Wildlife Management Institute Inc

NE LCC CONSERVATION SCIENCE NEEDS MOD 3

SCIENCE APPLICATIONS, NORTHEAST REGION, LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION COOPERATIVE SUPPORT

INTERMOUNTAIN WEST JOINT VENTURE STAFF - PHASE 2

SCIENCE SUPPORT AND LCD; SCIENCE COORDINATION; LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION

SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SA IS A PROGRAM IN THE US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE FWS ORGANIZED TO CARRY OUT AT RISK SPECIES CONSERVATION, COLLABORATIVE LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION, AND SCIENCE SUPPORT SA FACILITATES A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO FISH AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT, WITH ACCOMPANYING SHARED GOALS, PLANNING, STRATEGIC ACTIONS, AND MEANS TO MEASURE PROGRESS A PRIMARY GOAL FOR THE AT RISK MISSION FOCAL AREA IS TO WORK WITH PARTNERS TO IDENTIFY GAPS IN KNOWLEDGE AROUND SHARED CONSERVATION PRIORITIES, AND WORK COLLABORATIVELY TO PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TOOLS, AND COORDINATION SUPPORT TO INFORM CONSERVATION STRATEGIES AND MANAGEMENT ACTIONS THE PROGRAM DELIVERS THE BEST AVAILABLE LANDSCAPE LEVEL TOOLS TO COLLABORATIVE CONSERVATION PLANNING PARTNERSHIPS AND SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION IN SUPPORT OF POLICY RELEVANT DECISION MAKING SPECIFICALLY, IN THE FWS NORTHEAST REGION R5 SUPPORT IS FOCUSED ON ADDRESSING THE CONSERVATION AND POLICY NEEDS OF IMPERILED OR AT RISK SPECIES, WITH A FOCUS ON APPLIED CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIPS ACROSS PRIORITY LANDSCAPES SUCH SPECIES ARE MANAGED UNDER THE LEGAL AUTHORITY OF THE STATE WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCE AGENCIES WORKING THROUGH A COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT, IN WHICH FWS SCIENTISTS AND TECHNICAL STAFF ARE SUBSTANTIVELY INVOLVED, ALLOW SA TO LEVERAGE THE EXTENSIVE CAPACITY OF THE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE WMI AND ITS LONG HISTORY AND TRUST WORKING WITH STATE AND NON GOVERNMENTAL PARTNERS TOWARD STRATEGIC SPECIES, COLLABORATIVE LANDSCAPE, AND HABITAT CONSERVATION THE OVERALL SCOPE OF THE AGREEMENT IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF CUTTING EDGE SCIENCE AND CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES TO PRODUCE CURRENT AND FUTURE MODELED INFORMATION AND CONSERVATION ACTIONS IT WILL ALSO PROVIDE STAFF CAPACITY TO MANAGE THESE TOOLS AND DATA, GIVEN THE EXPECTED MIGRATION ONTO APPROVED AND SECURE CLOUD BASED SERVERS WE WILL NEED A COMBINATION OF COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH GRANTS, SMALL GRANT ADMINISTRATION, AND STAFF SUPPORT SERVICES TO CONDUCT THE WORK

GREAT PLAINS LCC REGIONAL CONSERVATION NEEDS

THE NORTH AMERICAN BAT MONITORING PROGRAM (NABAT) IS AN INTERAGENCY PROGRAM DESIGNED TO MONITOR BAT DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE ON A CONTINENTAL SCALE. NABAT PROVIDES INFORMATION TO NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGERS, INFORMING MANAGEMENT DECISIONS BY DETECTING POPULATION CHANGES AND DECLINES. NABAT WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2015 IN RESPONSE TO THE THREAT OF WHITE-NOSE SYNDROME AND OTHER IMPACTS TO NORTH AMERICAN BATS. SINCE ITS FOUNDING, THE PROGRAM HAS GROWN INTO THE MAIN REPOSITORY FOR BAT DATA FOR FEDERAL PROGRAMS, A ROLE THAT WAS RECENTLY REINFORCED BY A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU) BETWEEN THE US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE (USFWS) AND THE US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY (USGS) DETAILING AN AGREEMENT OF SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES AND JOINT MANAGEMENT OF THE NABAT PROGRAM.USFWS HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SUPPORT ROBUST DATA COLLECTION TO ADDRESS DATA NEEDS IN THE NABAT DATABASE THROUGH FUNDING ALLOCATED BY THE FEDERAL PERMITTING IMPROVEMENT STEERING COUNCIL (FPISC) AND TITLE 41 OF FIXING AMERICAS SURFACE TRANSPORTATION ACT (FAST-41). THROUGH CONTRACTING COLONY COUNTS, ACOUSTIC SURVEYS, DATA MANAGEMENT, AND ANALYSIS TO AN EXTERNAL PARTNER, USFWS WILL BOOST THE COVERAGE OF NABAT IN THE EASTERN U.S., THUS IMPROVING DISTRIBUTION MODELS FOR ENDANGERED AND THREATENED BATS. THIS WORK WILL IMPROVE PERMITTING EFFICIENCIES THROUGH INCREASING THE AMOUNT AND EXTENT OF DATA FOR THE NABAT PROGRAM, WHICH STRENGTHENS DATA PRODUCTS USED IN ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT SECTION 7 CONSULTATIONS.

