This New England State Has More Registered Hunters Than Most of the Country

We'd like to think New England is a mecca for hunters, as our founding fathers were hunters, gatherers, and heck, we are part of the original 13 colonies.  However, it's not all about finding food for our families anymore.

A list was recently compiled by Stacker.com through research from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, according to the fw.com. It's interesting to read that two New England states made the top 11 states with the most hunters.

New Hampshire did not do as well, sitting at #32 with the most hunters in the country, but part of the reason is one huge private hunting reserve.  The Blue Mountain Forest Reserve allows its paid members to hunt on the property without a hunting license.  Also, only 4.1% of NH residents have a paid hunting license.

Vermont squeaked into #11 of the states with most registered hunters. 10.3% of Vermont's population hold a registered hunting license, but that number is dropping every year.  Why?  The fw.com says it's due to, "rising urbanization, changing attitudes, aging population, and declining rural populations. The decrease in sales started happening back in 1987 and has continued ever since."

There is one New England state which ranks #10 in the country with the most hunters. That state is Maine, with 11.5% of its population holding a hunters registration.

There's another reason Maine's numbers are increasing.  "The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has set out to recruit new hunters through a pilot project that pairs novices with experienced mentors", according to the Portland Press.

If you're wondering what was the #1 state with the most registered hunters, it was South Dakota, with over 24% of the population having a hunting license.  Really, does that surprise you?  Me neither.