Abstract
Access to private lands for hunting is a growing national problem. The supply of rural land on which hunting and other outdoor recreational activities is dependent is decreasing annually through land conversions and closures. This study examined the dynamics of East Texas rural landowners' hunter access policies by assessing attitudes, land uses, ownership objectives, socio-economic characteristics and selected incentives as potential determinants of these policies. Five specific policies were identified in the study region -- no hunting, personal and family hunting, friend and employee hunting, open hunting and leased hunting. Statistical analyses suggest that these policies possess an underlying, bidimensional structure consisting of a four level "Free Access" dimension and a dichotomous "Fee for Access" dimension. The policies within each of these dimensions were compared and contrasted regarding the potential policy determinants. A theoretical model of landowners' access decisions was developed and empirically tested using logistic regression. A series of individual analyses was employed to test each of the independent variable sets. This served to identify the most explanative variables and to reduce the multicollinearity in the data. A general model was then formulated. Results indicate that the model exhibited excellent goodness-of-fit (Somer's D[yx] = .552). The analyses also calculated probabilities for landowners adopting a specific access policy. The probability of only a landowner or his family hunting on their land was 0.21. There was approximately a seven in ten chance that owners would allow friends and employees to hunt also. However, a threshold was found at this point in landowners' decision making. The probability of a landowner adopting a policy giving access to persons who are not personal acquaintences dropped off drastically to 0.04. The final phase of the research explored the idea of altering landowner policy behavior by examining their preferences for incentives. Thirty-five percent of the owners stated no incentive would encourage them to allow additional hunting. The remaining landowners overwhelmingly indicated that monetary incentives were the most preferred. Policy implications and recommendations for future research are discussed in depth.
Wright, Brett Alan (1985). An empirical assessment of behavioral aspects and other determinants of rural landowners' hunter access policies. Texas A&M University. Texas A&M University. Libraries. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /DISSERTATIONS -451613.