INTERMOUNTAIN WEST JOINT VENTURE STAFF

WHITE-NOSE SYNDROME RESEARCH AND WORKSHOP COORDINATION SUPPORT

CONSERVATION OF AT-RISK SPECIES ACROSS THE NORTH ATLANTIC-APPALACHIAN REGION (PHASE 2)

SUPPORT FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION DESIGN THROUGH ALASKA S LCCS

RACHEL CARSON NWR HABITAT MANAGEMENT

WHITENOSE SYNDROME COORDINATION SUPPORT: RESEARCH AND WORKSHOP SUPPORT

LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION COOPERATIVE PARTNERSHIPS

RECOVERY AT RISK SPECIES

NEW ENGLAND COTTONTAIL HABITAT RESTORATION PARTNERSHIP

WHITE-NOSE SYNDROME IS A FUNGAL DISEASE RESPONSIBLE FOR UNPRECEDENTED MORTALITY IN HIBERNATING BATS IN NORTH AMERICA. THIS DISEASE HAS SPREAD VERY RAPIDLY SINCE ITS DISCOVERY IN 2007. THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE IS LEADING A MULTI-ORGANIZATIONAL EFFORT TO INVESTIGATE AND MANAGE WNS. GIVEN THE COMPLEXITY OF THE RESPONSE TO THIS DISEASE, A HIGHLY COORDINATED EFFORT IS REQUIRED FOR STATE, FEDERAL, AND TRIBAL WILDLIFE AGENCIES, AND PRIVATE PARTNERS TO RESPOND EFFECTIVELY TO WNS AND CONSERVE BATS.THE SERVICE AND THE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE RECOGNIZE THE NEED FOR FACILITATION OF MULTI-STATE AND INTERNATIONAL CONSERVATION SCIENCE CENTERED ON FISH AND WILDLIFE POPULATIONS AND HABITAT CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT CONSISTENT WITH A LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION APPROACH. THIS PROJECT IS DESIGNED TO SUPPORT THE OVERALL GOALS OF THE WNS NATIONAL RESPONSE TO FACILITATE CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND ENHANCE COMMUNICATION AMONG PARTNERS IN SETTING COMMON GOALS AND ASSESSING COMMON SCIENCE NEEDS. FUNDS FOR THIS PROJECT WILL SUPPORT BASIC AND APPLIED RESEARCH, INFORMATION MANAGEMENT, COMMUNICATION, AND TRAVEL TO FACILITATE ALL OF THE ABOVE.

A NATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO CONNECT MILLENNIALS AND GENERATION Z WITH HUNTING, SHOOTING, AND THE OUTDOORS

THE NORTHEAST ASSOCIATION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES (NEAFWA) IS PARTNERING WITH THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE (FWS) AND THE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE (WMI) TO HIRE A NORTHEAST REGIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE HEALTH COORDINATOR. THE COORDINATOR WILL ENCOURAGE AND SUPPORT THE NETWORK OF FISH AND WILDLIFE HEALTH PRACTITIONERS IN THEIR WORK TO ADDRESS ZOONOTIC DISEASES AND OTHER FISH AND WILDLIFE HEALTH ISSUES ACROSS THE NORTHEAST REGION. THE ABILITY TO COLLABORATE WILL BE CRITICAL, AND THE COORDINATOR WILL WORK CLOSELY WITH THE NEAFWA MEMBER STATES, THE FWS, OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES, ACADEMIA AND OTHER INTERESTED STAKEHOLDERS TO DEVELOP REGIONAL STRATEGIES FOR PREVENTING, DETECTING, CONTROLLING AND POTENTIALLY ERADICATING IMPORTANT WILDLIFE DISEASES IN AN EFFORT TO MINIMIZE IMPACTS TO WILDLIFE, LIVESTOCK AND PEOPLE.

ENHANCING THE WILDLIFE AND SPORT FISH RESTORATION PROGRAM

IMPLEMENTING BIRD ACTION PLANS FOR SHRUBLAND DEPENDENTS IN THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS BIRD CONSERVATION REGION

F12AC01605- FACILITATION OF COMMUNICATION AND CONSERVATION THROUGH ALASKAS LCCS

HABITAT RESTORATION FOR AT-RISK SPECIES

FUNDS UNDER THIS AWARD ARE TO BE USED TO SUPPORT COLLABORATIVE PLANNING, PERMITTING, AND IMPLEMENTATION EFFORTS TO IMPROVE AND RESTORE HABITAT FOR AT-RISK SPECIES.

