Understanding hunter support for early successional habitat management

Early successional habitat (ESH), which is important to many game species, is declining throughout the Northeast United States. In New York State, management agencies are increasing efforts to manage for ESH, but such efforts require support from key stakeholders. We sought to understand the factors influencing such support among hunting license holders, and a subsample specializing in woodcock hunting, who use Wildlife Management Areas. Using structural equation modeling, we found significant direct and indirect relationships between type of hunter, hunting avidity, place attachment, and support for ESHM actions. Our findings suggest that to build support for habitat management, communications should focus on the benefits to the place, and emphasize management actions for wildlife species hunters are pursuing. Increased habitat from this type of management should lead to larger populations of game species, which could increase hunter satisfaction and perhaps increase the number of hunters interested in hunting for these species.