HUNTING — The number of youth hunters is dropping as Oregon’s population continues to shift to urban areas, according to a report in the East Oregonian.

 Oregon youth hunting license sales for hunters ages 12-17 have dropped by more than 17 percent in the last 10 years, the paper says.

The total number has dropped from 22,000 in 2001 to 18,000 in 2010 as the state’s population has grown.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Michelle Dennehy told the East Oregonian the numbers have started to stabilize in recent years.

Dennehy says there are now more activities — and distractions — for young hunters than there were a decade ago.

In 2010, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that 29 percent of Oregon’s population lives in rural areas.