Reliable research supporting the evaluation of Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation (R3) efforts have progressed significantly in recent decades with methodologies and tools being developed and increasingly adopted by R3 practitioners. Central to the structuring of these numerous evaluation techniques is the Outdoor Recreation Adoption Model (ORAM), a foundational theoretical framework that has been instrumental in promoting consistent standards of R3 efficacy within the field. While its contributions are significant, the framework is not without limitations. Decades of research grounded in Self-Identity Theory reveal that the decision to persist in an activity is strongly influenced by the individual’s perception of their group membership and by the individual’s self-perception. Recent research (Chase & Dunfee, The Hole in the ORAM: Going Back to the ABC’s of Hunting and Fishing, Multistate Conservation Grant project, 2025) has worked to strengthen the ORAM by focusing on the “decision to continue” point within the model and its direct linkage to individual identity formation. This paradigm-shifting study integrated, for the first time, practical methodology that incorporates identity formation factors into the application of the ORAM in R3 effort delivery and evaluation at individual, event, and program levels. Chase and Dunfee (2025) worked to further expand the application of identify formation in R3 efforts by finding that hunters can be categorized into eight typologies, based their identification in three identity factors: aptitude, behavior and community. Additionally, this study proved that the nuances of hunter identity formation could be determined via a simple 10-question battery that could be incorporated into existing R3 effort evaluation systems. While an admirable start, these innovations were developed in a pilot effort and need additional validity and reliability testing in real-world conditions to optimize their functionality for R3 practitioners in state fish and wildlife agencies (SFWAs) and other R3-vested organizations. This proposed research will build on the previous research by extending the study to other selected SFWAs and their R3 partners. Six to eight interested states will be recruited to participate in this study to evaluate the degree to which their R3 efforts contribute to identity development. Unlike the pilot study, which relied on expert opinion to generate the strategic orientation matrix to classify events as to their effectiveness at increasing aptitude, behavior, and community, this research effort will provide a far more robust quantitative assessment of each R3 event that each participating state assesses in pre- and post-event surveys. Upon completion, this project will provide a series of identity-formation assessment tools, accompanied by analysis protocols, that can be seamlessly integrated into existing surveys, event registration systems, and evaluation instruments used to measure the effectiveness of R3 initiatives. By integrating identity-based measures into R3 practice, participating SFWAs stand to achieve three primary benefits through their engagement in this applied research project: (1) more targeted, efficient, and strategically aligned R3 program design; (2) a more robust means of measuring the impact of R3 efforts through increased identify formation of participants; and (3) improved behavioral outcomes of program participants who will be more likely to make the pivotal “decision to continue” as independent hunters or recreational shooters. These benefits will be applicable to all other SFWA’s and their R3 partners who choose to incorporate the tools created and refined by this project. Given the long-established need for more targeted, efficient, and outcome-oriented R3 efforts, the results of this project will have significant and long-standing benefits to all R3-vested organizations and agencies.