle

Mark D. Needham

Chelsie Romulo

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

7-13-2021

Citation

Larson, L. R., Peterson, M. N., Furstenberg, R. V., Vayer, V. R., Lee, K. J., Choi, D. Y., Stevenson, K., Ahlers, A. A., Anhalt Depies, C., Bethke, T., T. Bruskotter, J., Chizinski, C. J., Clark, B., Dayer, A. A., Dunning, K. H., Ghasemi, B., Gigliotti, L., Graefe, A., Irwin, K., … Woosnam, K. M. (2021). The future of wildlife conservation funding: What options do U.S. college students support? Conservation Science and Practice, e505. https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.505

Comments

CC-BY

Abstract

Insufficient funding is a major impediment to conservation efforts around the world. In the United States, a decline in hunting participation threatens sustainability of the “user-pay, public benefit” model that has supported wildlife conservation for nearly 100 years, forcing wildlife management agencies to contemplate alternative funding strategies. We investigated support for potential funding options among diverse college students, a rapidly expanding and politically active voting bloc with a potentially powerful influence on the future of conservation. From 2018 to 2020, we surveyed 17,203 undergraduate students at public universities across 22 states. Students preferred innovative approaches to conservation funding, with 72% supporting funding derived from industry sources (e.g., natural resource extraction companies), 63% supporting state sources (e.g., general sales tax), and 43% supporting conventional user-based sources such as license fees and excise taxes associated with outdoor recreation activities (e.g., hunting). Findings emphasize the need to broaden the base of support for conservation funding and highlight the importance of considering the preferences and perspectives of young adults and other diverse beneficiaries of wildlife conservation.