THE GEOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF HUNTING IN SOUTHWESTERN MONTANA, USA by RYAN DENNIS BERGSTROM A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Earth Sciences MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY Bozeman, Montana April 2008 ©COPYRIGHT by Ryan Dennis Bergstrom 2008 All Rights Reserved iii APPROVAL of a thesis submitted by Ryan Dennis Bergstrom This thesis has been read by each member of the thesis committee and has been found to be satisfactory regarding content, English usage, format, citation, bibliographic style, and consistency, and is ready for submission to the Division of Graduate Education. Dr. Katherine Hansen Approved for the Department of Earth Sciences Dr. Stephen Custer Approved for the Division of Graduate Education Dr. Carl A. Fox iv STATEMENT OF PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Master‟s degree at Montana State University, I agree that the Library shall make it available to borrowers under rules of the Library. If I have indicated my intention to copyright this thesis by including a copyright notice page, copying is allowable only for scholarly purposes, consistent with “fair use” as prescribed in the U.S. Copyright Law. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this thesis in whole or in parts may be granted only by the copyright holder. Ryan Dennis Bergstrom April 2008 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to graciously thank my mentor and graduate advisor, Dr. Katherine J. Hansen, for her leadership, generosity, and patience over the years, as well as for exposing me to hunting. I also thank Dr. William Wyckoff, Dr. Shannon Taylor, Dr. Joseph Ashley, and Stuart Challender for their constant support and guidance in all aspects of my education. I am especially grateful for the generous funding I received from the Montana Wildlife Federation and the Phil Tawney Hunter Conservation Endowment. I would also like to thank Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, specifically Kurt Alt for the inspiration for this project, and David Clark-Snustad for his knowledge and guidance in all matters economic. Most importantly, I wish to thank my Father, my family, my friends, and Montana for their support, patience, guidance, and forgiveness. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. OBJECTIVES AND GEOGRAPHY .........................................................................................1 Objectives ..................................................................................................................................1 Background ................................................................................................................................1 Geography .................................................................................................................................3 Field Characteristics................................................................................................................3 Land Use and Management ...................................................................................................3 Study Area ................................................................................................................................5 Political and Demographic Characteristics of Counties ........................................................5 Physical Characteristics .........................................................................................................7 Geology ………………………………………………………………… ............................9 Ecotypes ………………………………………………………………………………… ...9 Intermountain-Foothill Grassland Ecotype ......................................................................10 Shrub-Grassland Ecotype..................................................................................................12 Montane Forest Ecotype ...................................................................................................13 Big Game Species ...................................................................................................................13 2. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF WILDLIFE CONSERVATION ....................................17 Introduction ..............................................................................................................................17 Montana Perspectives: 1900 - 1930 ........................................................................................17 Montana Perspectives: 1930 - 1960 ........................................................................................19 Montana Perspectives: 1960 - 1980 ........................................................................................20 Montana Perspectives: 1980 – Present ...................................................................................20 Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Funding Sources ..............................................................26 Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act ...........................................................................26 Montana Variably Priced License and Permits .................................................................31 3. LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................................34 Wildlife Valuation Techniques ...............................................................................................35 Economic Importance Methods .........................................................................................35 Input-Output Modeling ......................................................................................................36 The IMPLAN Model..............................................................................................37 Gross Expenditure Model ..................................................................................................39 Economic Value Methods ..................................................................................................40 Travel Cost Method ..............................................................................................40 Contingent Valuation Method ...............................................................................42 vii TABLE OF CONTENTS – CONTINUED National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation ..................................................................................43 4. DATA SOURCES AND METHODOLOGY .........................................................................46 Primary and Secondary Economic Model Data and Source ...................................................46 Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Expenditure Data .......................................................47 Project Funding Sources ....................................................................................................48 Hunter Participation and Harvest Data ....................................................................................49 Hunter Participation and Harvest Comparisons .................................................................49 Economic Input-Output Analysis ...........................................................................................50 Data Disaggregation ..........................................................................................................51 Model Implementation ......................................................................................................51 IMPLAN Descriptive Model ............................................................................................52 IMPLAN Predictive Model ...............................................................................................53 Spatial Visualization of Data ..................................................................................................54 Spatial Distribution of Attributes ......................................................................................55 5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .............................................................................................56 Expenditure Trends in Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 3 ......................................56 Expenditure by Project Category ............................................................................................58 Individual Project Expenditures ...............................................................................................58 Expenditure by Hunting District .............................................................................................59 Hunting District 319-341 ....................................................................................................60 Hunting District 380 ...........................................................................................................67 Hunting District 312 ...........................................................................................................70 Hunting District 310 ...........................................................................................................73 Hunting District 302 ...........................................................................................................75 Hunting District 309 ...........................................................................................................77 Hunting District 311 ...........................................................................................................78 Hunting District 323 ..........................................................................................................78