HOW CAN THIS BE - NUMBER OF HUNTERS FALLS IN U.S.

The number of hunters 16 and older has declined by 10 percent between 1996 and 2006 - from 14 million to about 12.5 million. Now that is not good news. Why the decline? One reason is the loss of hunting land to urbanization. Another reason is the perception by many families that they can't afford the time or costs that hunting involves. My friend Chris will probably be even more upset by this next statistic. The number of Americans who fish also has dropped sharply - down 15 percent, from 35.2 million in 1996 to 30 million in 2006. Despite this political support for hunting remains strong, with several states recently putting the right to hunt and fish in their constitutions. River West provided this article.