PROJECT PURPOSE:RECRUITMENT, RETENTION AND REACTIVATION (R3) THROUGH MARKETING IS THE PROJECTS PURPOSE. USING 5 TRIAL STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES (SFWA), WE WILL IMPLEMENT MARKETING EFFORTS VIA A $50,000 SUBAWARD TO EACH SFWA TO ACCOMPLISH R3 OF HUNTERS AND OR TARGET SHOOTERS AS THIS PROJECT HAS SUCCESSFULLY DONE SINCE 2020.ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED:THE ASSOCIATION FOR CONSERVATION INFORMATION (ACI) ALONG WITH WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE (WMI) WILL OPENAPPLICATIONS FOR STATES TO APPLY FOR SUBAWARD 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 SFWAS WILL COMPLETE THEIR MARKETING CAMPAIGNS WITHIN THE 2025 CALENDAR YEAR AND DEVELOP A CASE STUDY.EXPECTED OUTCOMES:1. INCREASED PARTICIPATION AS INDICATED BY ENGAGEMENT WITH MARKETING ASSETS AND NUMBER OF LICENSES SOLD LINKED TO CAMPAIGN.2. CASE STUDIES FOR OTHER STATES TO LEARN FROM.3. HELP STATES LEARN MARKETING STRATEGIES AND TRY NEW THINGS.THIS PROJECT WILL FURTHER DEVELOP THE ABILITY OF SFWA 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: 1. 5 MARKETING CAMPAIGNS THAT WILL INCREASE PARTICIPATION IN 5 TRIAL STATES.2. R3 STATS FOR NUMBER OF PEOPLE IMPACTED BY THESE CAMPAIGNS.5. 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 THESUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES OF DOING THOSE EFFORTS USING MARKETING TO ACCOMPLISH R3.INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: 5 TRIAL STATES WILL BE BENEFICIARIES. 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.

THE COMMUNICATORS AND R3 PROFESSIONALS WORKING TO ENGAGE AMERICANS IN OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES FACE MAJOR HURDLES IN THE EFFORT TO DEVELOP MESSAGES TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN HUNTERS, SHOOTERS, ARCHERS AND ANGLERS AS WELL AS REPRESENTING THE DIVERSITY OF INCREDIBLY RICH COMMUNITY THAT PARTICIPATES IN THESE ACTIVITIES.1) TODAY S MEDIA SAVVY PUBLIC EXPECTS INTERESTING, ATTRACTIVE, DEMOGRAPHICALLY REPRESENTATIVE, HIGH QUALITY PHOTOGRAPHY. MESSAGES WITH DULL OR UNATTRACTIVE IMAGES ARE LOST IN THE SHUFFLE. R3 PRACTITIONERS NEED HIGH QUALITY PHOTOS.2) TARGETING DIVERSE AUDIENCES ACROSS VARIOUS TYPES OF HUNTING, SHOOTING AND FISHING MULTIPLIES THE NUMBER AND VARIETY OF PHOTOS NECESSARY SEVERAL FOLD. R3 PRACTITIONERS NEED A LARGE VARIETY OF IMAGES.3) EVEN IF THE EXACT PHOTO AN R3 PRACTITIONER NEEDS EXISTS, IT MIGHT BE IN ANY ONE OF SEVERAL PLACES AND IT IS NOT CATALOGUED IN SUCH A WAY TO MAKE IT EASY TO LOCATE FOR DOWNLOAD. R3 PRACTITIONERS NEED A CENTRAL, ORGANIZED DIGITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE MORE, BETTER, MORE DIVERSE AND EASIER TO FIND AND DOWNLOAD HUNTING, FISHING, SHOOTING, AND ARCHERY IMAGES TO R3 PROFESSIONALS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY TO ENABLE THEM TO ATTRACT MORE INDIVIDUALS TO THE OUTDOORS WITH LESS EFFORT THAN EVER BEFORE.OBJECTIVE 1 CROSS COUNTRY, PROFESSIONAL HUNTING PHOTO SHOOTOBJECTIVE 2 HUNTING, FISHING, SHOOTING AND ARCHERY MANUFACTURER PHOTO POOLOBJECTIVE 3 CENTRALIZED DIGITAL ASSET MANAGER

AN AGENCY PATH FORWARD: DESIGNING EFFECTIVE ENGAGEMENT AND BUILDING CAPACITY FOR RELEVANCE

GIVEN THAT MOST 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 STRONGENOUGH TO OVERCOME SOME OF THE TYPICAL, WELL-DOCUMENTED BARRIERS THAT AFFECT MOST HUNTERS, AND NON-RESIDENTHUNTERS ARE WILLING TO SPEND FAR MORE EFFORT IN THEIR PURSUITS THAN THE AVERAGE RESIDENT HUNTER. PERHAPS MOSTIMPORTANTLY 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 OFCAPITALIZING 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 GIVENTHEIR 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 OPPORTUNITIESAVAILABLE TO THEM MAY MAINTAIN THEIR ENTHUSIASM AND ENGAGEMENT IN HUNTING, LIKELY SERVING AS A RETENTION TOOL TOINCREASE 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, THISPROJECT 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.

MARKETING IS AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO ACCOMPLISH RECRUIT, RETAIN, REACTIVATE (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 WILDLIFE SPORT FISH RESTORATAION SINCE 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.ASSOCIATION FOR CONSERVATION INFORMATION (ACI), WITH OVER 40 STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCY MEMBERS WHO ARE PRACTITIONERS OF MARKETING AND R3, AND AN ORGANIZATION THAT EXISTS ONLY TO ADVANCE AGENCY COMMUNICATION ABILITIES. SINCE MODERNIZATION, ACI HAS GARNERED 3 GRANTS TO ACCOMPLISH R3 THROUGH MARKETING. WE HAVE THE 2020 AND 2021 CASE STUDIES PUBLISHED AND ARE IN THE MIDST OF THE 2022 CAMPAIGNS BEING IMPLEMENTED. ACI HAVING LED 10 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 2022 AWARDED R3 MARKETING GRANTS WE HAVE AN ESTABLISHED COMMITTEE AND 15 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 BE FROM EACH AFWA REGION.OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS WE HAVE PROVEN 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 3 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.

ASSOCIATION FOR CONSERVATION INFORMATION: EFFECTIVE R3 MARKETING STRATEGIES

THIS PROPOSAL BUILDS ON PREVIOUS EFFORTS TO USE VISUALLY AND EMOTIONALLY APPEALING RECRUITMENT MATERIALS CREATED AND TESTED UNDER TWO PRIOR MULTI STATE AWARDS (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 WILDLIFE SPORT FISH RESTORATION FUNDING FOR STATES. THESE OUTCOMES WILL YIELD TANGIBLE CONSERVATION IMPACTS THROUGH INCREASED FUNDING FROM LICENSE AND PERMIT SALES, AS WELL AS EQUIPMENT PURCHASES.

ASSOCIATION FOR CONSERVATION INFORMATION: EFFECTIVE R3 MARKETING STRATEGIES

ACI: R3 THROUGH MARKETING VIA PILOT STATES

MARKETING IS AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO ACCOMPLISH R3 (RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, REACTIVATION). 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 WILDLIFE AND SPORT FISH RESTORATION SINCE THE PITTMAN-ROBERTSON (PR) MODERNIZATION ACT 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. ASSOCIATION FOR CONSERVATION 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 ASSOCIATION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES 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 PROJECTS 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.

TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED NATIONWIDE BIODIVERSITY DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES (SFWA) WERE RECENTLY AUTHORIZED TO SPEND FEDERAL FUNDS ON ADVERTISING MARKETING. THIS PROVIDES UNPRECEDENTED AND OFTEN UNDERUTILIZED OPPORTUNITIES FOR AGENCIES TO OPTIMIZE THEIR R3(RECRUIT, RETAIN, REACTIVATE) EFFORTS TO CAPITALIZE ON UNIQUE, REGION SPECIFIC GAME AND HUNTING OPPORTUNITIES ESPECIALLY WITH UNDER UTILIZED HUNTS THAT HAVE FEW RESOURCE CONSTRAINTS BUT MAY HAVE HIGH MARKET DEMAND. GIVEN THAT MOST R3 MARKETING RESEARCH HAS FOCUSED ON RESIDENTS, MANY AGENCIES KNOW LITTLE ABOUT NON RESIDENT (NR) MOTIVATION AND DEMAND OF THEIR HUNTING OPPORTUNITIES.NR HUNTERS ARE UNIQUE IN THAT THEY ARE MOTIVATED BY VALUES AND DESIRES THAT OVERCOME TYPICAL, WELL DOCUMENTED BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION. PLUS, NR HUNTERS MAY BE ATTRACTED TOWARDS SPECIES AND HUNTING LANDSCAPES UNCOMMON TO THEIR HOME STATES AND ARE UNDERUTILIZED BY RESIDENTS. IF AGENCIES BETTER UNDERSTOOD NR MOTIVATIONS AND BEHAVIORS MODIFIERS, THEY COULD MORE STRATEGICALLY PROMOTE UNDERUTILIZED HUNTS AND BOOST NR LICENSE REVENUES AND VISITORS WHILE POTENTIALLY MINIMIZING RESOURCE CONSTRAINTS OF HIGHER DEMAND HUNTS. USING LICENSE DATA AND GEOSPATIAL ANALYSES COMBINED WITH FOCUS GROUPS AND STATE LEVEL SURVEYS, THIS PROJECT WILL 1) IDENTIFY NR HUNTER LOCATIONS AND DEMOGRAPHICS, THEIR MOTIVATIONS, INTERESTS AND EXPERIENCE EXPECTATIONS, AND 2) PROVIDE AGENCIES WITH GUIDANCE ON HOW TO CAPITALIZE AND MANAGE LATENT NR DEMAND FOR THEIR UNIQUE HUNTING OPPORTUNITIES.

THE BULK OF RECRUITMENT, RETENTION AND REACTIVATION (R3) EFFORTS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES IN THE PAST DECADE HAVE FOCUSED ON THE CONTINUOUS R3 OF HUNTERS AND ANGLERS AT A TIME WHEN THE PERCENTAGE OF PARTICIPANTS PER CAPITA CONTINUES TO FLUCTUATE AND DECREASE, CREATING LONG-TERM CONCERNS FOR THE VIABILITY OF THESE OUTDOOR PURSUITS AND THE CONSERVATION OUTCOMES TIED TO THEIR PARTICIPANTS. RESEARCH GOING BACK AS FAR AS 1990 IN PREVIOUS ITERATIONS OF THE FUTURE OF HUNTING AND FISHING PROJECT (CHASE, 2012 CHASE, 2017 CHASE DUNFEE, 2022) IDENTIFIED A DISTINCT COMMITTED COHORTCURRENTLY IN THEIR LATE-50S AND EARLY 60STHAT HAS EXHIBITED HIGHER THAN AVERAGE RATES OF PARTICIPATION IN HUNTING ACTIVITIES, REGARDLESS OF TEMPORAL CONTEXT OR LIFE STAGE. HOWEVER, THIS COHORT IS NOW AGING INTO A STAGE OF LIFE WHERE PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS, FISCAL CONSTRAINTS, AND SHIFTING RESPONSIBILITIES ASSOCIATED WITH RETIREMENT MAY PRECLUDE ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT IN OUTDOOR RECREATION. CONSEQUENTLY, A GRADUAL DECLINE IN NATIONAL PARTICIPATION IS ANTICIPATED, BUT ANALYSIS OF RELIABLE DATA SOURCED DIRECTLY FROM STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES (SFWAS) IS CRITICALLY NEEDED TO DOCUMENT THE VALIDITY OF THIS PREDICTION AND TO ILLUMINATE OTHER TRENDS THAT MAY BE EMERGING IN, AND PREDICTIVE OF, HUNTER AND ANGLER POPULATION DYNAMICS. THE FUTURE OF HUNTING AND FISHING: A NEW VISION REPRESENTS A FIVE-YEAR REASSESSMENT OF NATIONAL TRENDS IN HUNTING AND FISHING, WHICH WILL ALLOW THE NATIONAL R3 COMMUNITY TO COMPARE THE SPECIFIC STATE-WIDE AND NATIONAL LICENSE PURCHASING BEHAVIOR OVER THE PAST 25 YEARS. DUE TO ITS RELIANCE ON ACTUAL LICENSE AND CUSTOMER DATA SOURCED DIRECTLY FROM SFWAS, THIS STUDY, LIKE ITS PREVIOUS ITERATIONS, WILL YIELD THE MOST RELIABLE HISTORICAL AND FUTURE PROJECTIONS OF AMERICAN HUNTING AND ANGLING PARTICIPATION OF ANY SIMILAR STUDY OR LICENSE DATA DASHBOARD CURRENTLY AVAILABLE. SINCE THE PREVIOUS STUDY PERIOD, COMPLETED IN 2021, SFWA AND R3-VESTED ORGANIZATION EFFORTS HAVE CONTINUED TO FOCUS ON R3 AND HAVE EXPANDED BOTH IN SCOPE AND EFFECTIVENESS, POTENTIALLY ALTERING THE TRAJECTORY OF PARTICIPATION. ADDITIONALLY, THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC CATALYZED A TEMPORARY INCREASE IN OUTDOOR RECREATION, AS INDIVIDUALS SOUGHT SOCIALLY DISTANCED ACTIVITIES AND RECONNECTED WITH NATURE. THESE AND OTHER TRENDS NEED TO BE DOCUMENTED AND UNDERSTOOD TO ENSURE THAT THE NATIONAL R3 COMMUNITY DIRECTS ITS EFFORTS TOWARD EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES AND AVOIDS WASTING FINITE RESOURCES AND EFFORT ON UNIMPACTFUL INITIATIVES. THIS STUDY PROPOSES CONDUCTING AN AGE-PERIOD-COHORT (APC) ANALYSIS UTILIZING DATA FROM A BROAD SAMPLE OF STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES. THE GOAL IS TO ASSESS THE EXTENT TO WHICH CONTEMPORARY DEVELOPMENTS, SUCH AS INTENSIFIED R3 INITIATIVES, PANDEMIC-RELATED BEHAVIORAL SHIFTS, AND GENERATIONAL SHIFTS HAVE INFLUENCED PARTICIPATION TRENDS AND WHETHER EARLIER FORECASTS, INCLUDING THE PROJECTED GRADUAL DECREASE IN PARTICIPATION BY THE COMMITTED COHORT, REMAIN VALID. THIS ITERATION OF THIS ONGOING LONGITUDINAL STUDY IS PARTICULARLY NECESSARY AS THE LEADING EDGE OF THE COMMITTED COHORT WAS PREDICTED TO START DECREASING ACTIVITY IN 2024. FURTHERMORE, THE STUDY WILL CAPITALIZE ON RECENT ADVANCEMENTS IN DATA SCIENCE TO EXTRACT NEW INSIGHTS. THE FINDINGS WILL OFFER CRITICAL GUIDANCE TO ALL SFWAS AND R3-VESTED ORGANIZATIONS, SUPPORTING INFORMED DECISIONS IN STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR DECLINING PARTICIPANTS AND SUBSEQUENT NEEDS FOR ADAPTABLE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT.

ADVANCING IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE RELEVANCY ROADMAPPROJECT ABSTRACT:UNDER THIS PROJECT, THE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE WILL WORK WITH FOUR STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES TO ADVANCE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE RELEVANCY ROADMAP. THE PROJECT INVOLVES WORKING THROUGH A THREE PHASED PROCESS WITH EACH STATE. PHASE 1 CONSISTS OF AN ASSESSMENT OF THE AGENCY'S READINESS TO ENGAGE WITH PREVIOUSLY UNDER-SERVED CONSTITUENCIES BASED ON AN INTERNAL SURVEY AND DISCUSSIONS WITH AGENCY LEADERSHIP, IDENTIFICATION OF DEMOGRAPHIC OR GEOGRAPHIC POPULATION SEGMENTS OF INTEREST THAT HAVE BEEN UNDER-SERVED BY THE AGENCY, AND QUALITATIVE SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH CONDUCTED BY INNOVATIVE OUTCOMES, INC. TO BEGIN TO DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE POPULATION SEGMENT(S) OF INTEREST. PHASE 2 CONSISTS OF A QUANTITATIVE SURVEY OF THE STATE'S GENERAL POPULATION AND/OR THE POPULATION SEGMENT(S) OF INTEREST CONDUCTED BY RESPONSIVE MANAGEMENT, INC. TO IDENTIFY THEIR WILDLIFE-RELATED NEEDS, INTERESTS, AND CONCERNS, AND THEIR AWARENESS OF AND TRUST IN THE STATE WILDLIFE AGENCY. PHASE 3 USES THE RESULTS OF THE EARLIER PHASES TO DEVELOP A SET OF RELEVANCY GOALS, OBJECTIVES, STRATEGIES, AND EVALUATION CRITERIA THE STATE CAN APPLY TO ENGAGE AND SERVE THE POPULATION SEGMENT(S) OF INTEREST. TO DATE, CONNECTICUT, NEVADA, AND OKLAHOMA HAVE AGREED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROJECT. A FOURTH STATE FROM THE SOUTHEASTERN REGION OF THE COUNTRY WILL BE SELECTED IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

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 1829-YEAR-OLDS IN THE U.S. USE YOUTUBE. 91 OF 3049-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 MULTI STATE FUNDS, 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 AWARDS. 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 STATES 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.

BLACK HUNTERS: RECLAIMING THE TRADITION

ACCORDING TO THE MULTISTATE CONSERVATION GRANT (MSCG) FUNDED DASHBOARD PROJECT, HUNTING LICENSES HAVE DECLINED TOPRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS. THESE DECLINES ARE NATIONAL, BUT PARTICULARLY APPARENT IN THE MIDWEST, WHERE 2021 VS 2022SALES DECLINED 2.5% FOR 11 REPORTING STATES . ANOTHER RECENT MSCG EXAMINING THE AGE-PERIOD-COHORT EFFECT ONLICENSE SALES SHOWED THAT COHORT (GENERATIONAL) EFFECTS WERE THE STRONGEST DRIVERS IN PARTICIPATION. AN ENTIRECOHORT OF HUNTERS (BABY BOOMERS) ARE GETTING OLDER, AND THEY ARE DROPPING OUT WITH DECLINES BECOMING MOREPRECIPITOUS AS THEY AGE. SIMPLY, WE CANT STOP THE AGING PROCESS, BUT THERE ARE REGULATORY TOOLS WE CAN USE TOSLOW THE DECLINE IN PARTICIPATION.WHILE YOUNGER HUNTERS HAVE BEEN A PRIMARY FOCUS FOR RECRUITMENT EFFORTS, TOO LITTLE ATTENTION HAS BEEN PAID TOKEEPING OLDER LICENSED CUSTOMERS ENGAGED AND PARTICIPATING. ONCE A PERSON QUITS, IT IS DIFFICULT TO BRING THEMBACK, REGARDLESS OF THE ACTIVITY. RETENTION, WHETHER IN THE CONSUMER MARKET OR R3 COMMUNITY, IS MUCH EASIER ANDLESS COSTLY THAN CREATING NEW CUSTOMERS. HISTORIC OPPOSITION FROM BOTH STAKEHOLDERS AND AGENCY STAFF TO SOMEREGULATORY TOOLS (E.G., CROSSBOWS FOR DEER, GAME ATTRACTANTS, LONGER SEASONS) HAS PRESENTED HURDLES WHILECHANGES IN ONES SOCIAL AND LIFESTYLE PREFERENCES AFTER MIDDLE-AGE MAY MAKE IT EASIER FOR COMPETING ACTIVITIES TOCAPTURE OUR HUNTERS TIME AND ATTENTION. FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE MIDWEST, THERE ARE AMPLE HUNTING OPPORTUNITIES FORBOTH BIG AND SMALL GAME, AS LICENSES ARE EASILY AVAILABLE, AND BAG LIMITS (PARTICULARLY FOR DEER) OFTEN EXCEEDTHE NUMBER OF ANIMALS A PERSON IS WILLING TO TAKE IN A YEAR. CONSEQUENTLY, WHILE OPPORTUNITIES ARE READILYAVAILABLE, INDIVIDUALS ARE STILL DROPPING OUT. GIVEN THE OVERALL DECLINE IN HUNTER NUMBERS, PARTICULARLY AMONGOLDER HUNTERS, THERE IS A NEED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE LIMITATIONS, MOTIVATIONS, AND PREFERENCES OF OLDERHUNTERS. THIS INFORMATION IS CRITICAL, AND THE KNOWLEDGE GAINED CAN BECOME PART OF STATES RETENTION EFFORTS, TOEXTEND CUSTOMERS YEARS OF PARTICIPATION.THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO RETAIN LICENSED HUNTERS FOR A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME. STATE AGENCIES ARE THEINTENDED BENEFICIARIES. WORK WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED BY FIRST WORKING WITH STATE BIOLOGISTS AND R3 MANAGERS TOIDENTIFY 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 DETERMINEPOTENTIAL SOLUTIONS MANAGEMENT STRATEGY TO FACILITATE THEIR CONTINUED PARTICIPATION. ONCE COMPLETE, WE WILLDISSEMINATE RECOMMENDATIONS AND RESEARCH FINDINGS TO THE R3 COMMUNITY IN READER-FRIENDLY FORMATS. THE OUTCOMEWILL BE GREATER NUMBERS OF PEOPLE HUNTING ANNUALLY.

THE R3 (RECRUIT, RETAIN AND REACTIVATE) COMMUNITY HAS HEAVILY INVESTED IN REVERSING THE DOWNWARD TREND IN HUNTING PARTICIPATION BY EXPANDING ITS SELF LIMITED UNDERSTANDING AND VALUATION OF THE NATION S POPULATIONS OF PROSPECTIVE HUNTERS. A CRITICAL PART OF THIS EXPANSION IS UNDERSTANDING AND ENGAGING THE SO CALLED ADULT ONSET HUNTERS PEOPLE WHO DID NOT GROW UP IN HUNTING FAMILIES BUT WHO HOLD AN INTEREST IN THE ACTIVITY BASED UPON COMPLEX AND DURABLE HUNTING ADJACENT VALUES. AS PART OF PREVIOUS MULTISTATE CONSERVATION GRANTS, THE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE (WMI), DJ CASE AND ASSOCIATES, AND SOUTHWICK ASSOCIATES USED QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH TO INVESTIGATE THIS HIGH PRIORITY AUDIENCE AND CATEGORIZE THEM BY VALUE PERSONAS AND THE LIKELY CUSTOMER JOURNEY FOR EACH. AS A RESULT OF THAT RESEARCH, THE R3 COMMUNITY NOW UNDERSTANDS WHO THIS AUDIENCE IS, WHAT MOTIVATES THEM, AND THE JOURNEY THEY ARE LIKELY TO TAKE TO BECOME NEW HUNTERS. HOWEVER, IN ORDER TO OPERATIONALIZE THESE DATA, IT IS CRITICAL TO DEVELOP, TEST, AND VALIDATE MESSAGING MOST EFFECTIVE AT MOTIVATING THESE MARKET SEGMENTS TO MOVE BEYOND JUST THINKING ABOUT BECOMING HUNTERS AND MODIFY THEIR BEHAVIOR TO BEGIN THEIR HUNTING JOURNEY. THIS PROJECT WILL GENERATE A MARKETING STRATEGY AND TESTED MESSAGING TO EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE WITH THE NEW ADULT AUDIENCE ON HOW TO BEGIN HUNTING.THIS PURPOSE AND INTENT OF THE PROJECT IS TO BUILD UPON PREVIOUS MARKET RESEARCH INTO NEW, PRIORITY AUDIENCES MOST LIKELY TO ADOPT HUNTING AND GENERATE A MARKETING STRATEGY BASED UPON MESSAGE TESTING TO EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE WITH THE NEW ADULT AUDIENCE ON HOW TO BEGIN HUNTING. BY USING MARKETING AD TEMPLATES AND MARKETING STRATEGIES, STATE AGENCIES, NGOS AND OTHER PARTNERS WILL BE ABLE TO USE THE RESULTS TO ACTIVATE MORE NEW ADULT HUNTERS WITH A SMALLER INVESTMENT OF MARKETING EFFORT AND BUDGET.THIS PROJECT WILL GENERATE A MARKETING STRATEGY AND TESTED MESSAGING TO EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE WITH NEW, PRIORITY ADULT AUDIENCE ON HOW TO BEGIN AND CONTINUE HUNTING. BY USING MARKETING AD TEMPLATES AND MARKETING STRATEGIES, STATE AGENCIES, NGOS AND OTHER PARTNERS WILL BE ABLE TO USE THE RESULTS TO ACTIVATE MORE NEW ADULT HUNTERS WITH A SMALLER INVESTMENT OF MARKETING EFFORT AND BUDGET.

