IStock Photo 2185567 © Jason Lugo

Forests giving way to suburbs and families spending more time at work and online have drawn Americans further away from the natural environment. One striking example of this is in the decline of hunting.

The number of hunters in the US has steadily dropped in recent years. From a peak of 19.1 million in 1975, the hunting population fell to 12.5 million Americans in 2006, according to the US Department of Fish and Wildlife’s National Survey, undertaken every 5 years. These latest numbers mean that the odds a person 16 or older will go hunting in a year are 1 in 18.32, or just a little over 5% of all Americans 16 and older—just about the same odds a person in a household is the victim of identity theft (1 in 18.22).

Though declining in most areas, the popularity of hunting varies widely across the US. It is most popular in West North Central states like Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. The odds a person 16 or older living in the West North Central region will go hunting in a year are 1 in 8.69.

Hunting is least popular in the Pacific states like California and Washington. The odds a person 16 or older living in the Pacific region will go hunting in a year are 1 in 45.97. This means that in a given year, a person in Billings is almost 6 times more likely to go hunting than a person in Seattle.

Fewer people in general are seeking out wildlife—the number of people taking trips to watch wildlife decreased by 23% from 1991-2006. The people still looking to spot a moose or a doe are much more likely to be armed with a camera than a gun. The odds a person 16 or older who watches wildlife away from home (not the chipmunk who frequents your yard) will photograph wildlife in a year are 1 in 1.96 (51%).