And if they don't go, their kids aren't going to get to go. Another factor in the decline has been decreased opportunities. These days, it's hard to get permission to hunt or fish on other folks' property - and it's much more important to get that permission now. I grew up in the country, and I never worried about who's property I was on. Nowadays, you have to know for sure.
Society is so focused now on converting wild land to subdivisions.
Used to, you'd go up to the mountains and there was a lot of land that you could trout fish on. But so much is being divided into private tracts now that it's hard to have an enjoyable time fishing. There is a real need for more public land - particularly along stream corridors. But when it comes down to it, only so much land exists. They also realize that, with many fishermen from the baby boomers' generation nearing retirement age, another drastic decline in license sales might be unavoidable because those 65 and over don't have to have a license in either state.