Participation in Wildlife Watching: A Multiple Hierarchy Stratification Perspective

Abstract

Using data from the 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, we tested the utility of the multiple hierarchy stratification perspective (MHSP) on predicting Americans' participation in wildlife watching close to home and away from home. The results showed that race/ethnicity was the best predictor of wildlife watching activities. Elderly White females who live in rural areas and have college degrees and high household incomes had the highest rates of participation in wildlife watching close to home. In contrast, young White males who live in rural areas and possess college degrees and high household incomes had the highest participation rates in wildlife watching away from home. Overall, results suggested that the MHSP was more effective in explaining Americans' participation in wildlife watching away from home than it was for wildlife watching close to home. Implications for future research and recreation resource management are discussed.

Keywords:

• multiple hierarchy stratification
• wildlife watching participation
• logistic regression

Acknowledgments

We thank Darrell Fannin from the Center for Socioeconomic Research & Education at Texas A&M University for his help with data organization.

Notes

1. More detailed descriptions of the sampling design and data collection procedure can be found at Appendix D of the 2006 National Survey report (U.S. Department of the Interior, 2007).

2. A complete explanation of rural and urban area can be found at Appendix A of the 2006 National Survey report (U.S. Department of the Interior, 2007).

3. We also conducted the same analyses using data from 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-associated Recreation to determine whether or not there were differences across time in how the study variables were related. The results were almost identical with those reported here. Readers may contact the first author for a summary of these results.