REES Visiting Speaker Seminar: Dr. John Janmaat, Thursday, October 20, 2022

Title: Trading Opportunity for Success: A Choice Experiment with Resident Hunters in British Columbia

Speaker:  Dr. John Janmaat, Department of Economics, Philosophy and Political Science, The University of British Columbia

Date:  Thursday, October 20, 2022

Time:  4:00 – 5:00 PM

Location:  550 General Services Building

Please note, this seminar is in-person only, no Zoom.

Abstract: 

Many game species in British Columbia are in decline, while resources applied to managing game
species are relatively scant compared to many nearby jurisdictions. Only 20% of licence fees are
dedicated, with remaining funding of game species management subject to substantial
political discretion. Hunters in many places are important sources of funds. We use a
choice experiment to explore two changes to the hunting experience of applicants to the moose
limited entry hunt (LEH) – increased probability of harvesting an animal and trading
off that probability against an increased probability of being drawn – and two changes
in provincial governance of game species – increasing the share of licence fees dedicated and
shifting to one of two alternative governance structures – funded by increasing the
licence fee. Results indicate that hunters who applied to the moose LEH would be
willing to pay a higher licence fee if the odds of harvesting an animal is increased, if a
larger share of the licence fee is dedicated, and if governance is moved to an arms length
commission of experts. There is also a consistent preference to hunt more often, even if that
involves a lower probability of harvesting an animal. This last result emphasizes that for the
average moose LEH applicant, the enjoyment pro- vided by being able to hunt more often more
than offsets a reduction in the likelihood of harvesting an animal, given current management.
There is scope for increase hunter utility and licence revenues without changing total harvest.