Multistate Conservation Grants
The Multistate Conservation Grant Program annually provides $11 million dollars from the Wildlife Restoration Account and the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund. This program is jointly administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA). These high priority projects address problems affecting states on a regional or national basis. Projects include species population surveys, outreach, data collection regarding hunter or angler participation, hunter or aquatic education, economic value of fishing and hunting, and regional or multistate habitat needs assessments.
Below are listed the abstracts for the most recent grant abstracts awarded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These grants are currently active. Interested parties can visit the AFWA Multistate Grant website for final reports for all grants that have been completed in the past.
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2025 – 2029 Facilitation of National R3 Strategies
In 2008, a plan emerged from the White House Conference on North American Wildlife Policy entitled Facilitation of Hunting Heritage and Wildlife Conservation. Among the recommendations in the plan was an action to, “Create a Hunting and Shooting Heritage Foundation Similar to the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation.” The Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports (Council) was officially chartered in 2009 to facilitate the promotion and growth of hunting and the shooting sports and the education of the public on the contributions that hunters and shooters make towards wildlife conservation. The Council has grown to become a leader in recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3), and facilitated national advancements to ensure support for and active participation in hunting and the shooting sports for future generations. A multiyear Multistate Conservation Grant (MSCG) for 2022 to 2024 provided the long-term support needed for the Council to significantly increase its capacity to help meet the increased demand from the community while exceeding the goal metrics identified in each of the 15 objectives of the grant. Demand for and approval of Council services remain high in the hunting and shooting sports community. The 2023 Stakeholders’ Awareness of and Attitudes Toward the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports survey from Responsive Management found that 82% of the 435 responding stakeholders approve of the Council’s work in the R3 community. Using findings from the stakeholder survey, feedback from planning sessions with the Council’s 34-member Board of Directors, and expertise from Council staff, the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports 2025 – 2030 Strategic Plan was developed. This plan guides and aligns with this five-year MSCG proposal to provide sustainable funding for the Council. This grant will allow the Council to annually provide technical assistance to 15 organizations; manage the online R3 Community and increase member contributions by 10%; manage the National R3 Clearinghouse and increase the number of digital assets by 1,000; produce 10 case studies; host five webinars; participate in 12 regional and/or national meetings to help facilitate R3; support 10 R3 practitioner trainings and provide content via a learning management system; administer a stakeholder survey; engage 15 stakeholders representing nonprofit, agency, and industry in the Annual Review Committee; improve Council website relevance and increase visitation by 10%; increase the Council’s social media presence and increase followers by 10%; produce American’s Attitudes Towards Hunting and Shooting Sports report; and support the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Regional R3 Coordinator position. The Council will use an internal dashboard to track these actions and assess the completion percentage of the objectives. This dashboard will be used to provide the Board of Directors quarterly update. The Council will also work with Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and United States Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure all financial and performance reporting requirements are met on an annual basis. In addition to tracking the objectives defined above, the Council will evaluate using the results of the annual Stakeholder Survey, Hunting and Fishing License Dashboard, and partner shooting sports reports to inform its efforts and update strategies as needed. These activities and their resulting deliverables will provide value to R3 stakeholders and the general public. The result of continued long-term, sustainable funding for the Council will be strategic and collaborative R3 efforts at the state, regional, and national levels. In pursuing these activities, the Council will ensure the investments made in R3 are effective, enduring, and ensure support for and active participation in hunting and the shooting sports for future generations.
2025 Multistate Conservation Grant Program Coordination
The Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 777 et seq.) and the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669 et seq.) as amended by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs Improvement Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-408, 114 STAT. 1766 §113 and 114 STAT. 1722 §122) authorize the Secretary of the Interior to make up to $6,000,000 available annually to fund Multistate Conservation project grants. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) will cite this traditional portion of the Multistate Conservation Grant Program (MSCGP) as Traditional Multistate Conservation Grants (T-MSCG). In addition, the Modernizing the Pittman-Robertson Fund for Tomorrow’s Needs Act (Modernizing PR Act, 16 U.S.C. 669) amended the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to, among other measures, authorize the Service to make hunter recruitment and recreational target shooter recruitment grants that promote a national hunting and shooting sports recruitment program, including related communication and outreach activities. The Service will cite this portion of the MSCGP as R3 Multistate Conservation Grants (R3-MSCG). Up to $5,000,000 will be available specifically for the R3-MSCG grants. The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) and the Service work cooperatively to manage TMSCG and R3-MSCG. AFWA sets the Strategic Priorities for project activities and provides the Service with a list of recommended projects to be considered for awards. The Service administers the program and manages the awards. In 2024, the Association was awarded a one-year Multistate Conservation Grant supporting the Multistate Conservation Grant Program Manager through December 2024. The primary objective is to continue meeting the Association’s responsibilities as required under the federal legislation authorizing the administration and coordination of the MSCGP. These Acts did not provide any administrative funds for the Association’s use in administering and implementing its significant responsibilities under this grant program. As a program manager/facilitator, the MSCGP Manager will maximize the benefits to the State Fish and Wildlife Agencies throughout the grant cycle and proposal selection process. However, additional emphasis will be placed on program evaluation, communication of program results, and outreach by developing meaningful relationships with individuals and groups that have been marginalized and/or underserved to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes. Professional development will also remain a priority, and the MSCGP Manager will continue to attend pertinent grant administrative training. 2 The MSCGP Manager manages the activities that implement the grant program. This project would provide continued program manager funding and support those administrative responsibilities necessary to implement the Multistate Conservation Grant Program.
2027 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation
NORC will collaborate with the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (the Association) and the Project Coordinator to conduct the 2027 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation (National Survey). NORC will work with the Association and Project Coordinator to make revisions and adjustments to the questionnaire in advance of data collection. The 2027 National Survey will comprise four total waves of data collection spanning about 15 months. The first wave consists of a screener survey that asks the household respondent about each household member’s participation in various outdoor activities in the prior years of 2022-2026, as well as their own anticipated participation in hunting, fishing, and wildlife-associated recreation for 2027. Based on their reported anticipated participation, the household respondent will be selected to receive one of the three detailed activity questionnaires—hunting, fishing, or wildlife watching—in three subsequent waves of data collection. The detailed questionnaires will ask about the respondent’s participation and associated expenditures in their respective activities during the 2027 calendar year. The 2027 National Survey will use a mixed-mode and multi-sample survey of household-dwelling residents in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. NORC will combine sample from three sample frames for optimal coverage: AmeriSpeak (NORC’s probability-based panel), the USPS CDS file (used to select an ABS sample), and nonprobability panels. In addition, NORC will explore and test the possibility of using lists of hunters or anglers compiled by a commercial vendor from license data to bolster the number of interviews with hunters or anglers. Survey outreach and data collection will vary by sample type. NORC will use a combination of mailings, emails, text messages, and phone calls to invite respondents to complete the survey, and respondents from the probability samples will have the ability to complete the survey online or via the phone. The sampling design will target 55,000 completed interviews for the screener survey and 75,000 completed interviews for wave 3 of the detailed activity survey before accounting for state buy-in samples. NORC’s approach to the 2027 National Survey aims to minimize total survey error, and the design emphasizes mitigating potential recall and nonresponse bias. NORC recognizes that some states may wish to pay to obtain state-level information, and the National Survey methodology is designed so that it can be adapted to provide cost-effective state-level estimates for any state. In addition to providing data at the state level, state buy-in helps increase the precision of the National Survey. NORC will develop individual-level weights to estimate public participation and expenditures of recreational fishing, hunting, and wildlife watching activities in the United States. NORC will incorporate many aspects of the weighting approach from the 2022 National Survey to facilitate comparability of estimates across time. While accounting for any changes to the questionnaire and input from the Association and other key stakeholders, NORC will structure the coding and final datasets in a way that ensures that the overall structure is consistent with the data files NORC produced for the 2022 National Survey. NORC will deliver a National Preliminary Overview, the tables included in Attachments D and E in the RFP, a National Technical Report, and complete datasets from the 2027 National Survey to the Project Coordinator. NORC will also help the Association and Project Coordinator with the production of the 2027 National Publication through assistance with datasets, details of survey methodology, and anything else needed in their writing of this publication. In addition, NORC is committed to the dissemination and promotion of the 2027 National Survey.
A Regional Health Assessment of a Native Semi-aquatic Rodent: Surveillance for Pathogens and Toxicants in Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) in the Eastern United States
A long-term decline in muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) populations across the United States is of increasing concern to state fish and wildlife agencies. To date, causes underlying these declines have yet to be identified. Muskrats are a valuable furbearer as they contribute to biodiversity, play an important role in wetland quality, and provide economic benefits from the sale of fur and meat. This study will examine the prevalence and distribution of pathogens that could be contributing to declines of eastern muskrat populations. Additionally, we will also determine the exposure of muskrats to toxicants including organic compounds and neonicotinoids. This regional assessment of muskrat health will provide valuable new data and inform wildlife professionals as to whether there are pathogen and toxicant threats to muskrats that could impact their fecundity, immunity, or survival. Results of this study will guide future management efforts and the conservation of muskrat populations.
ACI Engage New Adult Hunters with YouTube Advertising Year Two
YouTube has become the go-to location for learning how to do nearly everything. Regardless of their demographics, if you ask any group of adults where they go to learn a skill, most of them answer “YouTube.” According to Omnicore, a team of data-driven digital marketing experts:
- 81% of U.S. adults use YouTube.
- 95% of 18–29-year-olds in the U.S. use YouTube.
- 91% of 30–49-year-olds in the U.S. use YouTube.
- 62% of U.S. YouTube users say they visit the site daily.
YouTube advertising tools provide an opportunity to target these viewers by age, gender, location, and interests. While many states already utilize YouTube to provide educational opportunities to their audience of new and existing hunters, its use as a marketing tool is underutilized and not well-known. If the hunting community can capitalize on this opportunity to reach more people, it could be an effective tool for communicating with a larger audience.
Using a 2023 MSCG, we worked with Idaho, Tennessee, Maryland, and Iowa to develop and place YouTube ads to drive interested parties to learn-hunting content. In this project, we will develop YouTube advertising for four new states using lessons learned from the previous MSCG. In addition to introducing new participants to hunting in four states, this second effort will be designed to provide even deeper understandings of YouTube as a marketing platform for communicating with a state’s hunting population.
We will place the ads to reach adult residents who are interested in outdoor recreation, food, and sustainability. As the ads run, we will study conversion rates and make mid-course adjustments to maximize campaign success. In other words, we will let real people in our target audiences show us by their actions what makes a successful campaign. All this new understanding will be captured in recommendations and best practices to be shared throughout the R3 community.
ACI Increasing Shooting Sports Participation by Introduction and Education through Schools
Within the last decade, two major initiatives and multiple toolkit packages have delivered strategic frameworks, guidance, and practical training tools on R3 effort evaluation to R3 practitioners. The evaluation theory, tools, and resources developed by these initiatives have been largely accepted by the professional R3 community as the standards by which R3 programs, efforts, and interventions should ideally be measured for their effectiveness and efficiency.
The Outdoor Recreation Adoption Model (ORAM) is a fundamental theoretical framework that facilitates many of these standards of efficiency. The ORAM has succeeded in offsetting a longstanding aversion to evaluation by the R3 community. Though the ORAM has proven useful, few of those who tout its merits fully understand its limitations, poorly validated assertions, or the elements of its logic that need further study before being put into practice; specifically, the ORAM’s ‘decision to continue‘ point and its direct association with individual identity formation. Though noted as a critical decision in the original text, few answers are provided to a modern R3 practitioner wondering “what to do next” for participants or what specific aspects of an R3 effort induced the participant to go hunting or fishing. This void in modern R3 evaluation has unintentionally halted many R3 practitioners from identifying how to design efficient pathways for various target demographics. Further, the R3 community remains unaware of how identity formation within a participant can be accelerated to convert them into an avid and independent hunter or angler who can “continue without support”.
Fortunately, the process of establishing a self-identity and its role in the “decision to continue” are well known to social science. Decades of Self-Identity Theory research has revealed how the ‘decision to continue’ is influenced by an individual coming to see what groups they belong to, and how that identity can be accelerated programmatically if understood by practitioners. Regrettably, this research is not yet integrated into R3 evaluation strategies or the decisions R3 professionals make on how to develop effective adoption pathways for various audiences. The purpose of this study it to remedy this hole in the ORAM by partnering with 4-6 state fish and wildlife agencies (SFWAs) who wish to benefit from measuring, and then developing, elements of the self-identity component of the ORAM.
Project leads will collaborate with SFWAs to integrate three principles of self-identity: Aptitude, Behavior and Community (ABCs) into preexisting pre- and post-event surveys. Project leads will then analyze to analyze the change in an attendee’s self-identity induced by an R3 effort, the effectiveness of the R3 effort in developing self-identity, which R3 efforts tend to attract different types of self-identifying hunters/anglers, and then chain successive R3 efforts tailored to the specific individual. By applying components of self-identity to R3 audiences, SFWAs can 1) capture higher ROIs on R3 efforts, 2) have more success achieving diversity, equity, and inclusion goals, and 3) attain higher conversion rates as would-be outdoor enthusiasts make the ‘decision to continue.’
ACI Increasing Shooting Sports Particpation by Introduction and Education through Schools
By 2020, approximately 11% of Americans 16 and older went target shooting annually, but only 9% of youth from 9 to 15 years participated. Similarly, 61% of hunters had started by the age of 17 (DOI, DOJ, Southwick). Recognizing most adults adopt their preferred recreational activities in their youth, the future of target shooting and its correlated conservation funding mandates that young people have safe opportunities to try the sport. However, considering a majority of youth live in urban and suburban areas, with most in non-shooting or non-hunting households, the opportunity for youth to try target shooting is limited. It is paramount we bring shooting education opportunities to youth where they live rather than expect them to find us.
To reach youths where they live, the Student Air Rifle Program (SAR) was created. Modeled after the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) and with their help, SAR works with state wildlife agencies to provide young people with a safe introduction to firearms. SAR employs a “teach the teacher” approach. Once trained, SAR’s instructors initiate safe and fun air rifle programs as part of schools’ physical education programs using SAR’s education materials and equipment resources. SAR continues to expand into parks and other recreation programs, scouting programs, and similar. The program is funded by sponsors, partners, equipment sales, and tournament participation. Focused on youth in grades 4 through 12 and launched in 2014, SAR now has nearly 500 trained Basic Air Riflery Instructors in eight states who have served over 18,000 youth, with annual participation growing rapidly. We currently have formal relationships with the wildlife agencies in KS, PA and TX with TN scheduled to come on board in 2023. Working in partnership with the Association for Conservation Information (ACI), the goal is to expand SAR into many more states, with the support and input from state wildlife agencies.
However, expansion will be difficult until states and potential partners know key points about SAR such as the conversion rates (students becoming independent target shooters), the sales of taxable product generated by students, if students later introduce others to the shooting sports, if participation actually or potentially leads to an interest in hunting, and more. Once these research tasks are completed through interviews and surveys of students, volunteers and state agencies, four states will be engaged to launch new SAR programs in part using the research results to evaluate effectiveness. These states will serve as models for other states to consider. The ultimate results will be increased number of youth target shooting participants via school-based programs.
ACI R3 through Marketing with Pilot States
Marketing is an effective way to accomplish R3. The fish and wildlife community is learning this and beginning to see what agencies can do and how much should be invested in marketing. Furthermore, with the new allowances in WSFR since PR modernization passed, there are new ways to fund marketing in states that have not been able to in the past. This makes information about what the most effective marketing techniques are to accomplish R3 very timely information.
ACI, with over 40 states fish and wildlife agency members who are practitioners of marketing and R3, is an organization that exists only to advance agency communication abilities. Since PR Modernization, ACI has garnered 3 grants to accomplish R3 through marketing. We have the 2020,2021 and 2022 case studies published and are in the midst of the 2023 campaigns being implemented. ACI has led 15 completed projects and is currently leading 5 more pilot states to innovate and continually improve R3 via new marketing techniques, has helped states with little to no resources directed toward marketing invest in these activities and see the value that marketing can bring to these efforts. The 15 states that have been involved so far have learned a lot through these pilot projects and are constantly sharing their case studies with others in the community. If we want all agencies to continue to adopt marketing as an integral practice to how we accomplish R3, we need to continue these efforts!
This project will further develop the practices for states to innovate and continually improve R3 marketing techniques. Over the 2020-2023 awarded R3 marketing grants we have an established committee and 20 states have been able to put $50,000 each toward marketing tactics that have accomplished R3. This year we will have an application process as we have in years past and the ACI Committee will chose 5 projects that rise to the top. We will strive to have one project from each AFWA region.
Over the past several years we have proven the benefits of this program through implementing effective, trackable campaigns that are tied directly to the revenue that the campaign returns. The investment of these grant dollars in marketing has been multiplied and returned to each agency that has been the recipient of this project’s grant funding for the last 4 years. There is still a great need to pilot new efforts and share the successes and challenges of doing those efforts with others working to use marketing to accomplish R3.
AFWA’s Legal Strategy at 10 Years: Taking Stock of our Program to Raise Awareness of State Wildlife Authorities and Develop Educational Opportunities in Wildlife Law
The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (Association) established its Legal Strategy program in 2014 with the goal of building awareness of the constitutional, statutory, and jurisprudential sources of state authority to manage wildlife, to create opportunities for students and practitioners of natural resources law to learn about state management and the conservation successes of the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson Acts, and to support state authority to address longstanding and emerging threats to fish and wildlife under this time-tested conservation framework. Methods of accomplishing these objectives have included, but are not limited to:
- Publication of materials on the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation (“Model”), public trust doctrine, and other foundational elements of wildlife law and policy
- Placement of wildlife law and policy courses with secondary educational institutions including undergraduate and law schools
- Field placements / internships / clerkships with agencies and nongovernmental organizations
- Development of continuing legal education programs for state fish and wildlife agency and non- governmental partner attorneys
- Establishment of the Association’s Legal Strategy Advisory Council (a.k.a. “Think Tank”) to advise the Association’s Executive Committee, Legal Committee, and others on emerging developments and to perform detailed analyses of issues relevant to a majority of, or all, states for their voluntary use
- Organization and sponsorship of special symposia at the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference, or at other professional conference events (e.g., The Wildlife Society) After a full decade of activity, the Legal Strategy program—and all fifty states—will benefit from a comprehensive review. This review will be executed by the Principal Investigator in cooperation with the Think Tank as well as an external coordinator (see: Key Personnel), and will take the form of a report containing the following elements:
- Narrative history of the program, its conception and establishment, and relationship with other programs • Detailed review of all Legal Strategy sub-programs, projects, and deliverables, as well as funding sources • Qualitative surveys of program collaborators and partners
- Assessment of program priorities, success in meeting those priorities, and what if any shifts are merited as the Legal Strategy moves into its next decade
- Assessment of effective approaches to engaging governmental members and nongovernmental conservation partners in “horizon scanning,” efforts to foresee emerging issues and problems facing conservation professionals, and to strategize initiatives to deal with those problems
- Development of best practices applicable to AFWA’s work to forecast emerging issues and problems, and to develop strategies in response to them.
Aiming for New Target Shooters from Anglers’ Ranks
The recent Multistate Conservation Grant-funded 2022 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation (National Survey) reported three times more target shooters (47 million) in the U.S. than hunters (15 million 6 years and older), indicating overall greater public interest. In addition, the 2022 National Survey also shows 50% of target shooters also fish compared to only 25% that also hunt (Jerry Leonard, USFWS, personal communications). The percentage for all anglers who are target shooters is 36%; this percentage goes up to 38% if those age <18 are dropped. For the U.S. six-and-over population as a whole, the percent of target shooters is 16%, so an angler is more than twice as likely to be a target shooter than a random U.S. resident. Given the need to increase target shooting participation, the high affinity for target shooting among anglers combined with the fact that states already have contact information and basic relationships with millions of anglers, states’ Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation (R3) programs may have a significant opportunity before them to recruit new target shooters from anglers’ ranks. However, no one has examined if this opportunity is worth pursuing or not. A need exists to determine if this is a significant opportunity, and if so, how states can most effectively pursue and recruit these potential new target shooters. State agencies are ideal to test this potential opportunity to recruit new target shooters because they have access to anglers via license records, the necessary R3 research and application knowledge and are the intended beneficiaries for implementing the findings, if proven worthwhile. Southwick Associates will be contracted to coordinate efforts and conduct quantitative research based on their recent similar efforts, and DJ Case & Associates will be contracted to provide qualitative research and web-design services. Work will begin by first thoroughly examining angler and target shooter data within the 2022 National Survey data set to identify commonalities and concepts to test. Next, we will conduct quantitative and qualitative work to find out more about target shooters who also fish, and how anglers who do not shoot might be encouraged to do so. The summarized results, including marketing recommendations, will then be tested via a pilot campaign in one state per Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies region. The insights from these tests, along with the research results, will then be summarized and distributed to states and Non-governmental Organization partners to use in their own custom marketing efforts. Recommendations will include describing if target shooters can be effectively recruited from anglers’ ranks, how to do so, along with tested imagery and messaging that will enhance recruitment success. This project builds on previous Multistate Conservation Grant investments, specifically by utilizing the 2022 National Survey and further exploring insights under production in 2024 via the Outdoor Stewards of Conservation Foundation’s "Welcome New Shooters" project. The expected outcome, if the pilot campaigns prove successful, will be greater numbers of target shooters.
Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative: Expanding a Trusted Regional Protocol and Combining Barrier Assessment Databases for the Enhancement of Sportfish Populations in the NEAFWA and SEAFWA
Both the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership (SARP) and the North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative (NAACC) maintain databases to document anthropogenic barriers in streams. We propose to upgrade the NAACC database and extend its geographic scope to cover 16 states and territories in the Southeastern U.S. covered by SARP (one SARP state, Virginia, is already covered by the NAACC) with potential to include other regions of the U.S. over time. SARP is already working with states in the Midwest, Intermountain West, and Great Lakes regions. The NAACC central coordinators based at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, are included in this proposal as subrecipients; their role will be to oversee the upgrade and expansion of the NAACC database. This new database will be maintained by SARP and will ultimately result in a more streamlined and unified process for collecting field data, prioritize sites for restoration, and ultimately reconnect more miles of aquatic habitat for sport fish and non-game aquatic species across the states and territories of both the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the Northeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, as well as the nation as a whole.
Attracting New Customers with a Social Media Video Marketing Campaign
This proposal builds on previous efforts to use visually and emotionally appealing recruitment materials created and tested under two prior MSCG (F19AP00100, F22AP00531). The aim is to attract potential customers aged 18 to 34 to visit agency “how-to-hunt/how to shoot” web pages. By employing cutting-edge marketing strategies, we will distribute these materials and monitor conversion rates in the Southeast region. These products are specifically designed to raise awareness about the vital role of hunting and shooting in conservation, with the goal of fostering emotional connections and engagement with our broader conservation system among the target audience. Our objectives are to significantly increase conversion rates among these generations and drive the sale of equipment and licenses, resulting in funding for state agencies. We will collaborate with four southeastern states to implement a regional marketing program in designated test markets, partnering with established marketing firms that have a proven track record with state wildlife agencies. The distribution of marketing materials will be evenly spread across the test states, enabling us to track their impact effectively. Anticipated outcomes include measurable increases in license sales and retention within the test markets, as well as an upsurge in product sales generating WSFR funding for states. These outcomes will yield tangible conservation impacts through increased funding from license and permit sales, as well as equipment purchases.
Boosting Local Support for New and Expanded Shooting Ranges
Recent legislative changes make it easier for states to use Wildlife Restoration funds to construct or expand shooting ranges. In addition, several multi-state conservation grants are showing how to identify where new ranges are needed (National Shooting Sports Foundation), how to attract non-traditional audiences to ranges (Outdoor Stewards of Conservation Foundation) and the types of shooting activities that will maximize use of shooting ranges (Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation – Association for Conservation Information). These projects will help expand range capacity and boost participation, but states and private range operators still face hurdles in gaining public support to build new ranges and expand existing locations. Much of this relates to the public’s current understanding of the negatives associated with ranges, such as noise, but little is known or communicated about positives, such as jobs, retail sales, generation of conservation excise tax revenues, provision of safe places to shoot, education for new firearm owners, and more. Limited public awareness of these benefits can contribute to lower public support for state agencies and their missions plus suppress efforts to boost participation through states’ provision of new or expanded range opportunities. This project will help states increase public support for building and/or expanding shooting ranges by generating and communicating information regarding the jobs, tax receipts, conservation revenues, and other economic impacts generated from a typical range visit. The results will also include a virtual calculator that allows range operators to easily quantify and report the total economic impacts their operations generate for their local communities based on their expected or actual range use levels. This work will be accomplished under contract to Southwick Associates leveraging data from the multi-state grant-funded target shooting economics project currently underway by the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation (SAF) and expected by July 2024 which significantly reduces the cost of this proposed project. This effort will also include a survey of the U.S. general public to gain a better understanding of the common reasons why people often oppose shooting ranges and reasons why non-shooters would accept new ranges. The results will help guide state and industry public communications efforts when proposing new sites. Survey content will be developed with input from state and private range operators recruited from SAF and its industry partners, then fielded using standard online sampling and analytical techniques by Southwick Associates. Results will be shared in a graphics-based format sharing recommended approaches and messaging for boosting public support and helping range managers better understand how to address public concerns. The virtual calculator allowing ranges to develop custom economic impact estimates will be posted to the SAF website, shared with other shooting organizations for posting, and promoted via direct contact with all state range managers and industry sources. This project will be led by the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation which has significant experience delivering economic projects to state agencies and working with states and industry on issues such as ranges and conservation. Without the information to be provided by this project, states and other range operators will continue to experience higher levels of opposition for new ranges than otherwise necessary, thereby minimizing capacity to recruit and retain target shooters. There are no sub-recipients for this project.
Can the Role of Online Hunting Communities Lead Us to New Hunters
This initiative is a partnership between the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports, DJ Case and Associates, Southwick Associates, and participating states. How do new and beginner hunters use social media in their hunting journeys? Does usage among novice hunters vary by platform? Should state wildlife agency recruitment, retention, and reactivation specialists seek out and engage with novice hunters on social media platforms, and if so, how? How can states and partners engage with specific hunter segments to maximize our return on investment? Without answers, the Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation Community can only guess how to market to potential new hunters, and the impacts of these platforms on hunter recruitment and retention are not well known. This project seeks to comprehensively understand how novice hunters utilize social media for learning and social support, providing crucial insights for enhancing recruitment and retention efforts. Novice hunters’ social media behaviors can help fish and wildlife agencies create targeted outreach programs, allocate resources efficiently, and improve recruitment outcomes. This project will employ a multifaceted approach, combining regional focus groups, social listening techniques, and a survey of new licensees to analyze the impacts of social media platforms and personal interactions with them. The expected outcomes for fish and wildlife agencies and organizations include providing valuable insight into the social media habits of novice hunters. By understanding which platforms and content engage them most effectively and enabling agencies to effectively allocate limited marketing budgets and optimize social media engagement strategies. Deliverables from this project will provide fish and wildlife agencies and organizations with a comprehensive social listening inventory, determining how novice hunters use these platforms, a detailed report on regional focus groups, and survey findings for optimizing the use of social media for novice hunters in the Southeastern and Midwest regions. Key topics and terms will be identified for building the survey questionnaire, and a report summarizing key findings will be produced. To increase efficiency and recruit participants, there is a need to continue understanding social media platforms to recruit new and beginner hunters to be the best possible stewards of the limited funding available for recruitment, retention, and reactivation. Without funding for this project, recruiting and retaining new participants in hunting through online platforms will be limited without knowing more specifics of how to reach this specific target audience on social media.
Conservation Relevency Toolkit
This one-year project will gather, review, and refine materials and tools that will assist all 51 state conservation agencies improve awareness and value of and support for conservation by engaging and serving broader constituencies. These materials and tools have been tested on a public website (Wildlife Management Institute) for anyone to access and use. The materials are customizable to suit the interests m resources and contexts of any agency (e.g., survey instruments, slide decks with narratives, discussion questions, planning tools) to help them improve relationships with current and currently underserved constituencies and co-create desired programs and services for them.
Continued Revision and Updates to the AFS Blue Book: Standard Methods for Aquatic Pathogen Identification and Fish Health Management
The AFS Fish Health Section (FHS) “Blue Book” – procedures for the detection and identification of finfish and shellfish pathogens – is an essential reference for state fisheries agencies and other professionals assessing the health status of aquatic animals. Although it is primarily used by fish health practitioners and laboratories, Blue Book methods help determine the health status of wild and cultured fish, with far reaching implications. Most states require the use of Blue Book methodology by explicitly referencing the document in administrative codes or regulations. The Blue Book is a critical resource for the safe production and movement of aquatic animals, and a Blue Book Revision Steering Committee has been recently established to direct the amendments.
Continuing to Expand and Improve the Real-time License Data Dashboard
The National Hunting and Shooting Sports Action Plan was published by the Wildlife Management Institute and Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports (Council) in 2016. The work on the plan started years before, involved a workgroups of 20 professionals (nonprofits, industry, and agencies), and resulted in the guiding document under which R3 capacity has increase exponentially. The immediate recommendation in the plan was to, “Complete the hunting and fishing participation scorecard on an annual (or more frequent) basis.” This scorecard is what is now referred to as a dashboard and the R3 community embraced the concept whole-heartedly with state-level hunting and fishing license dashboards. Agency, industry, and nonprofit R3 practitioners soon realized the need to look at these data at macro level and demand for regional and nation-level data became apparent. This demand led to a groundbreaking partnership between agencies, nonprofits, and industry to create the first regional and nation level dashboard with MSCGP support. This dashboard increased R3 staff competency and capacity to evaluate, manage, and interpret data by summarizing state-level license sales for comparisons at the regional and national levels. While useful, semi-annual updates limited the on-the-ground implication of the data as there was significant lag time.
In 2022, the dashboard was upgraded from semi-annual updates to reporting on a daily basis with MSCGP and partner support. Reported elements include the number of unique license buyers by day/month/year. Numbers of newly recruited license and churn rates in total and by age, gender, and residency. As of May 30, 2023 seven states were live, six in production, two more have signed the data security and participation agreement and 16 more were in process. Progress was slower than expected due to unforeseen circumstances (e.g., new data security legislation in states). The project team anticipates 20 states being live by the end of 2023 and for it to be live for public use.
Buy-in has increased among numerous states and it is time to make the final push to ensure there is a national Buy-in has increased among numerous states and it is time to make the final push to ensure there is a national representative number of states contributing data by the end of 2024. With MSCGP support, more states will be added to the dashboard and the current ones maintained, thus providing greater accuracy and insights. The goal remains to host 35 reporting states. Please not the vendor, Southwick Associates, and its technical partner, Pragmatim, are using the latest data transfer and security standards. To participate states do no share personally identifiable information (PII). The Council took over facilitation of this project in 2023 on behalf of 12 partner, keeps no funds from the award, and intends to ensure it is brought to completion. The Council has communicated to all partners that this will be the last request for build funding for the dashboard and 2024 will be the make or break year to get a nationally representative number of states involved. In early 2024, the Council will evaluate the dashboards long term operational prospects and if realistic, will initiate efforts to secure the lesser cost of maintenance funding for future years.
Coordination of Farm Bill Program Implementation to Optimize On-the-Ground Fish and Wildlife Benefits to the States
The grantee represents the consensus interests of state fish and wildlife agencies to ensure that fish and wildlife habitat conservation needs are properly incorporated into the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Bill conservation programs. In 2022, these USDA funds provided $1.83 billion for the Conservation Reserve Program, protecting 1.8 million acres of land by taking marginal cropland out of production and 2.4 million acres into grassland conservation. In addition to this “bread and butter” program for most wildlife agencies, the NRCS spent nearly $5 billion dollars on conservation programs the same year. Additional investments in conservation through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2023 will also allow state agencies to leverage these funds for fish and wildlife. The grant will support collaboration and coordination of state fish and wildlife agencies across all regions to provide input during the rule-making process of these USDA programs and feedback on how program implementation and rollout of the 2023 Farm Bill is functioning in each state, including recommendations for further actions. The grantee will facilitate working groups that represent each of the farm bill programs impacting wildlife to ensure state members are aware of updated policies and have an opportunity to voice professional opinions, ensuring that these federal dollars are used as effectively as possible. Those working groups include the: Bioenergy, Conservation Reserve Program, Environmental Quality Incentives Program/Conservation Stewardship Program, Farm Bill Easements, Forestry, Public Access, Regional Conservation Partnership Program, and Private Lands working groups.
Coordination of Farm Bill Program Implementation to Optimize On-the-Ground Fish and Wildlife Benefits to the States
The grantee represents the consensus interests of state fish and wildlife agencies to ensure that fish and wildlife habitat conservation needs are properly incorporated into United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Bill conservation programs. In 2023, these USDA funds provided $1.77 billion for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), protecting 1.8 million acres of land by taking marginal cropland out of production and 2.4 million acres into grassland conservation. In addition to this “bread and butter” program for most wildlife agencies, the NRCS spent nearly $5 billion dollars on conservation programs the same year. Additional investments in conservation through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2023 also provided state agencies with an opportunity to leverage these funds for fish and wildlife. Roughly 70% of the Continental United States (CONUS) land base is privately owned, so Farm Bill conservation programs targeting these lands have broad-reaching effects on fish and wildlife conservation. State fish and wildlife agencies help the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Farm Service Agency (FSA) deliver these programs by providing technical assistance, participating in State Technical Committees and Local Working Groups, and working within USDA offices to ease administrative workloads. The current Farm Bill passed in December 2018 and is set to expire on September 30, 2024. While the goal is to have the Farm Bill reauthorized by this date, the reality is that passage will likely occur late in 2024, or in 2025. The new farm bill will bring opportunities for input and collaboration as the USDA finalizes rules and implements programmatic policies and procedures. State agencies must proactively work with USDA to properly incorporate the needs of fish, wildlife, and their habitats into rules, policies, strategic frameworks, and conservation practices. State agencies’ effectiveness in this regard relies in part on their ability to share information among themselves and to address USDA with a unified voice. The grant will support collaboration and coordination of state fish and wildlife agencies across all regions to provide input during the rule-making process of these USDA programs and feedback on how program implementation and rollout of the continued Farm Bill is functioning in each state, including recommendations for further actions. The grant will also facilitate coordination and collaboration with conservation partners who share AFWA’s agriculture conservation goals. The grantee will facilitate working groups under the broader Agriculture Conservation Committee (ACC) that represent each farm bill program impacting wildlife to ensure state members are aware of updated policies and have an opportunity to voice professional opinions, ensuring that these federal dollars are used as effectively as possible. Those working groups include the Conservation Reserve Program, Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) / Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), Farm bill Easements, Forestry, Public Access, Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), and Private Lands working groups.
Coordination of National Scale Conservation by State, Provincial and Territorial Fish & Wildlife Agencies
State Fish and Wildlife Agencies are charged with managing wildlife for the benefit of the public. Numerous federal agencies share management responsibility across state boundaries. Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) dedicated to conserving specific species and landscapes act regionally and nationally in coordination with State and Federal Agencies. Without strong coordination, it is impossible to realize the full benefit of these varied efforts. Coordinating successful conservation efforts among all involved parties across North America requires the resources to bring state agency leaders to the table. Many state agencies whose resources are focused on internal, state-focused efforts (often inadequate for that purpose) would be unable to participate in these efforts without external funding support. Related to this is the necessity for dedicated resources to foster, maintain, and grow relations between state agencies and industry. The latter is responsible for excise tax contributions to the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration funding programs, which are significant contributors to agency budgets. When state agencies and industry are not actively meeting and coordinating, there is a high risk of misunderstanding and dysfunction. Opportunities to coordinate with industry exist at specific events and at most other conferences and meetings where NGO industry representatives are present. Centralized communications ensure that relevant issues are brought to light, and state fish and wildlife agencies and their partners can debate and discuss the best solutions to cross-jurisdictional, national, and regional wildlife management issues. The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) website is currently not 508 compliant. Section 508 compliance is important for websites because it makes them more accessible to a broader audience, including AFWA’s members. State fish and wildlife agency leadership in landscape conservation is essential to the long-term sustainability of fish and wildlife. In 2018, AFWA passed a resolution on landscape conservation that acknowledged the importance of landscape conservation and the need for collaboration between state fish and wildlife agencies and the US Fish and Wildlife (FWS) because of their unique roles and authorities over fish and wildlife. Three of the four fish and wildlife regional associations (Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies) have established regional landscape conservation collaboratives with support from the FWS. The Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies is leading several individual landscape conservation initiatives. A full-time national landscape conservation coordinator is needed to
- provide professional staffing of the AFWA/FWS Landscape Conservation Joint Task Force;
- support coordination between regional fish and wildlife association landscape conservation collaboratives;
- support the implementation of the recommendations of the AFWA President’s Task Force on Shared Science and Landscape Conservation and the State Wildlife Action Plan Landscape Conservation Framework;
- and serve as a liaison between the states, federal agencies, landscape conservation partnerships, and NGOs working in the landscape conservation space to foment communication and raise awareness and secure resources for regional fish and wildlife association landscape conservation priorities.
The FWS and regional fish and wildlife associations provided funding over the past two years to hire a part-time national landscape conservation coordinator. Funding for the part-time position will end in September 2023. This proposal seeks funding for a full-time coordinator for one year. Additional funding will be sought in the future to continue this coordination capacity. This proposal will allow for coordinating conservation across the United States by state, regional, territorial, and provincial fish and wildlife agencies (including Canadian leadership involved in US conservation efforts). This coordination will lead to better policy, greater efficiency, and the most effective conservation efforts.
Coordination of National Scale Conservation Efforts by State Fish & Wildlife Agencies
The proposal will focus on three priorities with the objective of enabling state fish and wildlife agencies to coordinate their conservation efforts across state borders on a regional and national scale:
- Participation by senior state and Association staff in regional and national level meetings where planning and coordination are performed with federal, NGO, and industry partners. The focus is on meetings of regional and national significance, including but not limited to regional association meetings, the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference, the AFWA Annual meeting, NGO meetings, industry trade association meetings, and other events and meetings. State Directors and their designees and Association staff will attend major industry events to maintain open communications and coordinate on important and often sensitive issues that determine the success or failure of conservation and management initiative important to the Association’s members.
- Strategic communications. Association of Fish & Wildlife Staff will be responsible for implementing a communications plan and maintaining a communications infrastructure that allows state fish and wildlife agencies to effectively coordinate with each other and with their NGO and federal partners on regional and national importance issues.
- Regional Landscape Conservation Coordination: Provide planning, coordination, facilitation, and support to the AFWA/FWS Landscape Conservation Joint Task Force.
Coordination of State Fish and Wildlife Agencies Authority to Manage Wildlife Resources in Concert with Federal Actions Required by International Treaties, Conventions, Partnerships, and Initiatives
Decisions made in international for a, such as the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), can positively and negatively affect the management authority or practices of state, provincial, and territorial fish and wildlife agencies. However, it is not realistic nor economically viable for all state fish and wildlife agencies (states) to participate in CITES, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), or other international for a. At the same time, U.S. federal agencies, foreign governments, and NGOs are at the table and have input in decisions. Therefore in 1994, the CITES Technical Work Group (Work Group) was created. It includes a member from each state regional association and AFWA. The Work Group has been highly effective in supporting the state’s (and, where appropriate, Canadian Provinces and Territories) ability to manage and conserve wildlife and in influencing decisions through science-based positions that encourage the sustainable use of wildlife. Without the Work Group, the states do not have a voice in decisions, nor can they bring science-based, on-the-ground expertise to help guide decisions. Considering the recent pandemic and the spotlight it has put on fish and wildlife use and consumption and One Health, having a voice in international for a is even more critical.
The goal of the Work Group is to ensure that positions are presented in international for a that support sustainable use and the conservation and management of native species, utilize the best available science, and support state management authority, and that the states and the U.S. government collaborate on international conservation issues. Additionally, the Work Group coordinates with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to ensure that processes for the implementation of treaty decisions are practical to implement by the states. To accomplish this, the Work Group must participate in CITES and IUCN meetings and work closely with the USFWS and other federal agencies. This grant will allow the Work Group to ensure that the state’s ability to manage wildlife is not negatively impacted by actions taken at CITES, IUCN, or other for a, and where appropriate, the Work Group will support Canadian Provinces and Territories. The Work Group will also serve as the state contact point for the USFWS and other federal agencies, providing an efficient way for the U.S. government to implement its international obligations cooperatively. The impact of grant outcomes continues beyond the life of this grant by impacting fish and wildlife conservation and management.
Coordination of State Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ Authority to Manage Wildlife Resources in Concert with Federal Actions Required by International Treaties, Conventions, Partnerships, and Initiatives
Decisions made in international fora, such as the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), can positively and negatively affect the management authority or practices of state, provincial, and territorial fish and wildlife agencies. However, the state fish and wildlife agencies (states) do not have the resources (e.g., time or funding) necessary to all participate in CITES, IUCN, or other international fora. At the same time, U.S. federal agencies, foreign governments, and NGOs are at the table and have input in decisions. Therefore, it is critical that state and territorial fish and wildlife agencies have a voice in international fora. In 1994, the states created the CITES Technical Work Group (Work Group) to address the need in an efficient and effective manner. It includes a member from each state regional association and AFWA. The Work Group has been highly effective in supporting the state’s (and where appropriate Canadian Provinces and Territories) ability to manage and conserve wildlife, and in influencing decisions through science-based positions that encourage the sustainable use of wildlife. In the absence of the Work Group, the states do not have a voice, nor can they bring science-based, on-the-ground expertise to help guide decisions. 2025 is a particularly important year because the CITES Conference of the Parties (CoP20) and the IUCN World Conservation Congress will occur. In 2023 and 2024, the CITES Technical Work Group collaborated with the USFWS on non-detriment findings development, species data and information collection (e.g., polar bear, caribou, and peregrine falcon), and preparing for the Animals and Standing Committee; participated in working groups (e.g., non-detriment findings, reducing the risk of zoonotic disease emergence, species specific groups); represented the state agencies at the CITES Animals and Standing Committee; participated as a member of the US Delegation to the Standing Committee; and kept the state agencies informed on CITES issues and developments. This was in preparation for the Conference of the Parties and Standing Committee meetings in 2025. The purpose of the grant is to ensure that state positions and data/management information is presented in international forums; that those positions support sustainable use, state authority, and the conservation and management of native species using the best available science; and that the states and the U.S. government collaborate on international conservation issues. The Work Group coordinates with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to ensure that processes for the implementation of CITES decisions are practical to implement by the states. The Work Group must participate in CITES meetings and work closely with the USFWS and other federal agencies. This grant will allow the Work Group to ensure that the state’s ability to manage wildlife is not negatively impacted by actions taken at CITES, IUCN or other fora, and where appropriate, the Work Group will support Canadian Provinces and Territories. The Work Group will also serve as the state contact point for the USFWS and other federal agencies, providing an efficient way for the U.S. government to cooperatively implement their international obligations. Deliverables include effective and targeted outreach to the states, species conservation and management data and information to help the U.S. government make informed decisions and implement their international obligations, and participation in key meetings and on important technical committees. The grant will also help ensure that CITES and IUCN are a tool in the conservation of management of our native wildlife. The impact of grant outcomes continues beyond the life of this grant by impacting fish and wildlife conservation and management.
Creating Bridge-Builders to Accelerate Implementation of the Relevancy Roadmap
This project will provide state fish and wildlife agencies (SFWAs) with a reliable, replicable methodology for developing new collaborations with unengaged population segments and novel partner organizations, using existing staff and resources without being heavily reliant on external consultants. The need for agency-led engagement of broader constituencies has emerged from the many pilot projects led by Wildlife Management Institute (WMI) and its SFWA partners in implementing the Fish and Wildlife Relevancy Roadmap. The models most likely to succeed are those that, intentionally or not, identify and empower an existing staff member(s) to serve as a “bridge- builder”—somebody who has the interest and skills to develop and engage a specific constituency in a long-term mutually beneficial relationship with the agency. As the Roadmap was not intended to be, nor written as, an implementation guidance document, there is a critical need to establish specific and tactical approaches for SFWAs to forge relationships with new constituencies by leveraging in-house connections that, if supported, can “build a bridge” between the agency and a new partner. The project team (WMI staff and Clearwater Communications) will collaborate with at least one agency in each of the four Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies regions in developing, implementing, and evaluating a bridge-building engagement strategy, focused on one population segment or potential partner organization per state. The team will use evaluation results to refine the bridge-builder engagement model, then distill and package tactical recommendations into a set of tools for use by conservation relevancy-related staff and practitioners. Anticipated project outcomes include enhanced staff capacity for building lasting collaborations with unengaged population segments and new partner organizations; increased confidence of agency leadership that their agency has the tools it needs to build collaborations with such populations and organizations; lasting relationships with constituency groups who have not historically engaged with agencies; and increased constituency awareness of, participation in, support for the agency’s role in conservation. Project deliverables will include tactical recommendations presented as a set of practical, accessible tools that can be implemented by staff at any level within an agency, descriptions of processes used during the project, links to resources used during the project, and an evaluation of project outputs and outcomes. The project is designed to provide lasting benefits to the four-or-more participating agencies, the population segments and potential partner organizations engaged during the project, and all state fish and wildlife agencies in need of a reliable methodology for developing new collaborations.
CWD Information Tools: Giving Agencies What They Need
Since its discovery in North America, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has created unprecedented challenges to state and provincial agencies in battling both the management of the disease itself as well as conflicts in public expectation, discourse, and cooperation related to that management. Prior to 2022, all attempts to address the latter by better and more accurate communication with the public at a national scale had largely failed due to inconsistencies in agency data collection, inaccurate/out-of-date content on agency websites, and a reticence by leadership to organize and share their agency’s CWD-related information on a common platform. Fortunately, a powerful partnership between NGOs, state fish and wildlife agencies, and industry overcame these barriers by creating a consensus-driven, ArcGIS Esri CWD Information Sharing Community Hub in 2022. For the first time, state and provincial agencies have access to a platform that easily collects, organizes, shares, and publishes their complex suite of CWD-related regulatory and surveillance data in a standardized format while allowing the agency full control and ownership of the data itself.
The success of this initiative stemmed from an exhaustive assessment process that was implemented to discover the breadth and depth of needs, opinions, concerns, and wishes of the North American CWD management community. This assessment resulted in the creation of a very clear set of CWD data and information priorities, the most critical of which were encapsulated in the current public-facing products of the CWD information community hub. However, many more of the agency identified priorities remain uncompleted due to the fiscal and time constraints imposed by the project funding sources.
This proposal seeks to complete the remaining CWD information priorities outlined by CWD managers who guided the formation of the initial information community hub. These priorities can be address by the completion of the following three objectives: 1) Development of best practices for CWD data capture, use, and communications that support applications capable of contextualizing county/GMU-level prevalence and surveillance data, import/export regulations, and tribal CWD data integration; 2) Establish an agency-to-agency (capable by password-protected ArcGIS Esri HUB accounts) CWD data resource repository that aggregates existing geospatial tools that other agencies use to relay CWD-related information and provide a community learning/collaboration forum that helps agencies expand their CWD data communication capacity; 3) Development of a CWD response package that provides an agency with a“ shovel ready” package of data applications (embeddable CWD presence map, sample and disposal site application, hunting regulations application, etc.) that can be mobilized when CWD is found in a new area, state, or province.
Designing an automated machine learning method for large scale aerial pronghorn monitoring
Pronghorn are an iconic ungulate species endemic to western North America. Low-altitude aerial surveys are commonly used by management agencies to monitor pronghorn populations, but have disadvantages regarding safety, cost, and reliability. Low-altitude slow-speed flights leave little margin for pilot error and have resulted in injuries and even death of agency staff. A safer, more cost-effective, and verifiable monitoring method is needed. Pairing plane mounted high resolution cameras with machine learning driven automated computer vision tools has proven effective in other contexts for detecting and counting animals in natural landscapes and is well suited to the task of pronghorn monitoring. This approach would allow managers to stay out of planes and provides a verifiable visual record of detected animal. It is a challenge, however, to successfully implement such a cutting-edge method while also ensuring that it is practical for managers. Our uniquely qualified interdisciplinary team from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, the University of Wyoming’s School of Computing and the University of Wyoming’s Department of Zoology and Physiology together have the full range of expertise needed to implement just such a tool. We plan to 1. trial a range of airplane mounted camera options and flight heights to optimally record pronghorn across vast landscapes; 2. Design and train deep learning-based computer vision models to accurately detect and count pronghorn from the collected imagery and validate model performance using management relevant metrics; 3. Document our method by releasing open source code with tutorials and producing a white paper and seminar directed at agencies in the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. Our approach will keep managers across the western states safe while simultaneously providing a novel high-quality and cost-effective monitoring solution.
Determining Why Cultural Support for Hunting and Sport Shooting is Declining
Cultural support for legal hunting and recreational sport shooting in America is declining at a rapid pace. Since 1995, Responsive Management has tracked public opinion on hunting and sport shooting through periodic national trends surveys. The latest trend survey, Americans Attitudes Towards Legal, Regulated Fishing, Sport Shooting, Hunting and Trapping 2023, marks the first time in recent decades there has been statistically significant decrease in Americans approval of both activities. Results show hunting losing support of 9.9 million adult Americans, aged 18 and over, and recreation sport shooting losing support of 8.4 million adult Americans in just the past two years. These national results are not an anomaly, as recent state level surveys conducted by Responsive Management in Arizona, Maine, and Washington reflect the same trend of declining overall support. This trend is particularly worrisome given that hunting and recreational shooting remain uniquely vulnerable to attacks from opponents and subject to new restrictions on access and opportunities. The R3 community recognizes the importance of ensuring that hunting and sport shooting remain acceptable in the eyes of the public: a recent survey of stakeholders of the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports found that maintaining and increasing, cultural acceptance of hunting is the R3 community highest priority. The latest national and state-level trend data make clear that cultural support for hunting and sport shooting is waning what is not clear at this point are the reasons why. This project involved new research to identify the why and understand the specific reasons driving the declines in support for hunting and sport shooting. Following the research, the grant team will take action and work directly with the R3 community, as well as the outdoor industry, to explore application of the research funds to existing campaigns and programs. Outdoor Stewards of Conservation Foundation and Responsive Management will disseminate the insights from the research through webinars that focus on how current messaging campaigns and outreach programs can be strengthened to address and, as necessary, combat harmful misperceptions affecting public support for hunting and recreational shooting.
Developing Best Practices to Engage People of Color in Fishing, Hunting, Sport Shooting, and Archery
Fishing, hunting, sport shooting, and archery should be accessible to all Americans, regardless of race. While the latest National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation shows that the vast majority of current hunters and anglers in the United States continue to be white and non-Hispanic, recent relevancy and participation studies provide evidence of the substantial interest in hunting and fishing, as well as sport shooting and archery, among people of color (i.e., Black people, Hispanic/Latino people, Asian people, and Indigenous people). For example, a recent relevancy survey conducted by Responsive Management for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation found that fishing is one of the top activities in which Black people and Native Americans are most interested. A similar survey for the Ohio Division of Wildlife found that Black residents, compared to state residents as a whole, were more likely to be very interested in learning more about fish and wildlife (as opposed to somewhat or not at all interested). Additionally, the latest sport shooting participation trend survey from the National Shooting Sports Foundation indicates that Black Americans are the fastest growing segment of new sport shooters (meaning those who took up the activity for the first time within the past 5 years). Yet major obstacles remain: the same relevancy studies show that people of color are often more likely to report feeling unsafe in the outdoors, more likely to be unfamiliar with their state fish and wildlife agency, and more likely to feel that their fish and wildlife agency does not share the same values as them. People who live in urban centers, in particular, may feel the least welcome at lakes and rivers, in the woods, and in other natural settings simply because they are generally removed from such places in their day-to-day lives. In recent years, fish and wildlife agencies have made great strides in relevancy and engagement efforts to make fishing, hunting, and sport shooting accessible and welcoming to Americans of all races. However, more can and should be done to encourage diversity in participation. There is a strong need for a coordinated research and engagement effort to produce both reliable data from communities of color on the national level and training strategies for program coordinators, R3 experts, and others who can help to engage these prospective new anglers, hunters, and sport shooters/archers. The purpose of this project is to conduct new research with people of color throughout the United States to determine how to most effectively engage them and facilitate their participation in fishing, hunting, sport shooting, and archery; and to provide “training the trainers” guidance through on-site events and a webinar to help agency staff and members of the R3 community engage communities of color. This project will benefit all 50 states by providing new communications strategies and training materials to bolster participation from and engagement with people of color in fishing, hunting, sport shooting, and archery.
Developing eDNA tools for use in Aquatic Invasive Species detection to improve conservation efforts for sportfish and waterfowl
Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) can have drastic impacts on populations of waterfowl and sportfish through a variety of environmental impacts including habitat alternations, outcompeting native prey items, and altering food web dynamics. In 2020, it was estimated that AIS cost the US at least $23 billion dollars. Early detection of AIS can be critical in enabling managers to provide rapid response measures in order to prevent establishment or further spread of AIS along with directing limited restoration funds. Detecting AIS can be a very costly and time-intensive endeavor when traditional sampling methods are used. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a powerful took for biodiversity assessments and the early detection of AID, but eDNA assays are missing for most aquatic plants. Aquatic plants are key indicators of ecosystem health and popular targets for biodiversity monitoring and restoration worldwide. Invasive plants are often accidentally introduced into new waterbodies at distinct points of use, like boat landings. At new invasive sites, traditional field-based plants survey typically detect the invasive only after the plant is established in high abundance and therefore difficult or impossible to eradicate. Using eDNA metabarcoding can providing detection data simultaneously for entire communities, including invasives. The MinION is a portable sequencer that allows multiple species identification completely in the field, with results available within 1-2 days, can be conducted by field personnel with appropriate training. We propose to identify metabarcoding markers and optimize MinION protocols to detect up to 40 invasive plants so resource managers could quickly and cost-effectively conduct eDNA surveillance of waterbodies with high invasion risk or management needs. The tool would aid early detection and rapid response of AIS, as well as initiate eDNA biodiversity assessments.
Developing Firearm Ownership and Sport Shooting R3 Communications for Black Americans
The purpose of this project is the develop targeted R3 strategies, communications, and outreach materials for Black Americans regarding their purchases of firearms and their participation in target and sport shooting activities.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Workshop, Academy Evaluation, Internship, Honorariums and Coffee Talk Grants
Our fish and wildlife agencies are finding it harder to stay (or become) relevant in today’s world and must learn how to better serve broader constituencies to ensure the future of North America’s conservation legacy. The 2023 Multistate Conservation Grant, Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in Conservation Academy, Coffee Talk, and Fellowship grant (F23AP00485-00), organized a focused DEI Academy that provided meaningful guidance on how to build DEI into the fabric of conservation organizations. This Academy was designed to focus on state agencies specifically, and with limitations on capacity and effective learning environments, participation was limited to one participant per state. There is a need to bring the shared learning and outcomes from this focused Academy to the broader conservation community. We propose to accomplish this through a one-day workshop in association with the 2024 AFWA Annual Meeting.
An ongoing and successful discussion space exists in AFWA’s DEI’s Coffee Talk Series. These virtual discussion forums offer the conservation community a safe and courageous space to engage in vulnerable conversations surrounding DEI. Coffee Talks have high attendance, with over 100 participants regularly tuning in. Participants continue to provide positive reviews, suggest news topics, and continue to request we hold them.
By offering an honorarium to DEI subject matter experts as speakers at both our AFWA DEI Coffee Talks and expanding that to possible conference venues, as appropriate, we will be able to provide a richer set of learning opportunities for all participants. We propose to continue offering and expanding this space in the next year.
With the completion of the inaugural DEI Academy in November 2023, we propose an evaluation to examine the effectiveness of the Academy and where improvement could be made if funding were provided for a 2025 Academy. This will include a survey of the 2023 Academy participants and a look as to how they’ve been able to start implementation of their DEI plan.
The Association recognizes participation in our work by people with diverse views, backgrounds, cultures, and experiences are necessary t fulfill our mission. Supporting the AFWA DEI Intern program and providing DEI training to AFWA Staff is in line with AFWA’s Mission, creates a more welcoming and inclusive culture, and better supports our members in their efforts around relevancy and creating a more diverse workforce.
Do gill lice vector sportfish viruses?
Sportfish viruses are a persistent and costly problem for natural resource agencies. New approaches are needed to mitigate the spread of these viruses in hatchery and wild sportfish populations. For any infectious disease, knowledge of pathogen transmission is critical to controlling spread and is a critical tool in disease management. Regarding sportfish viruses, a gap in our knowledge of viral transmission is the role of ectoparasites as vectors of viral disease. Because no information on this critical transmission pathway is available for sport fisheries in the southeastern US, the goal of this project is to understand the interaction of gill lice and viral infections in sportfish in the Southeastern United States, which will give fisheries managers new knowledge/understanding with which to prevent and mitigate viral infections in sport fishes. This will be accomplished by detecting viral infections in rainbow trout and largemouth bass using conventional (cell culture and polymerase chain reaction) and emerging (quantitative polymerase chain reaction) methods, screening gill lice infecting these fish for viral infections, quantifying viral load in fish and gill lice using quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and using histopathology to assess the pathological effects of gill lice and viral infections. These will field test the theory that high intensity/prevalence of gill lice infections is correlated with high intensity/prevalence of sportfish viral infections. This project produces knowledge/understanding that improves disease biosecurity and mitigation strategies; thereby reduces the spread of sportfish viral infections. By detecting viruses using conventional and emerging methods, the project will assess sensitivity of viral detection methods and optimize viral diagnostics protocols. If gill lice represent viral vectors, this project will assess gill lice as a potential non-lethal sampling method for sportfish viruses. These results will contribute to developing more robust risk assessment models for the potential impact of viral infections on wild and cultured sportfish. The results of this project will be incorporated into fish health workshops for agency staff, presentations at regional and national meetings, and peer-reviewed manuscripts in national and international journals. This project benefits the majority of Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agency states: Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas. There are no subrecipient activities associated with this project.
Employing Social Media Creators and Influencers to Retain Female Anglers – An Application of the Find Your Best Self Campaign
According to previous surveys and license dashboard work, churn rates, or the percentage of anglers not renewing their licenses the next year, have averaged just under 50% for the past 10 years. In 2021, MAFWA states reported an overall angler churn rate of 44%, while the female angler churn was 53%. In the Midwest female anglers represented an estimated 37% of the overall angler population. In Southeastern states, the overall churn rate was 53%, and the female angler churn rate was 65%. In the US the reported annual churn rate was 50.4% with 46% of survey respondents being female having a churn rate of 56%. (Data courtesy of Southwick Associates data dashboard.) High churn rates, and the reported higher churn rate amongst women is alarming. Women are more likely than men to lapse after purchasing an angling license, meaning female anglers may be dropping out at rates that result in little or no net gains in female participation. Reducing churn will benefit retention and has the potential to increase conservation funding for states and organizations. This project will be a partnership between the Midwest and Southeastern Associations of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (MAFWA and SEAFWA), the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF), the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports (CAHSS), influencers/creators, and participating states. The purpose of this project is to utilize the research and messaging assets recently developed by RBFF (Find Your Best Self) and the networks and reach of social media creators to reach female anglers around the Midwest and Southeast Regions. The project will track female angler churn rates in participating states, design and implement social media video campaigns to encourage continued participation and measure their effect. Influencers/creators will create content throughout the year and MAFWA and SEAFWA will cooperate with participating states to organize placement of online content (videos and resources accentuating the fun, and family benefits of angling). Our goal is to create content with these influencers that has a shelf life of at least 5 years. Digital ads, emails, and additional outreach will be incorporated. Participating states will be required to provide local expertise to develop the videos, advise on outlets for placement of the videos, and will place the videos on sites they select. Placement will be targeted to regional angling opportunity areas such as the driftless area, Missouri River, Great Lakes, Mississippi River, the Gulf of Mexico, large lake systems (i.e. Kentucky Lake), the Ohio River, etc. Videos will be family friendly depictions of the regional features available such as communities, resorts, eating establishments, and angling opportunities. Outreach will target female anglers, particularly those in the Friendly, Occasional, Social Dabbler and Zen personas identified by Southwick Associates (2020), all of which reported that an invitation from friends or family members would be a motivation to fish more. Control samples will be held and the impact of the content will be analyzed and reported. Video performance will also be measured by analytics including tracking video click-throughs and views.
Engaging Retailers as R3 Partners
In January 2023, Southwick Associates’ Angler Survey found 40% of new anglers depended on brick-and-mortar fishing tackle retailers to prepare them to fish, more than they depended on friends, family and online retailers. In addition, 10% of new anglers depended on retailers to learn how and where to fish. However, mystery shopper research by the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) showed many new anglers, especially women and other non-traditional audiences, are often overlooked or poorly served by retailers, thus fostering an image they are not welcome. This poor introduction to fishing likely ends the attempt to fish for many, or erodes their enthusiasm, thus canceling much of states and others’ recruitment, retention and reactivation (R3) successes. Retailers are a critical cog in the R3 process and need attention if states and non-governmental organization (NGO) R3 efforts are to reach their full potential. Retailers are also perfectly situated to assist in retaining anglers, but also not likely well engaged in such efforts. This project is a collaboration between industry, the American Sportfishing Association (ASA), state agencies and the RBFF. As the association for the sportfishing industry, the ASA works closely with tackle retailers, manufacturers, outdoor media and the rest of the supply chain. We are best suited to connect with independent and chain retailers to help their staff better identify when an angler needs introductory support and to provide necessary support. In 2024, the RBFF began engaging with retailers and their wholesale suppliers to best understand their interest in recruiting and retaining new customers, plus their limitations and capacity to engage in R3. However, their outreach efforts, once determined, will likely be limited to one or two states yet to be determined and are not gathering feedback from new and potential anglers. These efforts will provide critical insights regarding how to engage tackle retailers. With ASA’s national reach, this proposed project will coordinate with the RBFF to improve and expand their effort to fishing tackle retailers everywhere. The results of this project will help retail owners understand how to better engage new anglers through their customers’ eyes. The results will then be combined with the RBFF’s 2024 experience to develop and improve educational and training materials designed to help front-line retail staff better identify first-time and newer anglers, proper questions to ask, assumptions to avoid and how to best prepare new anglers for success, plus other support materials identified in the surveys as important. ASA has retailers available to assist. The materials and toolkit(s) will incorporate findings from recent churn and motivation research funded by past AFWA/FWS Multistate Conservation Grants. We will also consider the retailer education materials developed by the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA). The deliverables – most likely online toolkits and training materials complete with recruitment, retention, and ‘help offered’ materials – will be distributed to retailers nationally via our industry networks, regional retailer (or “dealer”) shows, trade webinars and our annual ICAST trade show which is the largest annual gathering of tackle retailers and suppliers. Results will be evaluated based on feedback from participating retailers via interviews to determine if the toolkit materials were effective in creating/retaining new anglers and, most importantly, if the pilot retailers are willing to continue using the materials. The RBFF will not need financial support for this effort, and volunteer retailers will work at their own expense. The beneficiaries will be states and other NGOs’ R3 programs and retailers. The outcome will be a greater number of new and retained anglers each year.
Ensuring the viability of the American System of Conservation Funding: improving the understanding of excise-tax based funding for conservation
The WSFR program allocates approximately $1.5 billion each year to state wildlife agencies for conservation. This funding also has positive ripple effect on local economies through wildlife-related recreation. Furthermore, it creates and sustains opportunities for everyone to appreciate and engage with nature, including fish, wildlife, and the great outdoors. However, there exists a growing disconnect between the public and the natural world. Many people fail to grasp the intricacies of our unique conservation system and the funding model that sustains it. It is crucial for our community to effectively involve our customers, industry partners, and the public by effectively communicating the captivating narrative of conservation funding and the unprecedented successes that have resulted from it. By strengthening relationships among industry, agencies, and other collaborators, we can efficiently promote our success stories in conservation and collectively engage our partners and customers to ensure the long-term stability of conservation funding. Furthermore, by leveraging resources through partnerships, we can raise awareness among influential individuals and the public, allowing our conservation model to thrive for years to come. The objectives of this project are to clarify the role of industry partners in fish and wildlife conservation, highlight the benefits of conservation to our partnerships and customers, and increase awareness among key influencers regarding the crucial contributions made by states, manufacturers, and the sporting public. These efforts aim to shed light on what has long been our best-kept secret and our most remarkable conservation success story.
Exploring R3 Opportunities in State Parks
State parks across the Midwest (MAFWA) attract more than 300 million visits each year. State parks visitors already have an interest in the outdoors and some skills, knowledge, and familiarity with natural places. Since the Covid 19 pandemic, attendance at most state parks has increased (in some cases dramatically) straining park personnel and financial resources. Given the interest and abundance of park visitors, we hypothesize that there may be interest in hunting, fishing, and the shooting sports among their ranks parks may be the segue to other outdoor activities. There is paucity of quantifiable information to evaluate this hypothesis. Similarly, information on park use by hunters and anglers is sparce. Therefore, this project will conduct surveys of park visitors, and hunters and anglers in Midwest states to determine the existing level of crossover participation and the level of interest of park visitors in hunting, fish, and the shooting sports and vice-versa. The report generated from this survey will identify the resources and tools that could be provided to park visitors to encourage start up and/or increase participation in hunting, fishing and shooting sports. The management implications of the results of this first phase will be to design marketing campaigns and implementable actions that result in more efficient and effective R3.
Fish and Wildlife Agency Digital Experience Index: Individual Agency Website Assessment and Enhancement Reporting to Improve Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation
Recent R3 research suggests that many new and prospective hunters and anglers find state fish and wildlife agency websites difficult to navigate. These new license buyers — especially younger generations that agencies are trying to attract — expect to find whatever they are looking for online within a few clicks. If they cannot buy a license or find how-to information quickly and easily, they are highly likely to abort the attempt and just find something else to do. Many agencies recognize this is a problem, but may not have the resources to determine how to address it. The Fish and Wildlife Agency Digital Experience Index will provide all state and U.S. territory agencies with individualized assessments of their websites along with recommendations for potential improvements to increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation. Reports will be shared individually with each agency. Reports will not chasten or demean agencies’ digital delivery efforts, and they will not compare performance between states. Rather, the tools will be offered as guidance and advocacy for improving online experiences and agency R3 effectiveness across the nation.
Game Processing Assets and Closing the New Hunter Knowledge Gap
Over the past few years multiple research projects centered around new hunters have uncovered the same five knowledge gaps as barriers to new/potential hunters. International Hunter Education Association’s studies on adult hunter ed graduates, Wildlife Management Incorporated’s work with new hunters seeking mentors and Wildlife Management Incorporated’s studies on new hunter personas and the journey new hunters take to hunting were just a few of the projects to uncover essentially the same list of knowledge gaps:
- Understanding regulations, seasons, and licensing.
- Learning how to field dress and process wild game.
- Learning firearm handling.
- Finding somewhere to hunt and understanding access to hunting areas.
- Understanding general hunting techniques and prey behavior.
While the individual items are not in the same order for every study or audience segment, these same knowledge gaps prevent new adult hunters from feeling confident enough to actually hunt.
This project aims to develop video lessons and PowerPoint Decks for live training for the three knowledge gaps as of yet unanswered by the R3 Community.
- Understanding regulations, seasons, and licensing.
- Learning how to field dress and process wild game.
- Finding somewhere to hunt and understanding access to hunting areas
These lessons will be made available at no cost to state agencies, nongovernmental organizations, outdoor learning centers, and other recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3)-related organizations to use and disseminate among their hunting audiences. And for new/prospective hunters to find on their own on YouTube.
We will also be creating photography assets during the production of game processing videos for sharing with the entire R3 community to assist in telling the story of food as the center of the motivation for hunting.
Grow Diversity Among Archery Instructors Nationwide to Increase Participation from Under-Represented Populations
USA Archery wants to expand archery into all communities across the United States; however, the vast majority of current instructors and coaches are white male individuals from traditional backgrounds. This gap in diverse and inclusive instructors leaves many potential shooting sports and outdoors enthusiasts without a relatable and comfortable learning environment and/or leader. USA Archery will recruit a diverse pool of new instructors and coaches, ultimately resulting in more diverse audiences and archers. USA Archery will partner with multisport organizations, municipal park and recreation departments, and state and federal agencies to create a nationwide effort that will result in a scalable and sustainable approach to expanding archery programming to underrepresented communities.
Growing Collegiate Archery Programs to Recruit and Retain 18-24 year-olds
In 2021 and 2022 nearly half (48%) of all target archery participants were under the age of 25. There has been a slow and steady growth within this demographic, which is often difficult to recruit and retain, which demonstrates that focused efforts on a specific audience has long-term return on investment. However, without consistent maintenance and attention, we risk losing target archers, and potentials hunting license buyers, under the age of 25 once they attend college or enter the job market. USA Archery has a Collegiate Archery Program (CAP) that serves as a viable next step and retention opportunity for archers who participate in the NASP, OAS, and S3DA. The CAP includes target and 3D archery and holds annual regional and national championship events. In recent years, hunting and shooting sports has seen a small but significant increase in diversity and female participants among hunters and recreational target shooters and a collegiate-based program can continue that trend with USA Archery’s CAP having 48% female and 42% non-white participants. By recruiting new colleges and universities to the CAP, the R3 community also recruits new stakeholders and partners to assist in long-term sustainable R3 efforts via the connection to next step programs, events, partner organizations and advocacy.
How “Safe” is Online Hunter Education: Using Real-World Outcomes to Assess HE Delivery
The primary objective of State Fish and Wildlife Agency (SFWA) Hunter Education/Safety (HE) programs is to promote safe, responsible, and ethical hunting practices. In current practice, the preparedness of HE students to achieve these behaviors is determined by using a minimal passing grade on the final examination, typically given at the end of a course. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many SFWAs to adopt online and hybrid models of HE in addition to the traditional in-person programs. A previous Multistate Conservation Grant (MSCG) study, conducted by IHEA (Baer, Dunfee, & Chase, 2021) found that virtual, hybrid, and in-person delivery methods had nearly identical results in terms of student satisfaction and student preparedness (as measured by the final exam score). Even though SFWAs use the final exam score to certify to the conservation community, other hunters, and the non-hunting public that an individual is minimally competent to participate in hunting in a safe and legal way, one reasonable critique of that research is that exam score is likely only an indicator for hunter education knowledge, rather than a metric for likelihood of experiencing an actual hunting-related injury or accident (i.e., incident). The COVID-19 pandemic provided an unprecedented situation in which HE was delivered primarily using virtual and hybrid methods, as most in-person, field tests, and live-fire events were canceled. This phenomenon offers the conservation community a unique natural experiment to determine the effectiveness of hunter education, by delivery method, this time using a direct measure of hunter incident rates, rather than student exams and satisfaction as indices of safety. This study proposes to use an Interrupted Time Series analysis with an Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model to determine how HE delivery method affects, or not, the safety of hunters in the field as directly measured by hunter incidents (as reported by the SFWAs). Currently, hunting incidents are collected each year by the International Hunter Education Association U.S.A. (IHEA-USA) from hunter education teams (often nested within law enforcement within SFWAs). These collected data, when compiled correctly, has the potential to serve as a national R3 resource capable of identifying trends in hunting incidents over time to aid SFWA’s and their partners in evaluating the impacts of future HE programs, products, curriculum, and course delivery policy decisions. Fortunately, the existing national Hunter Incident Database used by SFWAs and IHEA-USA has been recently redesigned and updated. This upgrade positions the database to serve as a national resource, offering new analysis tools for SFWA’s and industry researchers when examining the available data. While the customer experience and data entry options are improved, there are still gaps in the data from previous years which need to be collected from SFWA’s. This presents an opportunity as the data collection and analysis for this project will feed the new database and provide a model for data synthesis that can be used in future HE evaluation efforts.
How governance, regulation presentation, and regulatory outliers affect hunting regulation complexity
With hunting participation declining since the 1980s, this study will examine how governance, regulation presentation, and regulatory outliers affect hunting regulation complexity. Such factors have implications for hunter recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) objectives. Specifically, we will use surveys, focus groups, an in-depth state-by-state regulation review, and an analysis of state governance structures to 1) catalog how hunting regulations are promulgated in each state; 2) investigate how the presentation and delivery method of hunting regulations influences the perception of regulation complexity among prospective and current hunters; and 3) summarize hunting regulation outliers in each state. This research builds upon the Analysis of Hunting Regulation report (available in the National R3 Clearinghouse and funded by the MSCGP) we released in 2023 which encompassed a review of literature related to hunting regulation complexity and a state-by-state analysis of hunting regulations. For the current study we will add a critically useful human dimensions component through focus groups and surveys. The results of our research will provide tangible recommendations to state agency stakeholders and interested in mitigating regulatory barriers to achieving R3 objectives – from reducing barriers to hunting for diverse, non-traditional hunting demographics, to bolstering hunter satisfaction and retention. Research will be conducted at the University of Montana and through two subawards built into our grant budget. One sub-award will be for the State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry, which will provide support for Dr. Millspaugh’s involvement given his co-appointment at that institution and the University of Montana. A second subaward will be issued to the Boone and Crockett Club which will be used to fund cooperator involvement, travel, and logistics, as well as administrative support for the project.
Human Costs and Impacts of Losing Hunting & Trapping as Wildlife Management Tools
As human and wildlife populations increase, so do human-wildlife conflicts with demands on state wildlife agencies for relief. However, state budgets remain constrained, placing additional strain on all state agency functions. At the same time, states are continually pressure to reduce the use of hunting and trapping as wildlife management tools, eroding states’ abilities to maintain an acceptable balance between wildlife and associated damages. There is a critical need to increase public awareness of the need for modern, scientific wildlife management tools including hunting and trapping. If conducted, not only will the management of human-wildlife conflicts be maintained, but states will be better positioned to request and received increased resources for wildlife management. To produce this critical information, data produced 20 years ago by the AFWA Animal Use Committee will be updated and expanded through two surveys of wildlife management and damage experts regarding nuisance wildlife trends, current damage levels, expected outcomes in 5 to 10 years if hunting and trapping were lost, plus the expected public and financial costs associated with alternatives to hunting and trapping, if available. Also, a careful review of published literature and secondary sources will be conducted to locate available estimates on current impacts associated with human-wildlife conflicts. Finally, communications efforts will be led by the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation to communicate the results with the general public and media outlets to raise awareness and support for modern, scientific management methods. Care will be taken to not vilify wildlife, but to communicate the need for active wildlife management including the use of hunting and trapping for the benefit of both wildlife and humans alike.
Identifying and Overcoming Hunting’s Competition
Churn rates, or the percentage of hunters not participating each year, have held between 21% to 27% annually for the past five years, according to the grant-funded hunting license dashboard. Even the pandemic did not notably reduce churn rates, meaning we lose approximately one-quarter of our hunters each year, offsetting our successes with new recruits. High churn rates hinder states and NGO’s abilities to maintain participation and to maximize social awareness and support for hunting. Though states continually encourage people to continue hunting, we have a limited understanding of why many hunters often choose other recreations. By not understanding how and why other activities often are preferred over hunting, our ability to retain hunters is limited. The most recent insights regarding which activities often win over hunters, why they win and how to overcome these challenges is 14 years old (NSSF’s Understanding Activities That Compete with Hunting and Target Shooting (2011). Given the social and participation changes over the past decade and a half, basing retention efforts on such old data may send states’ R3 and marketing efforts off track. With assistance from Southwick Associates, we will examine participation trends using license data, then survey former and infrequent hunters to learn why they hunt(ed), what they like and disliked, which recreational activities they engage in instead of hunting, why these other activities are often preferred, plus optimal message/imagery/support tactics we can field to improve hunter retention efforts. Results will be shared widely in visually appealing summary reports with all states, hunting NGOs and industry and the R3 Clearinghouse. Work will begin with a careful review of recent WSFR-funded projects to ensure we complement existing information. The results will help boost hunter retention rates and increase participation in hunting.
Identifying the Types of Shooting Range Activities that will Attract the Most People
As state agencies construct and improve more shooting ranges, many different types of shooting activities can be offered. Public ranges generally consist of the typical 25-yard rimfire and 100-yard centerfire ranges, along with some form of shotgun sports. But just as preferences for restaurants, movies, and music varies, different people are attracted to different types of shooting opportunities. This begs the questions: “are we constructing ranges that best meet public demand?” and “do our ranges offer the types of shooting activities that will attract the most new shooters and keep them returning?” In partnership with the Association of Conservation Information (ACI), this project will examine emerging preferences regarding shooting opportunities. The results will identify the types of shooting that best attract avid and occasional shooters, as well as new participants. Results will be provided by demographics (age, gender, race/ethnicity, et al), shooting disciplines (shotgun sports, archery, rifle/handgun), and urban/suburban versus rural locations. We will also explore preferences for on-site services, the importance of convenience and distance people must travel, indoor ranges for growing suburban/urban communities, interest in emerging shooting opportunities, on-site services, and locations preferred by under-represented demographics and communities.
Implementing Recommendations from the Wildlife Viewer Survey: Inclusion in Wildlife Viewing for People with Disabilities
Approximately one in four Americans have a disability – a proportion anticipated to rise with the aging population (CDC, 2018). In 2021, with the support of a Multistate Conservation Grant, Virginia Tech found that 38% of wildlife viewers (people who participate in observing, feeding, or photographing wildlife, or maintain plantings for the benefit of wildlife) reported experiencing accessibility challenges, defined as “the difficulties someone experiences in interacting with or while using the physical or social environment while trying to engage in a meaningful activity (such as wildlife viewing). This may be a result of a mobility challenge, blindness or low vision, intellectual or developmental disabilities (including Autism). Mental illness, being Deaf or Hard of Hearing, or other health concerns.”
Despite the large number of Americans and wildlife viewers with disabilities, little is known about best practices to cultivate their participation in wildlife viewing. Many agencies do not have the capacity to explore best practices for universal design (principles used when designing environments, products or communications to be as equitable and user-friendly as possible), the resources to conduct focus groups to hear from these constituents about their needs and experiences, or the training or expertise around disability or accessibility. This project will enable wildlife viewing staff nationwide to more effectively include a significant portion of the wildlife viewing community interested in engaging with wildlife agencies.
If state agencies wish to broaden relevancy by creating equitable opportunities for wildlife viewing, it is vital that they work proactively to reduce – or better yet, eliminate – barriers that disabled wildlife views experience where possible. Not only will this create opportunities for participation that are more accessible and inclusive for wildlife viewers with disabilities, by increasing accessibility nondisabled wildlife viewers too, such as expectant mothers who also benefit from intentional bench placement, and small children who also cannot see through solid safety barriers at observation platforms. The more relevant and engaging we can make wildlife viewing for the broadest possible audience, and especially for diverse historically underserved audiences, the more people will connect deeply with nature and act to support conservation efforts across North America.
If funded, a disability-led research team will develop a literature review and an accompanying webinar about disabilities and outdoor recreation to provide easy-to-understand information for state wildlife agency staff about these topics. Next, a webinar with detailed findings from our initial survey of wildlife viewers with disabilities will further highlight the experiences of this audience. A workshop covering and expanding on these topics will be given in-person at the Wildlife Viewing and Nature Tourism Academy 2024. To amplify the voices of wildlife viewers with disabilities and to ensure future recommendations are relevant, we will conduct focus groups of wildlife viewers with various disabilities across all the regions of the US. Finally, results from these focus groups, combined with insights from a co-production workshop with state agency personnel, will be packaged into a report and webinar made available to staff state agencies and the general public.
Each of these deliverables will build upon the last to enhance skills and empower staff at state agencies to understand, identify, and reduce barriers to access at the wildlife viewing locations they manage, and improve their programming and communications efforts to the disability community. Each improvement state agencies make towards increasing access and inclusion is one step towards making the state agencies, and wildlife viewing as an activity, more relevant to people with disabilities and other health concerns, and their communities.
Increase Public Awareness of State Fish and Wildlife Agencies
In 2024, a Multistate Conservation Grant (MSCG) funded project showed roughly a third of the general public in the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) region knows little about their state fish and wildlife agency – or cares to know (“Public Perceptions of State Fish & Wildlife Agencies” produced by Southwick Associates for the SEAFWA under MSCG #F23AP00489). 45% of the Southeastern public does not engage in any form of outdoor recreation and of these, 40% do not feel their state agency shares the same values as them. 14% would like to see their state agencies’ budgets cut. These opinions often vary significantly across various segments of the public. Clearly, a need exists for state fish and wildlife agencies to improve their perceptions and engagement with the various segments of the public. As many of the public segments less supportive of state fish and wildlife agencies are growing in size and voice, failure to boost relevancy will diminish state agencies’ ability to carry out conservation and public use of resources managed under the Wildlife Restoration and Sport Fish Restoration Acts. Given the importance of boosting state agencies’ public relevancy and support, including those who do not hunt, fish or trap, efforts similar to the 2023-24 SEAFWA grant are now underway for the Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (MAFWA) region, and also proposed for the Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (NEAFWA) and Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) regions. Likewise, a current MSCG-funded effort is testing a pilot relevancy campaign (AFWA’s “Rebranding, Repiloting, and Reevaluating the National Conservation Outreach Strategy and Relevancy Toolkit”). While states and their partner Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) have some insights how to best understand and connect with hunters, anglers and trappers, no information has been located that identifies the ideal tactics and methods to best engage the other broader range of segments that comprise the general public. Whether it’s the messages and images that would best connect with various segments, or the most practical media and public communication channels to employ, or the ideal timing and methods for best collecting their feedback and perceptions, we simply do not know the best steps for engaging with states’ non-traditional audiences. Improving our knowledge in these areas will allow states to better carry out conservation of eligible wildlife and sport fish species and public use of these resources managed through support of the Wildlife Restoration Act and Sport Fish Restoration Act. This project will be led by the MAFWA in partnership with the SEAFWA as a no-cost partner. We will also engage the WAFWA and NEAFWA as advisors to help ensure the results will be useful to all states. The project will employ standard qualitative and quantitative approaches used successfully in recent multi-state grant projects that identified ways to engage more mentors and hunting/shooting participants (Wildlife Management Institute, Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation, International Hunter Education Association). All results will be tested to identify those that best resonate with various segments of the public. The results will be shared in a detailed report complete with recommended visuals, messages and tactics thoroughly tested and evaluated. The regional associations are best suited to conduct research in public relevancy outreach tactics given our previous work in documenting the severity of the problem and ability to disseminate and employ the results. This project will enhance states’ abilities to understand and engage with their various publics, resulting in greater support and relevancy. States and NGOs engaged across all segments of the public are the intended beneficiaries.
Increasing Engagement and Support for State-Regulated Trapping Programs through Targeted Media Campaigns and Professional Development Workshops
This project aims to boost engagement and support for state-regulated trapping among the public and wildlife professionals through a dynamic educational video, multiple video “shorts,” and several professional development workshops. Educational Video: The primary video will replace the outdated one currently used in Trapping Matters workshops. The old video, while impactful over the past 25+ years, has lost credibility due to its poor quality and dated fashion. The new video will combine live “person on the street” interviews and focus groups with wildlife professionals and the public to explore perceptions of trapping. It will also demonstrate key messages, developed through years of research, to address public and professional concerns. This video aims to educate agency staff during workshops and other venues about regulated trapping and the effectiveness of curated messages in gaining understanding and support. Media Shorts: These shorter videos will target multiple audiences, including decision-makers, legislators, policy makers, commissions, and outdoor recreation writers, to improve their understanding of trapping. Content will focus on key messages about trapping that address public concerns, using agency staff for credibility. For example, videos will feature wildlife veterinarians discussing animal welfare, wildlife law enforcement officers explaining regulations, and researchers emphasizing the abundance of trapped species and the benefits of trapping. Agencies have expressed a need for these videos, and this project aims to fulfill that need. R3 Effort: Additional media shorts will target recruiting hunters, anglers, and underrepresented groups in trapping, such as women and active-duty military personnel, based on findings from a recent Multistate Conservation Grant. These shorts will be used by state wildlife agencies to educate their constituents and will be shared on social media platforms (e.g., YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) to promote regulated trapping’s role in wildlife management. Trapping Matters Workshops: The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies has conducted Trapping Matters Workshops since 2003 and Wild Fur Schools since 2010, training over 7,000 wildlife professionals and students. These programs consistently receive high marks from participants, with over 98% indicating they know more about trapping and can communicate more effectively about the activity after participating. The goal is to continue these workshops to educate the next generation of wildlife professionals on trapping motivations, equipment, techniques, and research, as well as public perceptions and key messages. Professional Development: The videos and workshops will be used in various professional development settings to enhance the capacity of agency staff to communicate effectively about trapping. This will prepare them for critical conversations about trapping, helping to maintain public support and approval for regulated trapping activities and agency authority to manage wildlife with trapping.
Increasing the Number and Diversity of Hunting and Shooting Sports Mentors and Volunteers
In-person R3 programs for hunting and shooting sports are important to help many participants build skills to feel confident enough to participate in the activity on their own. Most states offer R3 programing, however a common barrier is not having enough volunteers and mentors to meet program demand. In addition to needing volunteer instructors and mentors in general, it’s essential our volunteers better reflect the diversity of the general population. Currently, program volunteers are predominately white males. It’s critical to make outdoor spaces more inviting to underserved, nontraditional audiences including women, racial and ethnic minorities, disabled, and the LGBTQ+ community. One way to do that is to ensure our volunteers are reflective of all audiences and create a sense of belonging for students. The purpose of this program is to increase not only the total number of volunteers in the Northeast, but to intentionally work to also increase the diversity of volunteer instructors and mentors so participants can see themselves reflected in the volunteers. To complete this project, The Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (NEAFWA) R3 Committee, using research and best practices already completed, would work with a marketing firm to identify key messages and ways to reach to new volunteers and mentors. These will be developed into resources for state agencies to utilize. In addition to having proper messaging and imagery to help recruit new volunteers, it’s important to make sure the process of becoming a volunteer is simple to reduce barriers for new volunteers. NEAFWA’s R3 Committee will work with national partners including the Council to Advance Hunting and Shooting Sports, International Hunter Education Association, Aquatic Resources Education Association, and Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, to develop recommended volunteer and mentor standards, processes, and onboard resources for volunteers and mentors. Once the messages and standards have been developed and shared with NEAFWA states, a marketing campaign will be implemented in the Northeast to increase volunteer and mentor participation. The expected outcome of this campaign will be an increase in volunteers for participating NEAFWA states, an increase in mentor sign-ups on the learnhunting.org website, and an increase in the diversity of volunteers.
Increasing Volunteer Support for State Agencies Fishing R3 Programs
State agencies need volunteers and mentors to successfully field many fishing related education R3 Recruit Retail Reactivate and conservation projects. With increasing options available to the public to volunteer recruiting and retaining volunteers has become more difficult threatening states ability to staff programs such as fishing derbies and many other hands on R3 programs. To help overcome this problem states need insights and tested recommendations for finding recruiting and retaining new volunteers. To help fulfill this need the Outdoor Stewards of Conservation Foundation OSCF will work with states to connect with current and potential volunteers to learn how to engage and retain more support for states fishing R3 and education programs. With the OSCFs experience with such efforts and considering our focus on promoting stewardship and increasing participation we are ideally suited to conduct this project. The Midwestern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies MAFWA is a partner in this effort and will advise on content states needs and limitations plus dissemination of results. Working with one pilot state per AFWA region we will first conduct focus groups with current and former fisheries volunteers to gather insights into the various motivations and interests that drove them to volunteer plus the communication channels and sources that introduced them to volunteer opportunities with state agencies. We will then survey current and former volunteers in each state to quantify the top motivations and interests for volunteering. We will also survey the general public to identify those with above average interest in volunteering for state fishing R3 and education efforts to identify their motivations and interests plus the communication channels and sources that will best reach them. The results will group or segment volunteers into personas based on shared motivations and ideal recruiting messages and tactics. The results will then be tested via a pilot campaign in two states to identify best approaches for recruiting volunteers. Results and the tested recommendations will then be shared with all states for adoption via a detailed report complete with recommendations and suggested recruiting messaging plus shared via the full range of R3 committees meetings and NGO communications. All 50 states R3 programs are the intended beneficiaries with increased volunteers being the primary purpose and increased angling participation the goal. The MAFWA R3 committee is a partner in this effort. This project mirrors a similar volunteer recruitment proposal submitted by the IHEA for hunting and target shooting. The budget reflects the cost savings associated with conducting both efforts simultaneously. No other efforts focused on increasing states abilities to recruit and retain volunteers have been identified and without such state fishing R3 programs dependent on volunteers will continue to be stressed.
Increasing Volunteers for States’ Hunting & Shooting R3 and Education Efforts
Given staff limitations, state agencies rely heavily on volunteers and mentors to successfully field many education, Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation (R3), and conservation projects. However, as more and more options become available for people willing to donate time, states are finding it increasingly more difficult to recruit and retain volunteers and mentors, threatening their ability to effectively deliver hunter education, R3 education programs, and various other labor-heavy conservation projects. To help alleviate this concern, states need information and tested approaches for finding, recruiting and retaining new volunteers and mentors. The purpose of this project is to provide states with tested insights, recommendations and approaches for increasing their pool of R3 and hunter/shooter education volunteers. Working with two states per region of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, current and former volunteers will be surveyed to identify the various motivations and interests that drove them to volunteer, along with the communication channels and sources that made them aware of volunteer opportunities with state agencies. The results will group volunteers into personas based on shared motivations and ideal recruiting messages and tactics. The results will then be tested via a pilot campaign in each state to identify effectiveness, potential and improvements. Results and recommendations will then be provided to all states for adoption via a detailed visual-based report complete with recommendations and suggested recruiting messaging and shared via the full range of R3 committees, meetings and non-governmental organization communications. All 50 states’ R3 programs are the intended beneficiaries with increased volunteers and therefore increased R3 programs and hunting/shooting participation being the primary purpose and expected outcomes. The Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies R3 committee is a partner in this effort.
Integrative Modeling to Predict the Distribution of Essential Fish Habitat Under Future Climate Change Scenarios in the Southeastern USA
Highly migratory fishes like sharks, tuna, and billfish are important for many recreational sport fisheries, but their broad movements, use of inshore coastal areas, and low overall genetic diversity make them vulnerable to extinction. Of major concern is how such fishes will respond to climate change, particularly among essential fish habitats (EFH) that are critical for the health of the young, and how this will affect the future sustainability of these stocks. Genetic diversity metrics have shown to be powerful contributors to and predictors of species’ health and resilience, and while DNA samples are taken as part of regular biomonitoring efforts, genetic data are widely underused because no template exists to integrate them with traditional conservation metrics. We are developing a series of models for coastal fishes to identify EFH in the southeastern US, gauge population health, pinpoint hotspots of diversity, and predict the distribution of future EFH based on current climate scenarios. Specifically, we are developing genetic Species Distribution Models (gSDM) and genetic Population Viability Analyses (gPVA) for coastal sharks and bony fishes, which we are expanding to incorporate Climate Vulnerability Analysis, a method of directly estimating how fish populations will respond to warming based on habitat and life history. These models will be made openly available to users at state wildlife agencies as a template for combining existing genetic datasets with the products of ongoing biomonitoring efforts, to better assess and predict the health and viability of sportfish populations in response to climate change.
Leadership Development for AFWA Members and the Conservation Community
Significant loss of senior leadership and tenured staff across state fish and wildlife agencies continues to impact and put at risk the conservation community’s future. This staggering loss of leadership capacity, coupled with the challenges facing these agencies to remain relevant, adapt to changing landscapes and constituencies, and/or secure funding – to name a few—requires continued, ongoing, and focused leadership and organizational development. Leadership development and well-managed fish and wildlife agencies are priorities identified in the Association’s strategic plan. The purpose of this project is to support the effective implementation of projects funded under the Wildlife Restoration and Sport Fish Restoration Acts by developing leadership skills in state and tribal fish and wildlife agencies, federal agencies, and partner organizations, including non-profits and excise-tax paying industry partners. Compared to isolated attempts to foster leadership skills in individual agencies and partner organizations, this grant offers a cost-effective and efficient approach to professional development that capitalizes on consistent, skilled training and peer-to-peer networking within a shared experience of working to conserve wildlife and sport fish across the country.
Leadership Training for State Fish and Wildlife Agencies and Conservation Partners
The public has come to rely on effective, cost-efficient, and trustworthy management of our natural resources from our state fish and wildlife management agencies. The Management Assistance Team (MAT) at the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) goes beyond the science of managing species; we take agency staff to the next level pf performance. Increasingly, we see that conservation professionals must be equipped to deal with the intricate and complex natural resource management issues that cross state and national boundaries. However, recruiting and retaining talented pools of employees continues to impact and put conservation gains at risk. Data reveal the tenure of a State Director is an average of three years. This staggering loss of leadership, coupled with the challenges facing state agencies to remain relevant, adapt to changing landscapes and constituencies, and secure stable funding sources, requires consistent leadership at all levels within an agency. Empowering agency staff with the skills, knowledge, and efficacy to manage projects with diverse stakeholders across geographic ranges and within their own agencies is essential to a well-managed and thriving organization.
The Management Assistance Team offers in-person and virtual professional development to people at all stages of their careers, all at a reasonable cost. From online synchronous courses, multi-day webinars, and asynchronous options to long-term, in-depth, and comprehensive leadership training, the MAT and the National Conservation Leadership Institute (NCLI) contract with leaders I the field to deliver high-quality training. We’ve reached thousands of state agency personnel, empowering them to make last organizational changes.
Managing Cutthroat Trout Rangewide Status Assessments: a need for new database
The distribution of Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii) ranges includes 12 western states from New Mexico to Alaska. This diverse species includes 14 recognized sub-species, two of which are now extinct, three others are listed as ESA-threatened, and each of the remaining nine is named as either a candidate for ESA-listing, or a state or federal species of special concern because of low or declining numbers (Trotter et al. 2018). This project aims to improve collaborative conservation tools for multiple states for both Westslope and Yellowstone Cutthroat trout, two sub-species that are of concern but are not currently listed under the ESA.
New database platforms are needed to store rangewide data and develop rangewide status assessments. Current rangewide status assessment documents form the basis of planning conservation actions, which are coordinated across multiple states within the species’ range. These status assessments are often “the best available science” on species distribution, abundance, and conservation efforts, which is critical in reviewing any potential petitions for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Unfortunately, several of the status assessments for these sub-species are grossly out of date. Additionally, the platforms that store rangewide distribution and abundance information rely on cumbersome and outdated local databases, making status updates cumbersome and limiting the ability to share data between conservation partners.
Policy and decision making for managing species at rangewide or population scales require access to fish distributions, abundance, genetic, and habitat data. Migrating the Westslope and Yellowstone Cutthroat trout databases from their current, localized Microsoft Access databases to Web-based modern platforms will greatly improve our ability to produce species status assessments and the conservation plans based upon them. Web-based applications with integrated GIS capabilities can quickly display species distributions, barriers, and restoration actions, allowing multiple users to easily access data for planning and conservation actions. Data can then be easily updated, accessible, and shareable for other management and research needs, improving our ability for collaborative research among partners. These platforms could expedite rangewide summaries across multiple partner agencies in several states and present a watershed improvement over current database systems. In the absence of federal funding support, state fish and wildlife agencies managing the multiple rangewide Cutthroat Trout databases have struggled to upgrade them to modern platforms. Funding for database infrastructure shared among multiple states is difficult to negotiate, while an AFWA multi-state grant is perfectly suited to accomplish this.
Measuring the Importance of Youth Fishing Programs to Future Participation
With adult onset R3 programs providing greater short term returns to states, WMI and Chase Chase, 2022, these programs are increasing interest. However, participation as an adult may be dependent to an unknown degree on first being exposed to fishing in ones younger years. USFWS reports that two thirds of young anglers were 11 years old or younger when they first fished, suggesting that exposure to fishing prior to high school could enhance recruitment at later ages. Considering the significant funds being invested by state agencies and industry in adult and high school angling programs, and the need to maximize effectiveness of R3 programs across the board, a better understanding of when youth are most open to fishing programs and the importance of exposing people to fishing in their younger years is needed.
Through a partnership between the American Sportfishing Association, ASA, and Outdoor Stewards of Conservation Foundation, OSCF, this project will use surveys and interviews to examine longtime anglers, adults who recently started fishing, and past participants in youth fishing programs, to understand if and how early exposure to youth fishing programs factors into eventual adult participation and license buying. The results will help guide the design and focus of current and future youth fishing programs, and how to structure these programs to maximize both short and long term returns on state ROI investments.
This project responds to strategic priority 5B R3 Engaging Participants in that the findings from this project will the impact youth mentoring programs have on future participation.
Midwest Walleye Challenge
Walleye culture, stocking and management represents one of the most intensive and expensive aspects of fisheries management for many Midwestern water bodies. Monitoring of these efforts is a critical part of these management programs in order for biologists to assess he statues of their management strategies. However, these methods are resource intensive, which means only a small number of priority water bodies can be surveyed each year, leaving most walleye fisheries unmonitored. In Iowa, around 100 aquatic systems are annually stocked with or provide Walleye fisheries, yet less than 10% of those systems can be regularly monitored to assess the outcomes of the investment of hatchery resources.
Modernizing and Enhancing Tools for Regionally Coordinated Fish and Wildlife Conservation
The Northeast Fish and Wildlife Diversity Technical Committee of the Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies is charged by the Directors and Administrators of the 14 Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agency jurisdictions in the United States with developing and maintaining a list of Northeast Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need (RSGCN) that identifies shared species of conservation concern at the regional level. That process and the Regional Northeast Database (here after referred to as the Database) that contains all the RSGCN data has evolved to include baseline information on nearly 18,000 species of fish, wildlife, and plants extant in the Northeast. The Database of scientific information on those 18,000 species also includes their habitats, threats, management needs, and research and monitoring needs. The data are currently stored in a Microsoft Access database that has reached its capacity and functionality. The purpose of this project will be to upgrade the Database, including 250 eligible Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need species with current enhanced data and baseline information on 426 birds, 183 mammals, and 1025 fish species known to be present in the Northeast into an enhanced platform to increase efficiency and utility. Specifically, we will modernize the current database platform and data structure by building a new database with the future capability to connect it to the Northeast Fish and Wildlife Diversity Technical Committee website with accessible web portals for state agency staff. The upgraded database will facilitate cross-jurisdictional conservation for all Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agency members, and all associated conservation partners and the public. This project will create an enhanced database that has increased capacity for collaboration across the Northeast, which will facilitate planned 5-year update cycles allowing better landscape integration of Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need and all other priority taxa in the Northeast, including Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson eligible species, and by providing priorities for the Northeast Regional Conservation Needs Grant Program, other landscape level conservation planning, and supporting overall fish and wildlife management and conservation across the Northeast region.
MultiState Conservation Grant Program Management
The Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 777 et seq.) and the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669et seq.), as amended by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs Improvement Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-408, 114 STAT. 1766 113 and 114 STAT. 1722 122) authorize the Secretary of the Interior to make up to $6,000,000 available annually under the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program (WSFR) to fund multistate conservation project grants. In addition to the traditionally $6,000,000 available funding ($3,000,000 for Wildlife Restoration and $3,000,000 for Sportfish Restoration), the President signed the Modernizing the Pittman-Robertson Fund for Tomorrow’s Needs Act (Modernizing PR Act) (Public Law (Pub. L.) 116-94) into law on December 20, 2019. This law, among other measures, created a new “Modern Multistate Conservation Grant Program” to support “R3” projects for hunting and shooting sports. The M-MSCGP makes up an additional $5,000,000 available for the hunter and recreational shooter recruitment-related grants, including related communication and outreach activities.
In 2023, the Association was awarded a one-year Multistate Conservation Grant that currently supports through December 2023, the Multistate Conservation Grant Program Manager. The primary objective is to continue meeting the responsibilities of the Association as required under the Federal authorizing legislation for administering and coordinating the MSCGP. These Acts did not provide any administrative funds for the Association’s use in administering and implementing its significant responsibilities under this grant program.
As a program manager/facilitator, the MSCGP Manager will maximize the benefits to the State Fish and Wildlife Agencies throughout the grant cycle and proposal selection process. However, additional emphasis will be placed on program evaluation, communication of program results, and outreach by developing meaningful relationships with individuals and groups that have been marginalized and/or underserved to/achieve mutually beneficial outcomes. Professional development will also remain a priority, and the MSCGP Manager will continue to attend pertinent grant administrative training.
The MSCGP Manager manages the activities that implement the grant program. This project would provide continued program manager funding and support those administrative responsibilities necessary to implement the Multistate Conservation Grant Program.
National Fish Habitat Assessment
The National Fish Habitat Partnership is a unique aquatic habitat conservation delivery program that has been using a cooperative, non-regulatory, and science-guided approach since 2006 to change the condition of fisheries through 20 Fish Habitat Partnerships across the entire country. This approach was codified by Congress in the America’s Conservation Enhancement Act 2020. To provide the foundational science underlying this effort and to assist in conservation planning, the National Fish Habitat Partnership Board has generated two national fish habitat assessments in 2010 and 2015. Both assessments including methods, results and data are on the National Fish Habitat Partnership’s website (fishhabitat.org) and are available to the public. One of the key elements of the 2020 Act is an unfunded requirement to continue assessing the nation’s fish habitat and to fill gaps in the previous assessments by the end of 2025. To meet this need, we will use an analytical approach similar to past assessments that examines influences of landscape stressors such as aquatic connectivity and urban development on fish communities. This assessment will inform users of the level of degradation to aquatic habitats along with those key stressors impacting habitat condition and associated degradation scores across the nation. This project will update the currently out-of-date assessment and complete part of the 2020 Congressional requirement by: 1) updating data layers used in the past assessments to their most recent versions; 2) addressing known gaps in hydrology, forest harvest, and grazing intensity with a focus on hydrology; and 3) generating new assessment product components with a similar spatial scale and look to the 2015 assessment using the same analytical approach cited in that product. This product is targeted at individuals and entities that are interested about the state of fish habitat in the United States and includes Congress and their staffs, aquatic habitat conservation leaders and staff at state and federal agency levels, National Fish Habitat Partnership Board members and Fish Habitat Partnerships along with their partners which number over 1500 at this time, non-governmental organizations involved in aquatic habitat conservation, and the interested public.
National Survey Technical Workgroup Coordination
The National Survey of Hunting, Fishing, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation is the premier survey for the collection of hunting and fishing participation data, which is integral to planning and communications at State Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and a myriad of groups involved in conservation. It also represents a significant funding investment by the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies through the MultiState Conservation Grant Program. Ensuring the statistical validity and rigor of the survey is of utmost importance and is the responsibility of the Association through the national survey technical workgroup, which consists of members of state fish and wildlife agencies and a technical consultant.
This Grant is intended to support the continued efforts of the NSTWG, currently being chaired by Director Curt Melcher (OR), who was also the co-chair of the AFWA President’s Task Force charged with creating a vision for future National Survey efforts. The NSTWG is charged with overseeing the implementation of the 2022 survey being performed by NORC, ensuring that the survey meets all applicable statistical standards and to evaluate the effectiveness of this survey and incorporate lessons learned into new surveys.
NEAFWA Hunt for Good Regional Advertising Campaign
The Hunt For Good (HFG) Campaign is a comprehensive and customizable advertising campaign designed to increase nationwide cultural support for legal, regulated hunting amongst non-hunters through a wide variety of ads that make it easy to see and understand the broad spectrum of benefits that hunting, and the shooting sports create. MSCGP grant dollars have been key in helping to establish this initiative and, importantly, the work had been informed by extensive research and qualitive testing from industry experts.
A coalition of conservation partners and advertising agencies, led by the NWTF, have been working together to launch the HFG Campaign. The campaign is low live and can be seen at www.HuntForGood.com.
There are several aspects to the HFG Campaign that make it unique and well-positioned for sustained success. It is a PSA (Public Service Announcement) for Hunting. The path to engagement and participation in hunting and the shooting sports starts with awareness. The campaign has been built to function as a national gateway into hunting and the shooting sports by taking a lead role in education the general public. It is Broad, Inclusive and Scalable. The campaign features dozens of different benefit messages and content that are universal and can apply to every state in the Union. And it is designed to incorporate new messages while maintaining the cohesive look and feel of the campaign. It is Compatible with Existing State Level Campaigns. The HFG Campaign is designed to connect the general public into campaigns, content and resources at the state level. This will help ensure that those who have an interest in learning more have the ability to do so. It is Proving to be Effective. Not only was the campaign chosen as the most appealing in qualitative testing, the launch of the campaign assets through a test and learn media buy showed promising results. It is Shovel Ready. The campaign is built for National scale and can function as a universal point of entry into the world of Hunting and the Shooting Sports, regardless of where you live. Every state can deploy the campaign and even customize messaging and content. In addition, other NGOs and businesses who are concerned about the future of hunting and the shooting sports can leverage the assets could not come at a better time. Responsive Management, a key partner in the development of the campaign, recently documented overall societal approval of hunting decreased by approximately 10 million Americans over the last few years. This is a concerning trend and if ever there was a time a leverage this campaign and the tools at our disposal to create positive change, that time is now. This is the next step in fulfilling the HFG Campaign destiny of being used in a full scale national media buy. This implementation will not only continue to reach broader audiences with market tested messaging but will continue to help the campaign collect critical data points for the R3 community about which messages, techniques and strategies are most effective in bolstering support within the non-hunting community for hunting as a lifestyle choice.
NEAFWA Non-Lead Hunting Agency Outreach
NEAFWA will support a Non-lead Hunting Agency Outreach project to support state fish and wildlife agencies by ensuring that personnel are well informed about hunting ammunition. This program is intended to support agency staff in the development of appropriate messaging on non-regulatory programs related to the use of non-lead ammunition. This project will focus on messaging that continues to support hunting and other regulated take of wildlife. NEAFWA will partner with the North American Non-lead Partnership and the International Hunter Education Association to develop a comprehensive outreach strategy for state personnel, and to assist hunter educators in understanding and delivering class content on this important issue.
No One is an Island: Quantifying the R3 “Ripple Effect”
Since the inception of R3, many programs have focused on activities designed to increase hunting, target shooting, fishing, and other outdoor recreation behavior across diverse population demographics. Typically, the benefits of these behaviors have been researched, documented, and evaluated using metrics of license sale and excise tax revenue generated directly by the individuals who engage in an R3 effort. Somewhat surprisingly, very little exploration has been made into the secondary or indirect benefits of creating a new hunter, angler, or recreational shooter. Despite this lack of formal inquiry, R3 experts have long hypothesized that the effects of R3 efforts might reach well beyond individual program participants; effects like additional recruitment of friends and family by the new hunter, angler, or target shooter or an increased in public awareness and acceptance of the social and conservation benefits of hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting. These “ripple effects” likely extend the value and broader benefits of a particular R3 effort and hold the potential to amplify its known return on investment by potentially creating more advocates for – and participants in – hunting, fishing, and shooting sports. To better document these “ripple effects” and understand which mix of R3 efforts might generate the greatest benefits possible, this project will identify and quantify the secondary effects of select hunting and shooting sports R3 efforts and their impact on different audiences. The project research team will first gather input from R3 professionals regarding how they interpret the ripple effect and their perspectives on how it occurs. Recent adult-onset hunters will also be queried about their interactions with non-hunters during their introduction and socialization process into hunting, fishing, or recreational shooting. Using the results of these inquiries and in conjunction with state fish and wildlife agency R3 professions, the research team will construct and deliver a national survey targeting specific subsets of new hunters or target shooters to quantify their interactions with, and impacts on, others in their proximal social networks. The results will be shared within professional R3 communities nationwide in addition to special webinars to educate R3 professionals on how to best estimate ripple effects associated with their R3 efforts.
Organizational Structure for R3: Implementing Change to Improve Efficiencies
The 2023 report, “Organizational Decision Making for R3: A Process for Leadership” (MSCG F23AP00513), provides decision makers and R3 coordinators with a clear decision framework and organizational guidance to establish goals and objectives, resources allocated, evaluation, and adaptation for their R3 efforts by applying the processes of structured decision-making, adaptive management, results chains (logic models), and the Outdoor Recreation Adoption Model. This proposed project will apply those recommendations to facilitation in pilot states to help them evaluate, refine, and improve the recommended structural decision-making process, logic models, and R3 strategies. Several states in the Midwest region (IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, and ND) have recently expressed interest in facilitated workshops to apply the recommendations from the 2023 report to their R3 efforts. Funds from this project will be used to facilitate sessions with these states to review and evaluate R3 structure, resources, goals, strategies, objectives, tactics, implementation, and adaptation process. Facilitators would be provided; the sessions would be planned, and notes recorded, and reports written by the principal investigator and project team with this grant. Participating states will receive a state specific report outlining the findings, recommendations, conclusions, and a summary of all pilot state work in the region. Participating pilot states would not be required to make any changes to R3 efforts (though they may choose to). The deliverables of this project will be available for all states and organizations to apply to their organizations. Benefiting states will be empowered to evaluate, refine, and improve the recommended structural decision-making process, logic models, and R3 strategies by applying the recommendations and products identified in the original report (Organizational Decision Making for R3: A Process for Leadership) and from the experiences of pilot states. All states will be able to apply these results and actions independently and/or bring in additional facilitation expertise to implement the organizational review. If this project is not funded, an opportunity to implement and improve trial recommendations from the previous study will be missed. Deliverables will include state specific reports and recommendations, a final report documenting all facilitation activities and process improvements for their R3 efforts, and refinements and improvements to the organizational structure procedure originally recommended. All deliverables will be made available to the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, all regional R3 Committees, state and organization R3 coordinators, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Subsequent actions will include application of the refined process in participating, interested states and organizations around the nation to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and evaluation of R3 efforts.
Patterns of Reservoir Susceptibility to Climate Change
There are nearly 4,500 major reservoirs (>100 ha) across the United States that serve various societal purposes, including fish conservation and recreational fisheries. Fish habitats in these reservoirs are threatened by a double whammy: aging and climate change. Geographically the susceptibility of reservoir fish habitats to climate change varies based on local reservoir characteristics, regional physiography, and climate. Knowledge of susceptibility patterns can assist with local and regional planning. This study will use scores of reservoir vulnerabilities to climate change, which are currently being developed in an ongoing project, to create a typology of susceptibilities and to identify large-scale geographical susceptibility patterns linked to climate. Recognizing patterns of susceptibility can promote understanding of how and why fish habitats are impacted by climate, how to best resist upcoming changes in habitat quality, how to direct change to maintain regional habitat diversity, how to use conservation resources more effectively to achieve large-scale management needs and when it may be necessary to accept change and refocus management goals and objectives to make the most of fish habitat management funds.
Practitioners Guide to R3 Hunting & Shooting Messaging
This project proposes to collect and catalogue the hunting and shooting R3 messages and campaigns that have been developed and tested in the past 5 years, summarizing them into a single document with links to the resources necessary to implement them. In addition, we will test these messages and campaigns against one another via one-on-one interviews with new hunters, new shooters, and individuals likely to consider those activities. At the end of this process, we will develop a report containing samples and summaries of each campaign, along with recommendations for the best situations to use each campaign and how it tested in the interview process. This document will be invaluable for R3 professionals searching for the best campaign strategies and creative for their particular situation.
Predicting Risk and the Long-Term Trajectory of Highly Pathogenic H5 Avian Influenza Virus on North American Nesting and Wintering Geese Based on Population Immunity
Currently, there are questions than answers regarding potential impacts and risks associated with highly pathogenic (HP) H5N1 influenza A virus (IAV). Since introduction into North America via wild birds late in 2021, HP H5N1 IAV infections and morality in wildlife continue to be reported throughout North America. In addition to spreading rapidly across the continent and now, into South America, this virus has demonstrated an extremely broad host range that includes many wild mammal and bird species, most of which had not previously undergone IAV-associated disease or death. We know that HP H5N1 IAV has been detected in over 150 wild avian species and in many cases, including in Arctic-nesting geese, has led to alarming levels of morbidity and mortality. We know that HP H5N1 IAV has been confirmed in all US states (except Hawaii) and in all Canadian territories and provinces. Finally, we know that HP H5N1 IAV has drastically changed the IAV landscape in North America, likely forever. The extent of potential population-level impacts, and risks to wildlife domestic animal, and human health associated with HP H5N1 IAV, however, are still unknown.
Arctic-nesting geese, including snow geese (Anser caerulescens), Ross geese (Anser rossii), and greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons), comprise some of the most numerous waterfowl species in North America and represent important recreational and subsistence food resources. Additionally, many have proven to be highly susceptible to fatal HP H5N1 IAV disease. This susceptibility, coupled with their broad distribution and large population numbers, position Arctic-nesting geese as an excellent model system in which to start to better understand population immunity to IAV across different seasons, age cohorts, and species as a predictor of potential infection and mortality/morbidity associated with HP H5N1 IAV.
By linking retrospective and prospective virologic (evidence of active infection with IAV) and serologic (evidence of previous IAV exposure, and potential protection from future infection) data with specific Arctic-nesting geese species and age cohorts at multiple spatial and seasonal scales, we can start to unravel what the long-term effects of HP H5N1 IAV might be on North American geese, and other waterfowl species. Further, we will characterize IAV diversity in North American Arctic-nesting geese on their wintering grounds and explore species-related differences in pathology. The information gained from this proposed work will provide a data driven approach to not only inform managers and policy makers of the risk of HP H5N1 IAV infection and mortality/morbidity in Arctic-nesting geese, but also provide a predictable framework for public and hunter outreach related to risk (including potential hunter exposure to this virus). Although this research is focused on geese, the information generated will lend itself to a risk assessment approach that can easily be applied to other waterfowl and wild avian species affected by this virus.
Promoting Awareness of State Wildlife Management Authority
The legal landscape of wildlife conservation is changing rapidly. Identifying emerging issues and implementing director-driven research programs is more essential than ever for state agencies and partners to keep current, coordinate nationally, and enhance relevance and responsiveness to constituents.
Goal 1 of AFWA’s Strategic Plan (2021-2025) calls for strengthening state-federal and non-governmental relationships for the benefits of fish and wildlife management consistent with the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation (“Model”). Similarly, Strategic Priorities 3(B) and 3(C) for 2024 are “Conservation Education” and Coordination of Conservation Policies” respectively. To address these priorities, AFWA proposes to continue three essential lines of work through its Legal Strategy Advisory Council (“Think Tank”):
1. Engage state and federal legal advisors to review legal issues for state wildlife directors and managers as they fulfill official duties in the field and implement legal and regulatory changes.
2. Increase member and partner understanding of management and jurisdictional issues.
3. Strengthen understanding of state management within the legal profession.
AFWA’s Think Tank includes approximately 20 state fish and wildlife agency attorneys and directors and convenes periodically to direct and assess the implementation of legal research projects by AFWA.
Supporting coordination of the Tink Tank through 2024 will benefit all state agencies by maintaining the current capacity to research, review, and respond to legal issues affecting state authority and build further capacity to identify emerging issues conduct outreach, and engage state agency directors in making use of products funded under this and prior grants.
AFWA will not use awarded grant funds to file amicus briefs, especially not to participate directly in litigation.
R3 Advertising Efficacy
Research released in early 2023 (Chase & Dunfee, 2023) unequivocally showed that state fish and wildlife agencies (SFWAs) will endure further declines in hunting and angling populations in the coming decade. Thus, now more than ever, SFWAs must accelerate the optimization of their R3 efforts to maintain, diversify, and ultimately increase their customer base before the most avid hunters and anglers age out in the early 2030’s.
Future success in this optimization will largely depend on how reliably SFWAs can correlate their R3 efforts to participant behavior objectives (i.e., going hunting, fishing, or target shooting as a result of the R3 effort) using reliable indicators like license or privilege purchases. Unfortunately, this outcome-focused approach remains uncommon in R3 effort design and delivery, and SFWAs need to integrate more rigorous methods of evaluation than current research has thus far provided them.
Fortunately, in R3 marketing, SFWAs have adopted more sophisticated tools and techniques which opens the door for a more rigorous approach to R3 effort efficacy to be developed and implemented. That said, most agencies still depend on recent R3 marketing research to guide the design and delivery of their campaigns and advertising. Though broadly insightful and even innovative, a significant limitation of this research is that it primarily utilizes conjoint analyses of self-reported preferences for success outcomes, not actual behavioral indicators. Without ties to participant behavior, it will be extremely difficult for agencies to optimize the specific content, format, delivery, and frequency of their marketing efforts that resonate with the audiences a specific agency would most like to reach.
This project will solve this problem by comparing the license purchasing behavior (i.e., behavioral indicator) of lapsed hunters or anglers who receive a marketing effort (treatment) to a similar group who receive no such marketing effort (control). This rigorous social science approach of match-pairing dramatically increases the ability to draw statistical conclusions and definitively determine which elements of a marketing effort were impactful to participant behavior and how much of that behavior may be attributed to the marketing effort and not other, external variables. The results of this study will provide rigorous, statistical information that can optimize the evaluation techniques for all SFWA marketing principles and R3 marketing efforts.
Ranking and Visualizing Eastern Brook Trout Climate Refugia to Guide Their Range-wide Management
Brook trout is a popular sportfish and an indicator of coldwater habitats in the eastern USA, but their populations have declined in the native range and climate change poses an additional threat for their persistence. Conservation and restoration action is underway throughout the eastern USA, which necessitates resource inventory and management decisions about where to prioritize and invest effort at multiple jurisdictional levels. Based on our recently completed project in the southeastern USA, we propose a Multistate Conservation Grant project to develop databases of brook trout count surveys and stream temperature measurements, model and rank Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) watersheds for trout habitat suitability in a warming climate (hierarchically HUC 8, 10, 12 watersheds), and visualize this spatial information and make it available for trout managers in the 16 states encompassing the native range in the eastern USA (from Georgia to Maine). The spatial products rank brook trout habitats at multiple scales, so that the product can be used by various stakeholders such as multistate consortiums needing to identify priority regions for conservation (e.g., Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture), state wildlife agencies managing watersheds, and local river organizations interested in identifying locations for habitat restoration and connectivity projects. By aggregating information and making it available and updateable, this multistate project will result in more coordinated effort to conserve this iconic native salmonid range-wide and consequently use limited resources efficiently. A subrecipient of this grant is The University of Texas at Austin, who will support statistical model development.
Ranking and Visualizing Eastern Brook Trout Climate Refugia to Guide Their Range-Wide Management
Brook trout is a popular sportfish and an indicator of coldwater habitats in the eastern USA, but their populations have declined in their native range and climate change poses an additional threat for their persistence. Conservation and restoration action is underway throughout the eastern USA, which necessitates resource inventory and management decisions about where to prioritize and invest effort at multiple jurisdictional levels. Based on our recent project in the southeastern USA, we propose a Multistate Conservation Grant project to develop databases of brook trout count surveys and stream temperature data, model and rank National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) stream segments for trout habitat suitability, and visualize this spatial information and make it available for trout managers in the 16 states encompassing the native range in the eastern USA (from Georgia to Maine). The spatial products rank brook trout habitats at multiple scales from major watersheds to stream segments, so that the product can be used by various stakeholders such as multistate consortiums needing to identify priority regions for conservation (e.g., Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture), state wildlife agencies managing watersheds, and local river organizations interested in identifying locations for habitat restoration and connectivity projects. By aggregating information and making it available and updateable, this multistate project will result in more coordinated effort to conserve this iconic native salmonid range-wide and consequently use limited resources more efficiently.
Rebranding, Repiloting, and Reevaluating the National Conservation Outreach
The States’ conservation store has mainly gone untold on a national scale, leaving the public unaware of our goals and accomplishments. Consequently, state fish and wildlife agencies are often misunderstood, their influence and support are suppressed, and opportunities to expand public advocacy for increased funding and resources are missed – especially among non-fishing and non-hunting audiences.
AFWA’s Education, Outreach, and Diversity (EOD) Committee created the National Conservation Outreach Strategy in 2018 to increase state agency public relevancy. This strategy provided a toolkit that enabled each state wildlife management agency to raise awareness of its role in protecting and conserving wildlife. In 2019 “Making it Last” campaign was piloted to help learn how to best “tell the story” to boost agency public relevancy, followed by a second phase to fine-tune and further test the initiative. However, states’ limited budgets and uncertainty regarding the campaign’s effectiveness reduced the numbers of states able to implement and evaluate the campaign. With the relevancy topic becoming more critical every year, the need exists to field a rebranded and tested campaign accompanied by improved toolkit materials and evaluation.
This project will advance the public case for why agencies matter. This third phase will focus on engaging more states by rebranding away from the “Making it Last” theme to a more directly relevant brand and messaging content. These will be developed using public testing and best practices, and lessons previously learned. We will focus on updating and upgrading the story of state-based conservation through messaging and materials designed to resonate better with the public and the agency staff. Phase 3will also revise the campaign in part through the lens of employee recruitment to help states better understand how we can be more relevant in the eyes of perspective future staff. We will also implement the new toolkit in at least two pilot states to evaluate public reactions and receptiveness. The result will be a campaign that more state agencies will utilize to increase public awareness and support, especially among audiences not traditionally engaged in conservation or fish and wildlife-based recreation.
Recruiting Females and Ethnically Diverse Youth Participants into Shooting Sports Phase 2
Youth shooting sports programs are some of the fastest growing youth sports programs in the country. These sports do not require you to be the fastest, biggest, or strongest, and all youth can participate equally, even those with physical limitations. However, the participation in the programs by females and minorities does not directly reflect the general population. Furthermore, participation by females or minorities between different shooting sports disciplines is not the same. For example, in Iowa the female participation rate for NASP (National Archery in the Schools Program) is 50%, SASP (Scholastic Action Shooting Program) is 29% and SCTOP (Scholastic Clay Target Program)is 18%, which is representative of what other Midwest states are seeing. Phase 1 of this project sought to understand the sources of these participation discrepancies through the use of focus groups of coaches, students enrolled in the programs, and students who chose not to participate in the programs. Understanding the barriers to participation within both female and minority populations will enable us to develop strategies to increase participation.
The second phase of this project will utilize information from the initial phase to focus on the development of specific marketing and communication tools and strategies, coach education and tools, and participant/coach/mentor recruitment and retention strategies.
Recruiting Non-Resident Hunters to Your State – Responsibly
Given that most Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation (R3) market research of the past decade has primarily focused on resident hunters, many state fish and wildlife agencies (SFWAs) know relatively little about non-resident hunters’ motivations or expectations when considering (and ultimately choosing) an out-of-state hunting opportunity. In 2024, with assistance from Chase & Chase Consulting and Southwick Associates, the Wildlife Management Institute (WMI) conducted a multi-state conservation grant project that quantified both the motivations driving hunters to visit other states as well as the reasons they select specific locations. Findings of this research demonstrated that non-resident hunters are motivated by values and desires strong enough to overcome some of the typical, well-documented barriers that affect most hunters, and non-resident hunters are willing to spend far more effort in their pursuits than the average resident hunter. Perhaps most importantly for hunter R3, non-resident hunters are attracted to species and landscapes uncommon to their home states but may be commonplace and potentially underutilized by the resident hunters of the destination state. Though this recently completed research provides an in-depth understanding of the motivations that encourage people to hunt in other states, it does not provide R3 practitioners with strategies or tactics capable of capitalizing on non-resident hunters’ attraction to places and huntable species that are novel to them. From a hunter R3 strategy perspective, non-resident hunters pose a unique challenge to R3 practitioners given their particularly high expectations and myriad hunting opportunity options. If SFWAs better understood how, when, and where to best engage and connect with non-resident hunters, they could be more effective at attracting them to their state and its underutilized hunting opportunities. If SFWAs can strategically attract non-residents to species and environments that are in less demand by resident hunters, they could increase their hunting numbers without exacerbating real and perceived crowding issues or increasing competition for limited-availability tags and privileges. For the hunter, increasing awareness of new and novel hunting opportunities available to them may maintain their enthusiasm and engagement in hunting, likely serving as a retention tool to increase overall hunting participation nationally in both hunters’ home and visited states. Using license data augmented by general population samples to support a mixed method research design, this project will 1) identify and recommend the optimal mix of messaging, imagery, timing, and placement of marketing that SFWAs can use to attract segments of non-residents, and 2) will test the recommended materials and approaches via pilot campaigns to identify the mix of campaign elements that will maximize SFWA effectiveness in recruiting the targeted non-resident hunters. The pilot campaigns will be evaluated by measuring which marketing treatment generates the greatest engagement. The results will be packaged in an easily accessible report that highlights the tested materials and makes clear recommendations for how SFWAs should employ the materials through their own custom marketing efforts. The intended outcome will be an increase in non-residents hunting states across the country and greater utilization of hunting opportunities that are undervalued by resident hunters. State wildlife agencies and their hunter R3-vested partners are the intended beneficiaries of this effort.
Regional assessment of canine distemper virus in wild carnivores
Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a globally distributed, highly infectious morbillivirus affecting numerous mammalian species. In the United States, many domestic and wild carnivores are susceptible to CDV, including important furbearer species such as the raccoon (Procyon lotor), gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) and coyote (Canis latrans). Neurologic disease caused by CDV is indistinguishable from that caused by rabies virus (RABV). Many wild animals with neurological symptoms are submitted to public health laboratories for rabies virus (RABV) testing, often without additional testing for canine distemper virus (CDV) or other pathogens. This may confound CDV surveillance efforts and lead to an underreporting of CDV prevalence in wild populations. This 1-year research project aims to promote cooperation and information exchange between state wildlife agencies and public health departments to investigate the presence, distribution, and prevalence of CDV in neurological wild carnivores previously submitted to public health laboratories for RABV testing. Additionally, this project will update the current knowledge regarding the diversity of CDV strains circulating among wild carnivores. To accomplish this, brain tissues and associated metadata will be collected from RABV-negative wild carnivores previously submitted to public health laboratories. Molecular testing for CDV will be conducted at the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study using real-time RT-PCR, and positive samples will be further analyzed to identify CDV strains. Deliverables include a standardized sample collection protocol, an online repository for sample data and diagnostic results, and the results of CDV testing on ~1500 wild carnivore brain tissues with corresponding phylogenetic analyses of viral strains. The findings will be published in a peer-reviewed manuscript, shared in technical reports, and presented at scientific conferences. This grant will benefit wild carnivores across 49 states, especially in the 42 states where carnivore-variant RABV strains hinder CDV surveillance. Finally, this study will provide crucial data on CDV prevalence and strain diversity and promote collaboration between state wildlife agencies and public health departments, fostering partnerships.
Regional assessment of pathogen and toxin impacts on furbearer populations
Diseases and toxins pose unique challenges to the management and conservation of wildlife species and can contribute to and exacerbate declines in wildlife populations that already experience other stressors, such as habitat loss and fragmentation. Apparent gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) population declines in recent decades, notably in the eastern and midwestern United States, have raised concerns among furbearer biologists, managers, and trappers regarding the cause and extent of these declines. There is a paucity of understanding of the potential significance of pathogens and toxins on these declining gray fox populations. Recent research in another ecologically, culturally, and economically important furbearer species in the Northeast, the fisher (Pekania pennanti), revealed that in some regions, anticoagulant rodenticides were detected in 75-100% of trapper-harvested fisher, emphasizing a widespread risk to furbearer species that may decrease species resilience. Anticoagulant rodenticide toxicity can cause mortality, suppressed immune function and reproductive capacity, and reduced body condition. Similar high prevalence of lead (Pb) detections has been observed in New York trapped fishers. The significance of these and other toxins to the population health of northeastern fisher and gray fox populations, including potential morbidity and mortality, may be most influential in decreased individual fitness (e.g., comorbidity status). There is a suite of potential pathogens that may be better able to infect and cause disease in furbearers if they are compromised by immunosuppressive toxins and pathogens. We will complete a comprehensive health assessment, including testing for pathogens and toxins and completing postmortem examinations, of gray fox and fisher collected through a variety of methods across the northeastern United States. We will identify the prevalence and distribution of these pathogens and toxins that can then be used in risk assessments for other species. Additionally, this project will evaluate the significance of immunosuppressive toxins and pathogens by determining if exposure contributes to decreased individual fitness (e.g., comorbidity status), and we will identify geographic patterns of toxin exposure and pathogen prevalence. This project will be completed through the efforts of individuals at the Northeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Cornell University, the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, the University of New Hampshire, Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory System New Bolton Center, and the Wildlife Management Institute, as well as northeastern state wildlife agency biologists and veterinarians. This project will result in data that wildlife agencies can directly use in conservation and management plans for these two species and furbearers in general, as well as highlighting future research needs. We will disseminate results to a diversity of stakeholders with shared interests in maintaining strong furbearer populations, and improved public outreach, a more holistic approach to conservation and management plans, and other benefits are expected. Ultimately, the proposed research will provide a baseline of understanding around these complex systems that is capable of informing management decisions, stimulating and facilitating subsequent research, and furthering collaborations among numerous partners.
Sharing the HERitage: Connecting Women & Girls One Hunt at a Time
First Hunt Foundation’s proposal aims to address the underrepresentation of females generally, and more specifically Native American females, in hunting activities by developing and implementing a comprehensive program that promotes inclusivity, skill development, and community building. Through the provision of grant funding, our initiative seeks to empower Native and non-Native females by creating a supportive and welcoming environment that fosters their participation and success in the traditionally male=dominated field of hunting.
The objectives of this proposal outline a multifaceted approach where a=our Share the HERitage program will establish female-only hunting workshops and events, providing a comfortable and encouraging environment to learn essential hunting skills. These will be conducted on private, public, and tribal lands to increase access for all participants. Each event will cover topics such as firearm safety, ethical hunting practices, tribe specific post-harvest traditions, game identification, tracking field dressing, meat processing, and wild game recipe suggestions. Additionally, we will organize mentorship programs pairing new and novice hunters with experienced female hunters to facilitate knowledge transfer and personal growth.
To ensure the sustainability of our efforts, we will continue to establish partnerships with a local businesses, tribes and both private and governmental organizations to secure funding, equipment, and resources. These collaborations will enable us to provide financial assistance to females who face economic barriers to participation, making hunting accessible to a diverse range of individuals.
Ultimately, this project will contribute to a more inclusive and equitable hunting landscape, benefitting both females and the broader hunting community.
Shooting Range Development, Marketing & Operations Toolkit
With passage of the Target Practice Marksmanship Training and Support Act (Tarmarc) of 2019, states can now apply a larger percent of their annual Wildlife Restoration (WR) funds to range development, improvement, expansion, operations and marketing. Several multi-state grant-funded resources have become available since then to help states and shooting range NGOs understand where new ranges are needed most, the types of shooting activities consumers prefer, case studies to assist in range design and operations, how to attract more non-traditional participants, available funding and partnering sources, and more. The NSSF and other NGOs also have additional range development resources available to states. However, these grant, and privately funded range-support resources are scattered, and conversations with states indicate many are not aware of them. The result is limited application in states’ efforts to increase shooting range development efforts, lower target shooting participation and lower returns on PR investments in range design, development, operational and marketing activities. To help more states benefit from grant-funded and industry shooting research and development tools, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) will combine these resources into easy-to-use toolkits with a focus on brevity and accessibility, and then most importantly, share them with public and private ranges directly (the beneficiaries), via regular NSSF and shooting NGOs’ communications, and through a detailed series of recorded webinars and in-person presentations, both regionally and nationally. The results will help improve states and NGOs’ ability to build new ranges, improve current ranges, maximize participation and achieve greater results from future WR-based range investments.
Social and Economic Impacts of Organized Youth Shooting Sports
The 2022 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that the number of youth ages 6 to 17 that participated in firearms target shooting was just under six million. Recent reports suggest substantial increases in shooting sports participation across all ages, and numerous organized youth shooting sports programs have also reported enrollment surges. However, to date no concerted effort has been made to estimate the total youth participation in organized shooting sports nor the corresponding economic impact. Further, outside of this potentially large economic impact, anecdotal reports also suggest that youth shooting sports are affecting the individual participants, including increasing confidence, discipline, academic performance, leadership skills, and motivation. While these impacts to the individual are often reported at conferences and used in program recruiting materials, no serious investigation across programs has been undertaken to see if these claims have merit. Quantifying and sharing these impacts could potentially help youth shooting programs secure greater support for increased capacity and longevity. This project will reach youth (through their parents) and program administrators using surveys and interviews to:
- Investigate the personal, psychological, and social impacts of participating in organized shooting sports on youth.
- Estimate participation in and economic impact of organized youth shooting sports.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that funds and supports approximately 2,800 school, club, and private youth shooting programs nationally, and more than 80 state and national youth shooting organizations, the MidwayUSA Foundation (Foundation) is teaming with the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports (Council) to produce and share results with potential sponsors, local communities, legislatures, industry, media, and the general public. The goal is to increase support and capacity for youth shooting programs, especially those reaching kids from non-target shooting families.
Strategic Development Tool for the Western Motus Network
Being able to answer questions about Pacific Flyway migratory species of concern is paramount for their conservation especially considering climate change. Yet, the migratory life stage is understudied in most species. An ideal system for tracking movements and survival of avian species of concern for the purpose of identifying high-value conservation sites is the Motus radiotelemetry receiver network. This network is an international collaborative that successfully identifies stopover site duration, connected migratory routes, post-fledging dispersal and survival, and adult survival and fidelity on a landscape-scale; parameters that cannot be easily estimated using non-tagged birds. While the Motus network is highly connected in the eastern United States, the western United States is seriously lagging in coverage and connectivity, limiting the ability to obtain sample sizes large enough to robustly model demographic parameters from tagged birds, thus, the expansion of the motus network is a high priority for Pacific Flyway State Agencies. However, to date, no tool exists for determining optimal locations for new Motus receiving stations. Together with collaboration and input from a majority of Sates in the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) region, which overlaps the Pacific Flyway, we propose to use eBird citizen scientist data to prioritize and identify strategic locations for Motus receiving stations throughout the Pacific Flyway. To this end, we will build a novel multi-species multi-state multi-scale dynamic occupancy model to determine co-occurrence of priority species while accounting for multiple abundance states (i.e., absent, present, abundant), survey effort, and habitat covariates affecting detection, occupancy, and abundance states, weather covariates over time, and random effects associated with detection and occupancy. Many of the biases associated with citizen science data can be overcome with occupancy modeling. Using predictions from our novel occupancy model, we will identify areas that receive high use by co-occurring priority species. These will be marked as priority locations for establishing Motus receiving towers that would have high probabilities of intercepting high abundance of multiple species of interest. Without such a predictive model, resources for the construction of new receiving towers would be less strategically allocate, resulting in sub-optimal detection rates of tagged individuals of species of concern. Our models will yield a series of species distribution maps that will be developed with input and used by States in the Pacific Flyway to prioritize locations of receiving stations to strategically develop a coordinated Motus network. We believe such a priority map can be used for outreach and stimulate action on development of the Motus network. Furthermore, the map will provide a basis for starting a conserve climate resilient migratory stopovers through stakeholder engagement.
Streaming Audio/Podcast Campaign for SE States to Accomplish R3
The purpose of this project is to put tested messages on the ground to achieve recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) through podcast and streaming audio ads in 4 pilot states in the Southeastern US. Working with representatives from each state and the National Deer Association, we will develop audio ads for placement in each state. We will use the research funded in by the Multistate Conservation Grant Program #F22AP01126 that developed new Hunter Personas and develop ad creative around each of the personas and target the messages developed to Family Firsts, Self Sufficients, Locavores, and Recreationalists. Then measure success at increasing participation by using their license purchase behavior to determine success using pixel tracking technology. The persona research found here in the R3 Clearinghouse recommends placing ads in streaming or podcasts as these targeted groups engage with that medium very often. On top of that research, in 2023 podcast listeners increased to 164 million in the US and listenership has increased 60% since 2020. Of all podcast listeners, almost half (47%) are aged 12-34 years. 33% are 35 to 54-year-olds. And the remaining 20% are aged 55+ years. The majority of podcast listeners are male (53%). These stats lend to podcasting and streaming ads being a good marketing investment to accomplish R3. Our expected outcomes will be that new people are motivated with these ads to try hunting and that people that used to hunt are motivated to pick the hobby back up again. Using the psychographic network, a database of listeners that tracks digital interactions of users and allows you to target personas, we are able to target the personas identified and then using pixel tracking we can see what people who heard these messages also purchased a license indicating that they are participating in hunting. This will also measure how effective the ads were and which ad was most effective. The deliverables from this project will be scripts for ads as well as recordings of ads that any state or region can use as well as a report with a case study from each state with all the findings from placing these ads in 4 pilot states including which ads recruited or reactivated the most hunters. The beneficiaries of this project will be the people that discover or rediscover hunting. The 4 pilot states will benefit the most, but all states in the southeast (or anywhere) will benefit from this marketing campaign because the ads created will be available for any state to use at no cost and the lessons learned and campaign engagement and effectiveness will be shared with staff from each state. The pilot states will also benefit from the increased participation. This project will leverage research from #F22AP01126 that this grant program granted hundreds of thousands of dollars developing. The case studies from each state stand to benefit any state that learns from them and then may decide to utilize this R3 tactic. There will be one contractor in this grant that is the marketing firm that will be placing the ads.
Strengthening Conservation Education Online Training and Development
Project Wild (PW) is an interdisciplinary conservation education program focusing on wildlife and habitat. Since 1983, the program has delivered high-quality, well-tested conservation education to the public by equipping and training teachers and other educators. Over the past 40 years, over 1.5 million educators have been training in PR activities, reaching over 100 million young people. The goal of the program–which was collaboratively developed by state wildlife agencies and state education agencies–is to develop awareness, knowledge, skills, and commitment resulting in informed decisions, responsible behavior, and constructive actions concerning wildlife and the environment.
This proposal outlines our request to create one online course based on a series of activities we have on the North American Model for Wildlife Conservation and two additional online courses. This request also includes developing two thematic united based on existing PW activities. These thematic units will help expand our business model by creating more professional development opportunities for formal and non-formal educators.
PW has been a respected name among educators and wildlife professionals alike. Educators consistently rate PW training and materials as engaging, relevant and useful. In a time when state fish and wildlife agencies focus on the relevancy of conservation to the public, the PW program represents a valuable tool to reach young people in diverse settings, connect them to the outdoors, and instill sound conservation concepts.
While the content of PW curricula and activity guides remains much sought after, the delivery method has become a barrier to meeting the needs of today’s educators. Educators have attended a one-day professional development training for decades to receive a printed copy of the PW guide, experience activities from the guide, and learn more about wildlife and conservation in their state. In recent years, various factors have caused national training numbers to decline, including industry changes in educator professional development and book printing and increasing demand for online learning and resources exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2019, PW piloted its first online course and has since developed five additional courses with the support of other grans. Similarly, in2022 PW started publishing a new wildlife education unit. Climate & Wildlife is a 64-page module that provides middle and high-school-level educators with a collection of PW lessons created for the National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaption Strategy.
This 2024 MSCGP project will allow PW to build on this momentum with an additional three courses and three thematic wildlife education units using existing PW activities. Online Wild professional development training allows educators to access modules at their own pace without waiting for a training events at a convenient time and location. Beyond the online training, the education units will keep printing costs low so that price is not a barrier to our partners. These additions to the PW suite of offerings will allow the program–and messages of fish and wildlife agencies–to stay relevant to educators and students across the country.
Supporting Agency Regulated Trapping and Furbearer Management Programs by Communication and Education
This project will have two primary objectives, each of which is designed to support and assist state fish and wildlife agencies with their regulated trapping and furbearer management programs.
First, the AFWA will contract with Responsive Management to conduct a national survey of trappers. The survey will gather information on:
1) Characteristics (demographics, economics, motivations) of the public who participate in trapping
2) Trap types being used for the capture of various furbearer species
3) Trapper knowledge and use of Best Management Practices for Trapping, and
4) The number of trappers in the U.S.
Information gathered in this survey will be used to guide the national program to develop Best Management Practices for Trapping so AFWA can continue to provide our member agencies with trap type/technique recommendations on the most humane, safe, selective, effective, and practical traps to use for the capture of furbearers. Agencies use trapping to achieve many wildlife management objectives, and all agencies want to ensure the “best” traps are being used. AFWA needs to know what trap types are currently in use, so we can scientifically evaluate those devices against the International Organization for Standardization standards. Since 1997 the BMP program has tested over 725 trap types on 23 species of furbearers, conducted over 500 individual field projects to capture furbearers across 41 states, and conducted necropsies on over 10,000 animals to help evaluate the humanness of traps. We recently published some of these results in Wildlife Monographs. But AFWA needs the information that will be collected in this survey to maintain the BMP program’s cutting-edge relevance and support agencies’ desire to recommend the most humane/safe/selective traps for trappers to use.
Supporting Inclusion of Disabled Wildlife Viewers in State Agency Programs by Conducting and Sharing Findings from Case Studies
With the support of a previous Multistate Conservation Grant, we found that 39% of wildlife viewers (people who participate in observing, feeding, or photographing wildlife, or maintain plantings for the benefit of wildlife) reported experiencing accessibility challenges defined as “the difficulties someone experiences in interacting with or while using the physical or social environment while trying to engage in a meaningful activity (such as wildlife viewing). This may be a result of a mobility challenge, blindness or low vision, intellectual or developmental disabilities (including Autism), mental illness, being Deaf or Hard of Hearing, or other health concerns.” Despite this large number, little is known about how to serve this community, which include many disabled hunters and anglers, or disabled viewers with no previous connection with state agencies. Understanding more about developing inclusive programs and accessible locations is vital to broaden agency relevancy. With our current Multistate Conservation Grant (F24AP00315), we conducted a literature review about including disabled wildlife viewers in programming and ensuring locations are physically accessible. We then led focus groups of disabled wildlife viewers to inform recommendations on how agencies can increase inclusion. These findings will help agencies understand disabled wildlife viewers’ preferences for accessibility improvements, what factors of wildlife viewing programs feel inclusive, and how state agencies can best support them. Still, it is just a first step. State agencies have asked us for additional support to understand how to develop accessible programming, sites, and communications for disabled wildlife recreationists. They have told us they could benefit from real-world examples of accessible design and inclusive programming. We will conduct a case study approach through site visits, observations, and interviews.
Supporting Students Study of Legal Principles & Professional Experience and Providing Opportunities for Practicing Professionals Continuing Legal Education in Conservation Law/Policy
The Center for Conservation Excellence / Conservation Law Program educates students, legal practitioners, and additional audiences on the history and foundation of conservation law and policy, as well as threats to conservation efforts. These threats are largely against Americans’ rights to hunt and fish and are predominantly narrated by the animal rights movement. The animal rights movement has unfortunately seen substantial growth- in the late 1990s, there were only one or two animal law courses being taught at U.S. law schools; by 2007, there were approximately seventy, with most of the nation’s elite law schools represented. Today, there are an estimate 167 law schools in the U.S. and Canada that offer at least one animal law course- a majority of which indicate teaching the concepts of animal rights and animal personhood.
To combat special interest groups and an ill-informed society who threat modern conservation, the Program offers students, strengthen the legal conservation community, preparing them to contribute to conservation professionally on the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, public trust stewardship in state wildlife management, and beyond. This is incredibly important because decisions based on the court of public views wildlife. The Program strives to foster the change necessary to influence American decision makers by teaching the fundamentals and importance of conservation law and policy to help America’s wildlife and Americans’ rights.
The core objectives to create and maintain informed conservation professionals are: 1) provided undergraduate/graduate level education with wildlife law and policy courses; 2) post-graduate and supplemental education with continuing legal education seminars on conservation law and providing educational videos to the general public through social media and website resources; and 3) creating professional opportunities in the form of conservation-based internships, careers, and educators.
The Nexus of R3 and Deer Hunting
The 2022 National Survey reports 56% of U.S. hunting days target big game, most of which are for deer (all subspecies). Deer hunting opportunities have increased over the years as states have supported new harvest methods (muzzleloader, bow, crossbow, etc.) and as deer populations have grown. However, whether out of necessity or resulting from public demand, deer management decisions involving opportunity, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), and antler restrictions more often impact deer hunting participation. Limited coordination between states’ deer managers and R3 professionals can lead to actions that hinder deer hunter recruitment and retention efforts, therefore limiting states’ impact on participation with R3 programs as indicated by license sales. In addition, both groups frequently make decisions based on limited data on deer hunter numbers, use of specific weapons (bow, traditional rifle, modern sporting rifle, crossbow, etc.), trends, and expected reactions to new opportunities and requirements. Plus, limited research is available on how factors such as CWD, license changes, likelihood of success and regulatory matters impact individual’s decisions to hunt deer, thus hindering R3 actions. Without deer and R3 managers working together to collect necessary information and coordinating efforts, R3 successes may continue to be unintentionally suppressed. By helping states understand the nexus between deer management, deer hunting opportunities, participation, and hunter R3 efforts, this project will help states’ R3 programs become more effective. Also, improved coordination and better hunter data will help states increase hunter satisfaction and better meet target harvest objectives. Led by a coalition of major hunting and R3 organizations – National Deer Association (NDA), Archery Trade Association (ATA), Wildlife Management Institute (WMI), and The Council to Advance Hunting and Shooting Sports (CAHSS) – this project will identify trends in deer hunting participation, the importance of offering multiple deer opportunities (crossbow, youth seasons, etc.) in maintaining participation, the deer hunting knowledge gaps such as license holder trends and preferred weapons, expectations from deer hunting, how deer hunting interacts with hunting for other species, and how these factors may help or hinder hunting R3 efforts. This project will begin by gaining input from deer managers and state R3 leaders, thus providing a first step in better coordinating states’ R3 and biological efforts. Regional deer management and R3 committees will be engaged to identify knowledge gaps such as the number of deer hunting licenses sold (used as an indicator of participation) compared to actual participation, weapon preference trends, and how regulatory and disease factors may have impacted participation. The second phase will collect information from states to fill these gaps as best as possible. Using multivariate techniques, 20 years of license sales will be analyzed to better understand the effects of regulatory, disease and other changes on deer hunting participation. We will also survey U.S. deer hunters to understand how regulatory changes to deer hunting opportunities has impacted motivations and effort. The final phase will share results and recommendations across all levels of state agencies to increase understanding of how states’ biological and R3 functions can better work together to sustain and grow deer hunting. The deliverable will be a summary report, shared online and via presentations at national and regional R3 and deer management meetings, plus an NDA webinar for viewing on demand. The NDA will then lead efforts to continue discussions regarding how both parts of state agencies, with NGO support, can continue cooperative discussions and data collection efforts. The beneficiaries will be states’ R3 and deer management programs, and the benefits will be greater participation as indicated by license sales, plus greater deer hunting satisfaction.
The Public’s Perceived Importance and View of State Fish and Wildlife Agencies
Effective fish and wildlife management requires meaningful interaction with all segments of society, not just the people who buy hunting and fishing licenses. States’ mission statements often reflect their broad responsibilities on behalf of all residents; however, significant segments of the public may not be aware of their state fish and wildlife agency at all, much less its responsibilities, services, and benefits provided. Considering most people believe fish and wildlife agency funding is shared equally between licenses sales and general tax dollars (Manfredo et al., 2018), there is considerable room to improve states agencies’ interactions with the broader public. Similarly, state agencies have a limited understanding of how they are perceived by the public, especially non-traditional stakeholders. Together, these issues hinder states’ abilities to effectively communicate and engage with the public and make it difficult to deliver programs relevant to the diverse range of communities served. This project will help state fish and wildlife agencies understand the public’s awareness of their core functions and perceived effectiveness, the importance of public places on states’ missions, responsibilities, funding structures, legal limits, and more. The results will enable states to better engage with their many diverse publics. Eleven of the MAFWA states (1) will be engaged to identify their public programs and responsibilities, along with their current management challenges. For each state, two online surveys will be developed to capture the opinions and perceptions of: 1) residents not engaged in traditional state-managed activities (fishing, hunting, boating and similar), and 2) residents who identify as traditional stakeholders, for comparative purposes. We will target up to 1,000 responses from non-traditional stakeholders to gather insights for unique geographic, demographic, and socio/cultural audiences, and another 1,000 responses from traditional audiences. The methods will replicate and build upon the currently funded MSCG project, “The Public’s Perceived Importance and View of State Fish and Wildlife Agencies”, currently underway in the SEAFWA states, Project methodology, results, and insights gained will be shared with NEAFWA and WAFWA for replication. (1) MAFWA is comprised of 13 states; however, Missouri and Kentucky participated in the 2023 MSCG-funded SEAFWA Agency perceptions project.
The Public’s Perceived Importance and View of Northeast State Fish and Wildlife Agencies
Effective fish and wildlife management requires meaningful interaction with all segments of society, not just the people who buy hunting and fishing licenses. States’ mission statements often reflect their broad responsibilities on behalf of all residents; however, significant segments of the public may not be aware of their state fish and wildlife agency at all, much less its responsibilities, services, and benefits provided. These issues were documented in recent public perceptions/relevancy research in the Southeastern US and are likely especially pronounced in the urbanized Northeastern US. According to the 2022 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, only 3% of the New England population hunts, as compared to 11% of the Middle Atlantic states. Also, some of the highest percentage of people distanced from wildlife reside in northeastern states (Manfredo et al., 2018). Give this information, there is the potential for states to have conflict with the public who may not agree with or understand states’ priorities and actions. For agencies to be publicly relevant in the face of a declining user base, an urbanizing population, and a need to better engage with under-served communities, there must be a deeper understanding of the majority who do not buy hunting or fishing licenses. Similarly, state agencies have a limited understanding of how they are perceived by the public, especially by non-traditional stakeholders. Together, these issues hinder states’ abilities to effectively deliver programs relevant to the diverse range of constituencies they are charged to serve. This project will help state fish and wildlife agencies understand the public’s awareness of their core functions and perceived effectiveness, the priorities and responsibilities expected of state agencies, preferred funding structures, and more. The results will help state agencies engage and serve their many diverse publics and improve public acceptance and support to carry out conservation and public use of resources managed under the Wildlife Restoration and Sport Fish Restoration Acts. Eleven of the NEAFWA states will be engaged to identify their public programs and responsibilities, along with their current management challenges. For each state, two online surveys will be developed to capture the opinions and perceptions of:
- residents not engaged in traditional state managed activities (fishing, hunting, and trapping), and
- residents who identify as traditional stakeholders, for comparative purposes.
