The initial part of my research process wasn't nearly as difficult as I had anticipated. The leads for further research came from my interviewing my old employer who retired from the outfitting business after 30 years as a very successful professional hunting and fishing guide. He advised me on the best sources that are affiliated with the guiding and outfitting business (government agencies, periodicals, and associations) to contact or research. However, acquiring the information I'm looking for from some of those sources has proven a bit more problematic.
Being able to observe outfitting operations at this time of year is difficult due to the fact that A) I have a full schedule here at school and cannot afford the time to travel in the back country. B) Most of these outfits are over on the Western Slope and/or remote areas and driving out there is not practical due to my aforementioned commitment. And C) The operations are busy with clients in the field and won't have the capacity to bring an unscheduled observer along to view their daily operations. For the time being I will have to stick with the periodicals and looking at statistical data from the state and federal agencies that work with or are affiliated with the outfitting operations in the state.
What I have learned so far is that there are a lot more factors that are affecting the state's private outfitters. Of course, the economy plays a major role for the decline in both the number of hunters and fishermen traveling to this state, but one also has to consider how the economy is affecting the daily costs just to maintain a guiding business. There is a lot of overhead to keep an operation afloat, especially in the off seasons when there is no extra income being brought in. There is also the shift in user trends due to the economy that I have to look into. There are definitely still a lot of hunters coming out here every year but they are foregoing the use of an outfitter and doing it on their own to save money. Other aspects that need further pursuing are changes in the public's attitude towards hunting. It's a past time that isn't being passed along as heavily as it used to be. The changing demographics of the population are also playing into the shifts in the number of outfitters in the state. As Colorado becomes more urbanized, that conflicts with more traditional, rural past times. Technology also has become an issue. Most folks feel the need to stick close to developed areas (those places you won't find an outfitting business) in order to stay connected to their phones or computers.
So now I have had to stop and branch out my research into all of these previously unknown issues or issues not considered that are playing part of the private outfitter's decline in the state.
Being able to observe outfitting operations at this time of year is difficult due to the fact that A) I have a full schedule here at school and cannot afford the time to travel in the back country. B) Most of these outfits are over on the Western Slope and/or remote areas and driving out there is not practical due to my aforementioned commitment. And C) The operations are busy with clients in the field and won't have the capacity to bring an unscheduled observer along to view their daily operations. For the time being I will have to stick with the periodicals and looking at statistical data from the state and federal agencies that work with or are affiliated with the outfitting operations in the state.
What I have learned so far is that there are a lot more factors that are affecting the state's private outfitters. Of course, the economy plays a major role for the decline in both the number of hunters and fishermen traveling to this state, but one also has to consider how the economy is affecting the daily costs just to maintain a guiding business. There is a lot of overhead to keep an operation afloat, especially in the off seasons when there is no extra income being brought in. There is also the shift in user trends due to the economy that I have to look into. There are definitely still a lot of hunters coming out here every year but they are foregoing the use of an outfitter and doing it on their own to save money. Other aspects that need further pursuing are changes in the public's attitude towards hunting. It's a past time that isn't being passed along as heavily as it used to be. The changing demographics of the population are also playing into the shifts in the number of outfitters in the state. As Colorado becomes more urbanized, that conflicts with more traditional, rural past times. Technology also has become an issue. Most folks feel the need to stick close to developed areas (those places you won't find an outfitting business) in order to stay connected to their phones or computers.
So now I have had to stop and branch out my research into all of these previously unknown issues or issues not considered that are playing part of the private outfitter's decline in the state.
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