By the Numbers: The Disappearing Hunter

17 million

Number of hunting licenses issued in the early 1980s

15 million

Number of hunting licenses issued last year

13.5 million

Number of Americans who said they hunt in 2011

11.5 million

Number of Americans who said they hunt in 2016

11

Percentage of excise tax on the sale of firearms that goes to state agencies for conservation and habitat-restoration programs

$31.4 million

The amount the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources received in 2019 from excise taxes on the sales of hunting and fishing equipment

$21 billion

Amount that has gone to conservation and recreation nationwide through wildlife and sportfishing restoration programs from excise taxes on hunting and fishing equipment

1/3

Portion of America’s wildlife species at increased risk of extinction, according to the National Wildlife Federation

Sources: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington Post, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel