Council To Advance Hunting And The

2022 - 2024 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 COUNCILS WORK IN THE R3 COMMUNITY. USING FINDINGS FROM THE STAKEHOLDER SURVEY, FEEDBACK FROM PLANNING SESSIONS WITH THE COUNCILS 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 COUNCILS SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE AND INCREASE FOLLOWERS BY 10% PRODUCE AMERICANS 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.

FACILITATION OF NATIONAL R3 STRATEGIES

FY 2020 M-MSCGP; ADVANCING R3 FORWARD.

EFFECTIVE MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF HUNTING AND FISHING RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, AND REACTIVATION (R3) EFFORTS AND TRENDS REQUIRE TIMELY, RELIABLE, PARTICIPATION INSIGHTS. UNTIL THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LICENSE SALES DASHBOARD, SUCH INFORMATION WAS NOT AVAILABLE REGIONALLY OR NATIONALLY. TO BETTER SERVE SATES, THE CURRENT LICENSE DASHBOARD IS BEING UPGRADED, SOME SEMI ANNUAL TO DAILY REPORTING CAPABILITY. REPORT ELEMENTS INCLUDE THE NUMBER OF UNIQUE LICENSE BUYERS, CHURN RATES, TRENDS IN FIRST TIME LICENSE BUYERS AND MORE. HOWEVER THE LICENSE SALES DASHBOARD NEEDS TO EXPAND FROM 12 STATES TO AT LEAST 26 OR MORE, TO RELIABLE REPORT R3 TRENDS. DEPENDABLE DATA WILL ENABLE THE R3 COMMUNITY TO QUICKLY IDENTIFY IF R3 APPLICATIONS ARE EFFECTIVE, WHEN NEW DIRECTION IS NEEDED, AND HOW CURRENT EVENTS IMPACT PARTICIPATION. TO IMPROVE RELIABILITY, THIS PROPOSAL FOCUSES ON EXPANDING THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPATING STATES TO 35, IMPLEMENTING REPORTING IMPROVEMENTS, EXPANDING AWARENESS OF THE REAL TIME DASHBOARD S AVAILABILITY AND BENEFITS, AND COLLABORATING WITH THE R3 COMMUNITY TO FIND LONG TERM FUNDING SUPPORT. STATES ARE NOT REQUIRED TO PROVIDE FUNDS AND STATES WITH THEIR OWN DASHBOARDS ARE ASKED TO CONTINUE SHARING DATA WITH THIS EFFORT. STATES DO NOT NEED TO SHARE PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION (PII) OF LICENSE PURCHASERS SUCH AS NAMES AND ADDRESSES TO PARTICIPATE. THE COUNCIL TO ADVANCE HUNTING AND THE SHOOTING SPORTS (COUNCIL) WILL MANAGE AND DEVOTE STAFF TIME TO THIS PROJECT USING OTHER FUNDS AND WILL NOT KEEP ANY FUNDS FROM THIS AWARD.

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 SECOND 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 AN NATION LEVEL DASHBOARD WITH MULTISTATE CONSERVATION GRANT PROGRAM (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 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 PARTNERS, 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 DASHBOARD S LONG TERM OPERATIONAL PROSPECTS AND IF REALISTIC, WILL INITIATE EFFORTS TO SECURE THE LESSER COST OF MAINTENANCE FUNDING FOR FUTURE YEARS.

CAHSS: EXPANSION OF R3 AND ENGAGEMENT OF THE NATIONAL R3 IMPLEMENTATION WORKGROUP

BUILDING CAPABILITIES WITHIN STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES TO ENGAGE, RECRUIT, AND RETAIN NEW HUNTERS AND SHOOTERS

F19AP00115

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL HUNTING AND SHOOTING SPORTS ACTION PLAN