Abstract
To determine the effects of 17 access, cover, relief, and game variables, we interviewed hunters as they left a 9,500-ha area of national forest and private land in West Virginia. Hunters were classed as hunting for deer (Odocoileus virginianus), turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo), or squirrels (Sciurus carolinen- sis, S. niger). The area was divided into 166 blocks of 64.8 ha or less, and each block was rated on the 17 variables. The number of hunters that visited a block decreased with distance from a trail, camping or parking site, road, or wildlife clearing, and with decreases in length of public land boundary and amount of game seen. In regressions of data from 3 years, all variables accounted for 33 to 44 percent of the variation in visits to the blocks and the 6 most important variables accounted for 26 to 30 percent. These were trails (all hunters), camping or parking sites (deer and turkey), wildlife clearings (turkey), pub- lic boundary, roads, and game seen (squirrel hunters). Proximity of trails accounted for much more vari- ation in hunter visits than cover type did, but game distribution related more to cover type than to trails. Hunter-game contact could be increased least expensively by trail management. The findings suggest limits of the effectiveness of management alternatives, and that hunters were influenced by factors other than site characteristics and game-seeking efficiency.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
