Hunting in Norway

Using GIS to Monitor Hunting in Norway

Drawn from Broseth and Pedersen, 2000

Photo courtesy of www.rdrop.com/users/green/wipt.htm

In central Norway, ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) hunting is a fairly popular sport. In an attempt to actively monitor and manage the bird population, GIS is being used to track hunting activity, and specifically to generate maps that illustrate which hunting areas experience the most traffic during hunting season. By tracking hunting activity though GPS units, following the birds through radio-telemetry, and mapping the interactions between the two using GIS, the spatial and temporal relationships between hunters and game can be monitored unbiased.

In the study conducted by Broseth and Pederson, two hunting teams were monitored, each for five day periods during the hunting season for ptarmigan in central Norway. Each hunter carried a GPS receiver that was programed to take the position of the hunter every minute. Using the GPS data, the paths of the hunters were plotted on a map of the hunting area (see right). In addition to tracking their paths, the hunters were also instructed to mark the positions of each harvested ptarmigan, generating a count and map of birds taken in the hunt. As seen in the map generated from the data, hunting activity concentrated around the hunting cabin, and became more disperse as the distance from the cabin increased. In tracking the birds, several had been previously fitted with radio transmitters before the hunt, and by locating them each morning, spatial representations of their homeranges were generated through the GIS (see map below). By overlaying the homerange data with the paths of the hunters, hunting pressure within the homeranges was evaluated. As expected, birds that had home ranges farther away from the hunting cabin experienced less hunting pressure and had a higher chance of survival.

Note: the circle in the middle of the map represents the hunting cabin.

Although this study was fairly specific, its methods and findings can be applied almost anywhere. Through using a combination of GPS, radio-telemetry, and GIS, meaningful data can be obtained and applied to management decisions. The use of GIS has the advantage of accuracy and objectivity and can provide a more comprehensive understanding of hunter-game interactions. The same techniques used in this study can be easily transferred to hunting camps worldwide, from safari resorts in Africa to small hunting clubs in western North Carolina.

Photo courtesy of Ken Ward