We will obtain up to 1,000 responses from non-traditional stakeholders to gather insights for unique geographic, demographic, and socio/ cultural audiences, and up to another 1,000 responses from traditional audiences. The methods will replicate and build upon the currently funded MSCG projects, “The Public’s Perceived Importance and View of State Fish and Wildlife Agencies”, completed in the SEAFWA states and currently underway in the MAFWA states. Being the representative organization for Northeastern states fish and wildlife agencies, NEAFWA understands states’ needs, has been focused on relevancy topics on behalf of states but has yet to connect with the general public about their perceptions and preferences. No other funding sources are available or known to address this issue at the regional level, hence the need for multi-state conservation grant funding.
Training of Wildlife Officers to Effectively Investigate Hunting Incidents
When a hunting incident occurs, first responders and law enforcement officers are often called to the scene. Whether or not these individuals are certified to investigate a hunting incident comes down to their ability to attend the Hunting Incident Investigation Academy (MIIA), currently offered through a partnership with the International Hunter Education Association – USA (IHEA-USA) and the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). It is vitally important to the future of hunting that the Conservation Industry continues to train Conservation Law Enforcement Officers and Game Wardens to accurately assess whether an incident is related to hunting, or it is not. Proper recording of these incidents provides insights to trends in safety and leads to the creation of safety standard delivered through Hunter Education thus providing each generation of new hunters with an education to create safer days in the fields.
The program is specifically designed to train wildlife law enforcement officers to investigate and report hunting incidents accurately. As this is a program of the IHEA-USA, the Academy also covers the importance of the North American Model and the connection between incident reports, the standards of hunter education that are created by examining these incidents, and the resulting reciprocity for hunting license purchases the standards provide when included in Hunting Education curriculums. The Academy is run by wildlife officers with special skill sets and expertise in this discipline. With very few exception, the Academy has been delivered once or twice per year to nearly 40 officers since 1993. Fourteen different states have hosted the Academy during that time. Host requirements, location availability, operational costs, and travel costs have made it difficult to reach more officers. For the last two years, dozens of interested officers have been turned away from participating due to challenges in sourcing new instructors and an ability to coordinate more than two training opportunities each year. A new scalable model involving blended learning is set to launch in 2024 to help agencies deliver their own learning Academy training with the help of HIIA Certified Trainers. States will be expected to choose two officers to become these certified trainers and send to a Train the Trainer (TTT) event in Missouri in 2024.
This grant proposal seeks funding to cover the travel, accommodations, and equipment costs of officers from four State Agencies in each AFWA Region to attend the first TTT in 2024. With 16 states and 32 officers qualified to deliver the new blended learning Academy format in their home states, expectations are that the number of certified wildlife officers would surpass the previous 30 years with the next 3.
Several state agencies have already expressed an interest in sending officers to the first TTT in Missouri next year, These include the following: CA, CO, MO, IA, MI, IN, CT, MD, TN, NC, MS, and SC.
Understanding Crossbow Hunters Participation, Characteristics, and the Factors that Contribute to Their Retention in Hunting
Crossbow hunting has been steadily gaining popularity in recent years. Yet while ample research exists looking at the overall market of bowhunters in the United States, relatively little focuses specifically on crossbow users. In order to implement successful Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation (R3) strategies, the unique market of crossbow hunters must be understood. Crossbow hunting is particularly important to understand given that crossbows are often favored by older hunters—it is possible that the aging population of the United States may be helping to drive interest in and use of crossbows (according to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2020, 1 in 6 people in the United States were 65 years old or older). While a number of states restrict crossbow use to hunters over a certain age, many other states permit general use of crossbows by all hunters. It is therefore possible that crossbows may be favored by some novice or first-time hunters, making them especially important from a recruitment perspective. In order to better understand these topics and plan purposeful R3 efforts specific to crossbow hunters, new research is needed to understand how crossbow users compare with other bowhunters. Such comparisons require data collection from both crossbow users and bowhunters who use non-crossbow equipment such as compound bows, recurve bows, and longbows. The proposed project entails scientific survey data collection with bowhunters—including sufficient samples of crossbow users as well as non-crossbow bowhunters—in three states from each of the four major Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) regions. Results and implications of the research will benefit all 49 states that allow some type of crossbow hunting (Oregon is the only state that currently does not allow hunting with a crossbow). In addition to determining the current rate of crossbow use among bowhunters, the survey will look at the characteristics of crossbow hunters, their expenditures, preferences, motivations, and the factors that contribute to their retention in hunting. The research will be used to develop a webinar by Archery Trade Association (ATA) and Responsive Management that explains the significance of the crossbow market and the most important characteristics of this group. The resulting information will benefit state agencies by allowing them to develop crossbow-specific R3 strategies. Refined R3 strategies specific to crossbow users will help drive hunting license sales and improve the agency customer connection to crossbow hunters and general bowhunters. The ATA and Responsive Management have a strong foundation on which to build the new research: in 1999, ATA and Responsive Management collaborated on one of the first nationwide bowhunting participation studies; in 2017, the two partners designed and implemented a major market study to determine bowhunters’ avidity, the species they hunt, their opinions on bowhunting compared to other outdoor activities, and their use and purchasing of bows and archery equipment (Responsive Management has partnered with ATA on other archery and bowhunting participation studies over the years as well). These studies have been invaluable resources to the R3 community, helping to inform R3 strategies specific to the bowhunter market. There is now a need for a similar study specific to crossbow users.
Understanding Hunters’ Knowledge of, and Interest in R3 Recruitment, Retention, Reactivation
Many organizations within the outdoor industry, from state wildlife agencies and conservation groups, to manufacturers, media and sportsmen’s clubs, have invested substantial time, money and effort into recruiting new, retaining current, and reactivating lapsed hunters over the past 15 years. This practice has been named; “R3”, which stands for; Recruit, Retain, Reactivate. “R3” has a goal of increasing participating in hunting and it has been accepted as a key initiative among the aforementioned groups. While the goal of increasing overall participation is common among these groups, no research has been done among America’s 15 million active hunters to understand their knowledge level and interest in this important initiative. We do not know what percentage of current hunters are for, or against, having more participants, nor do we know how to best communicate with current participants no matter their opinion on the topic. To confirm if there was a need for comprehensive research on this topic, the project team conducted an awareness poll / exploratory survey in May 2024 and received 240 completed responses from American’s that have hunted within the past 12 months. Among the results from this exploratory survey were that only ~29 percent of respondents (current hunters) had a clear understanding of what “R3” (Recruit, Retain and Reactivate) is, and 10 percent of respondents were opposed to organizations focusing on recruiting more hunters. Full results from the awareness poll are available at the end of the proposal application. The awareness poll results proved to the project team that further, in-depth research is needed on this topic. This proposal aims to identify, for the first time, items such as; what current hunters know about “R3”, what their opinions are on increasing hunting participation, and what are the best communication tactics to implement no matter their opinion on increasing hunter numbers. The project team has more than thirty years collective experience with this topic and has well-rounded representation from state agencies, NGOs and industry.
Using Social Influencers to Drive R3 for Furbearer Trapping/Hunting in SEAFWA States
Social influencer efforts have been proven to be an effective way to accomplish R3 goals. This project will enable SEAFWA states to benefit from this marketing strategy with minimum time and resource commitment, which is critical since most states have limited staff, budgets, and experience with social influencers as a means of executing a campaign on their own. This project is specifically modeled after the successful multistate conservation grant project executed previously by SEAFWA on hunting R3 that produced the acclaimed “More to the Hunt” program.
This project will hire one ad agency to manage this social influencer campaign. The ad agency will hire 5-10 social influencers with ties to the Southeast (i.e., college athletes, hunters, outdoorsy folks, or anyone with strong followings on social media that could have a tie to trapping) to create authentic furbearer trapping/hunting content to share on their channels. The influencer would also provide text, images and videos that could be used by all state agencies into perpetuity. The R3 committee would work with each SEAFWA state to determine which influencer(s) they believe would be most effective in their state, and the ad agency would also boost these Influencer posts to reach lookalike audiences of the influencer’s followers. Social influencers would be identified and managed by an ad agency, MGH, which has a proven track record in the R3 hunting arena. MGH, along with SEAFWA R3 Committee and Fur Takers of America, would screen and recruit the most appropriate influencers, work with them to ensure they produce the right content, boost posts, track results and share creative content with states.
Our goal would be to create content with these influencers that has a shelf life of at least 5 years. States would be able to use (at no cost) this content organically on social media and any owned media channels, or as paid advertising. Without this grant and the coordinated social influencer content and marketing it would provide, most southeastern states will not be able to afford a social influencer campaign to help accomplish R3 for furbearer trapping/hunting. We will be able to track click-throughs to landing page, learn-to-hunt and state license sales pages, as well as engagement rates for this campaign. Each state will supply a URL that directly links to their agency’s learn-to-hunt/trap webpage or we will use the default campaign landing page which will direct people to taking the AFWA trapping course. SEAFWA agencies are really excited about this opportunity and the communications/marketing staff members especially think this will be a great project! We have never done this with a focus on trapping in a multistate marketing grant and we think this could truly make an impact.
Utilizing Public Service Announcement PSAs to Promote R3 and Positive Contributions of Agencies and Outdoorsmen and Women to Conservation
With thousands of dedicated staff from wildlife biologists to land managers working year round, federal and state wildlife agencies conduct more on the ground wildlife conservation and habitat management work than any other group. Through purchases of hunting licenses and excised taxed products such as firearms, ammunition, bows and arrows, along with donations to wildlife conservation organizations, Americas millions of hunters and target shooters contribute more than 2.6 billion dollars to fund wildlife conservation each year, making them primary funders of wildlife conservation. Even though agency staff do much of the work, and hunters and target shooters pay a large portion the bill, most Americans are unaware of how wildlife conservation is managed and funded in America. Agencies, industry, hunters and target shooters need, and deserve, more credit for all they are doing for wildlife conservation. Several terrific advertising campaigns such as, Making It Last, hug A Hunter, Plus One and Hunter For Good have been tested and developed to help promote recruitment and inform others how conservation is funded, however, they have yet to garner the national attention they deserve. A primary reason for this is funding. Unlike the fishing and boating industry that has dedicated more than 10 million dollars of excise taxes each year for national advertising campaigns, managed by a single organization, RBFF, the hunting and target shooting industry does not have any such funding. In an effort to circumvent the high costs involved to reach large parts of the general population, this grant proposes to use proven messages, such as those developed from the aforementioned campaigns, coupled with the grant teams expertise, to create TV and radio ads that will be promoted through free Public Service Announcements, PSAs, to reach the general population in masse. PSAs created for this grant will be promoted to a station distribution list that includes 1,640 local TV and local cable, 139 network and national cable and 9,471 radio stations. We are fortunate to have a grant team comprised of key staff from the largest social issues communications agency in the United States, The Plow Share Group, which delivered 1.5 billion dollars in donated, free, PSA media in TV, radio and out of home ads on behalf of their clients in 2022 alone. Additionally, we will utilize the talented team from Shine United to create the TV and radio PSA ads. Shine United is a leading ad agency for the outdoor industry. Among their many accomplishments is that they are the ad agency that creates the videos for the USFWS campaign, Partner with a Payer. Please see full gran team bios in the Qualifications of Key Personnel section below. Promoting nature and conservation is not new to PSAs. In fact, the USFWS utilized TV and radio PSAs a decade ago for a campaign called Get Some Nature Into Your Kids to promote visiting National Wildlife Refuges, and The Nature Conservancy uses PSAs to promote a campaign entitled Speak up for Nature. To better promote our message on how conservation is funded, this project will utilize a 135,000 dollar budget line item for TV and radio PSA media program costs to reach an estimated 215,000,000 and 309,000,000 TV and radio impressions which represents an estimated client return of 5,700,000 to 8,000,000 dollars.
We All Quit, But It Doesn’t Have to Be Today
According to the Multistate Conservation Grant (MSCG) funded dashboard project, hunting licenses have declined to pre-pandemic levels. These declines are national, but particularly apparent in the Midwest, where 2021 vs 2022 sales declined 2.5% for 11 reporting states. Another recent MSCG examining the age-period-cohort effect on license sales2 showed that cohort (generational) effects were the strongest drivers in participation. An entire cohort of hunters (baby boomers) are getting older, and they are dropping out with declines becoming more precipitous as they age. Simply, we can’t stop the aging process, but there are regulatory tools we can use to slow the decline in participation. While younger hunters have been a primary focus for recruitment efforts, too little attention has been paid to keeping older licensed customers engaged and participating. Once a person quits, it is difficult to bring them back, regardless of the activity. Retention, whether in the consumer market or R3 community, is much easier and less costly than creating new customers. Historic opposition from both stakeholders and agency staff to some regulatory tools (e.g., crossbows for deer, game attractants, longer seasons) has presented hurdles; while changes in one’s social and lifestyle preferences after middle-age may make it easier for competing activities to capture our hunters’ time and attention. For example, in the Midwest, there are ample hunting opportunities for both big and small game, as licenses are easily available, and bag limits (particularly for deer) often exceed the number of animals a person is willing to take in a year. Consequently, while opportunities are readily available, individuals are still dropping out. Given the overall decline in hunter numbers, particularly among older hunters, there is a need to better understand the limitations, motivations, and preferences of older hunters. This information is critical, and the knowledge gained can become part of states’ retention efforts, to extend customers’ years of participation. The purpose of this project is to retain licensed hunters for a longer period of time. State agencies’ are the intended beneficiaries. Work will be accomplished by first working with state biologists and R3 managers to identify hunting statutes and rules that present barriers or opportunities for older hunters and related issues. We will then conduct qualitative and quantitative assessments of hunters at least 50 years old to determine potential solutions management strategy to facilitate their continued participation. Once complete, we will disseminate recommendations and research findings to the R3 community in reader-friendly formats. The outcome will be greater numbers of people hunting annually. There are no sub-recipients in this project.
Welcome New Shooters! Tactics to Increase Participation within Underrepresented Communities
Previous research from National Shooting Sports Foundation, Target Shooting Interests and Preferences Among Multi-Cultural Communities 2015, showed that women, Hispanics, African Americans, and Asian Americans have high rates of interest in getting started target shooting. In fact, Hispanics and African Americans had higher levels of interest, 26 and 27 percent respectively than Asians, 15 percent, and Caucasians, 13 percent, while women had the same interest levels as men.
State agencies and the outdoor industry have made some progress into diversifying target shooting since 2015, however, multiple sources show shooting sports participation remains overwhelmingly male and Caucasian. Considering a majority of the U.S. population is expected to be non Caucasian by mid century, this shows significant growth potential exists for target shooting and its associated conservation revenues.
The 2015 NSSF efforts, worked by current grant team members Jim Curcuruto and Rob Southwick, touched on the concerns and barriers preventing many of these under represented audiences from participating. Since then, public demand and participation patterns have changed considerably, especially since 2020. Also, the previous effort provided limited understanding of the types of progras, services, advertisements, and communication tactics needed to effectively recruit and serve these audiences. Until these shortfalls are addressed, recruitment and retention programs for diverse communities will underperform. It is past time for new and updated insights to be gained that will help industry and agencies better connect with this important segment.
This project will communicate with each of the major audiences described above to quantify:
- Their interest in target shooting
- The types of shooting activities of most interest
- The types of ranges where they would be most comfortable
- The types of welcome, services, and amenities that would increase the likelihood of them visiting.
- How to best reach them with information on where to shoot, requirements, and other information they are currently lacking but need in order to make the decision to visit the range.
Identical information will be produced regarding white males for comparison purposes. The results will be shared with state agencies, the firearms industry, other public and private ranges, and organizations working on behalf of target shooting to help them understand how to be more welcoming and accommodating towards segments of the US population that currently hesitate from participating in target shooting.
Where is Demand for Sportfishing Access the Greatest?
In a continuous cycle, people take up fishing while others quit. Simultaneously, people move from place to place, transforming communities in the process. As these changes occur, demand for sportfishing access also shifts across communities. Considering past research shows people frequently quit their preferred recreational activity if access exceeds 30 minutes, these shifts might cause fishing to become less popular as areas become more denser, thus decreasing fishing participation. Providing convenient access and promoting available sites is needed to retain current anglers and make fishing more attractive to potential new anglers. Likewise, investing in R3 efforts that target people living outside convenient range of public fishing opportunities will generate poor results. The first part of this project will pilot the use of mapping techniques to show where anglers are clustered, available public fishing sites, and communities with high levels of fishing interest but low rates of license purchases. If successful, states will have a proven tool available to visually show where new public access points are needed and where marketing efforts would be most effective to promote nearby access points that current and potential anglers may not be aware of. The second part will identify the types of neighborhoods most interested in fishing. As seen in initial but long outdated angler lifestyle research, interest in angling varies across types of neighborhoods based on their lifestyle characteristics. This project will update and identify which of the 67 lifestyles or types of neighborhoods have the most significant growth potential in fishing participation. States can then use the result to better understand where to focus fishing R3 and access development efforts down to specific city blocks. Being precise is important as many neighborhoods, urban or rural, show little interest in fishing, while others may be emerging as new participation hotspots. Representing the tackle industry, the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) has led numerous projects to help states and industry improve R3 efforts. For the first part of this project, one state per AFWA region will be selected. Each state will provide 10 years of license data that will be transformed to show the 10-year buying history of individual anglers. Then, using street addresses, each angler’s residence will be plotted on statewide high-resolution Geographic Information System (GIS) maps with results showing how anglers cluster and which communities are seeing increases or decreases in participation. We will also work with the Department of Interior and participating states to acquire GIS maps listing publicly accessible water bodies. Finally, we will use Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) Business Analyst data to identify neighborhoods with high and/or increasing levels of sportfishing interest using techniques pioneered in previous ASA grant-funded research. The results should identify areas where new access points will have higher probabilities of increasing participation. If successful, all states will then have a new tool to apply. Even if not successful, the lifestyle profiles will benefit all 50 states by identifying specific types of neighborhoods with the greatest potential interest in fishing. The results will help states find potential new anglers, prioritize new access points, locate urban fishing programs, and initiate marketing campaigns to help anglers in communities with limited access find the nearest places to fish. The outcome will be increased fishing participation.
Why Anglers Quit and How Can We Improve Retention
Churn rates, or the percentage of anglers not renewing their licenses the next year, have averaged just under 50% for the past 10 years, according to the grant-funding license dashboard. Even the pandemic did not notably reduce churn rates, meaning we lose nearly half our anglers each year, with replacements coming from new anglers and those returning from previous years. Reducing this drop-out rate will result in significant increased license sales and excise tax revenues. Using state license sales data and top-level data security and analytical procedures, this project will identify and focus on anglers who bought in 2022, but dropped out in 2023. We will survey them to learn why they fished, what they liked and disliked, which recreational activities they engage in instead of fishing, the reasons why these activities are preferred, the message/imagery/support tactics we can field to win them back, and more. Results will be shared widely with all states and fishing NGOs as well as industry, working in close cooperation with RBFF and state R3 professionals. The results will allow the R3 community, including sportfishing businesses as well as states and NGOs, to increase the effectiveness of their license renewal and marketing efforts.
WMI for ACI: Continued R3 Through Marketing with Pilot States
R3 through marketing is the project’s purpose. Using 5 trial state Fish and Wildlife agencies, we will implement marketing efforts via a $50,000 grant each to accomplish recruitment, retention, and reactivation of hunters and/or target shooters as this project has successfully done since 2020. The Association for Conservation Information (ACI) along with Wildlife Management Institute (WMI) will open applications for states to apply for grant funds for a marketing campaign that they would like to do. We will select the 5 best proposals as scored by ACI/WMI committee and implement them. The 5 trial states will complete their marketing campaigns within the 2025 calendar year and develop a case study. Expected outcomes include:
- Increased participation as indicated by engagement with marketing assets and number of licenses sold linked to campaign.
- Case studies for other states to learn from.
- Help states learn marketing strategies and try new things.
This project will further develop states’ ability to innovate and continually improve R3 marketing techniques. Over the 2020-2024 awarded R3 marketing grants we have an established working committee and 20 states have been able to put $1 million toward marketing tactics that have accomplished R3. The case studies outline the successes and challenges of each $50,000 project and detail the increase in participation where possible. Over the past several years we have proven this program through helping states invest in marketing and assisting them in implementing effective, trackable campaigns that are tied directly to increasing participation. This year we expect the same. The grant funds will increase participation in hunting and target shooting in a measurable way as has been done in every year this has been funded. This program continues to be one that teaches through case studies and increases participation in a proven way also increasing the effectiveness of our conservation funding system. Deliverables include 5 marketing campaigns that will increase participation in 5 trial states; R3 stats for number of people impacted by these campaigns; and 5 case studies from the 5 trial states. There is still a great need to increase marketing efforts and try new experimental efforts and share the successes and challenges of doing those efforts using marketing to accomplish R3. Intended beneficiaries include 5 trial states; however, every state can learn from these projects that can be replicated in any state if they are successful or learn from the challenges that are faced. People that will be recruited, retained, or reactivated! Subrecipients will be associated with the project. Depending on the trial state projects chosen, subrecipients could include state agencies, a state agency foundation, marketing firm, or other related firm.