Multi-State Wildlife Viewing Study: Literature Review

Wildlife viewing (intentionally observing, feeding, or photographing wildlife) is among the fastest growing outdoor recreation activities in the United States, with significant implications for the work of wildlife agencies. Wildlife viewers are thus a critical constituency for wildlife agencies, especially given stable or declining rates of participation in hunting and angling over the past decade. However, viewers’ direct support of wildlife agencies is limited, perhaps due to perceptions about agency roles and priorities. This literature review – part of a larger study of wildlife viewers nationally conducted by the Dayer Human Dimensions Lab at Virginia Tech with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Wildlife Viewing and Nature Tourism working group – aimed to fill this knowledge gap. We focused on distilling insights that could aid agencies and organizations in better engaging wildlife viewers, ultimately helping agencies and organizations be more inclusive of and relevant to wildlife viewers, fulfill their missions, and advance fish and wildlife conservation. The literature review also informed the design of a national- and regional-scale survey of wildlife viewers conducted in summer 2021. This literature review was funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Multistate Conservation Grant Program Grant # F21AP00617-00, which is jointly managed by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the Service’s Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program.