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, THE VAST MAJORITY 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.WE WILL WORK WITH 4 STATES (ONE FROM EACH AFWA REGION) TO DEVELOP AND DELIVER YOUTUBE ADVERTISEMENTS OFFERING AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN ABOUT HUNTING TO 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 THEM 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. ACI GRANTS COMMITTEE WILL SELECT THE 4 STATES THAT WILL BE CHOSEN BASED ON AFWA REGION AND WILLINGNESS TO PARTICIPATE AND ABILITY TO TRACK RESULTS AND TIE REVENUE RETURNED BASED ON THESE ADS.

WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AGENCIES AND NASA EARTH OBSERVATION DATA: A NEEDS ASSESSMENT ANALYSIS FOR USING NASA DATA TO CONSERVE BIODIVERSITY AND FACILITATE LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION.

HURRICANE SANDY; ASSESS ROAD-STREAM CROSSINGS FOR CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND AQUATIC CONNECTIVITY IN THE SANDY-IMPACTED NORTHEAST

THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO CREATE A NATIONAL COALITION OF STAFF IN STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES AND OTHER ASSOCIATION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS TO SERVE AS EXPERT PRACTITIONERS (COACHES) TO TEACH AND LEARN FROM EACH OTHER TO SUPPORT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE RELEVANCY ROADMAP. THE COACHES WILL BE PROVIDED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FROM WILDLIFE PROFESSIONALS THAT ARE DEEPLY EMBEDDED IN CONSERVATION RELEVANCY WORK AND PROVIDED OPEN SOURCE CUSTOMIZABLE MATERIALS TO HELP THEIR OWN AND OTHER CONSERVATION ORGANIZATIONS 1) ARTICULATE WHAT RELEVANCY MEANS IN AN ORGANIZATIONS OR STATE S CONTEXT, 2) ASSESS WHY AND TO WHOM A CONSERVATION AGENCY OR ORGANIZATION WANTS TO INCREASE RELEVANCY, AND 3) DEVELOP ACTIONABLE PLANS TO ENGAGE AND SERVE BROADER CONSTITUENCIES TO ENHANCE CONSERVATION.STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES ARE STRUGGLING TO UNDERSTAND AND ADAPT TO THE CHANGING INTERESTS, NEEDS AND CONCERNS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN PUBLIC ABOUT FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION. TO ADDRESS THIS CHALLENGE, THE ASSOCIATION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES (AFWA) AND THE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE (WMI) WORKED WITH OVER 60 WILDLIFE PROFESSIONALS TO DEVELOP THE FISH AND WILDLIFE RELEVANCY ROADMAP (HTTPS WWW.FISHWILDLIFE.ORG AFWA INFORMS RESOURCES BLUE RIBBON PANEL RELEVANCY ROADMAP). ADOPTED BY AFWA DIRECTORS IN 2019, THE ROADMAP IS A PRACTICAL GUIDE THAT OFFERS OVER 100 RECOMMENDATIONS STATE AND PROVINCIAL FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES CAN USE TO OVERCOME BARRIERS TO BROADER RELEVANCE, IMPROVE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND SUPPORT, AND ENHANCE CONSERVATION OUTCOMES. AFTER WORKING WITH 14 STATE AGENCIES THAT ARE EXPERIMENTING WITH IMPLEMENTING THE ROADMAP RECOMMENDATIONS, OUR PROJECT TEAM HAS IDENTIFIED SEVERAL KEY COMPETENCIES THAT ARE CRITICAL TO EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ROADMAP. THESE COMPETENCIES ARE MISSING OR INSUFFICIENTLY DEVELOPED IN MANY STATE AGENCIES.OBJECTIVE 1 TITLE UPDATE EXISTING RELEVANCY RELATED TRAINING MATERIALS.OBJECTIVE 2 TITLE PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO UP TO 75 PEOPLE (REPRESENTING EACH AFWA REGION) TO IMPROVE COMPETENCIES TO IMPLEMENT THE RELEVANCY ROADMAP BY DECEMBER 31ST, 2023.THE ULTIMATE OUTCOME OF THIS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RELEVANCY COACHES COALITION A COHORT OF STAFF EMBEDDED IN STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES AND OTHER AFWA MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE THE FOUNDATIONAL COMPETENCIES THAT ARE NEEDED TO SUPPORT AND IMPLEMENT THE RELEVANCY ROADMAP. THESE COACHES WILL BECOME THE CONVENERS OF INTERNAL DISCUSSIONS ABOUT RELEVANCY AND WILL FACILITATE IMPLEMENTATION OF RELEVANCY RELATED PROJECTS. AS RELEVANCY AMBASSADORS THEY WILL HELP CREATE THE NECESSARY TIME FOR REFLECTION, DIAGNOSIS, PLANNING AND PRIORITIZATION TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS, INTERESTS AND CONCERNS OF CURRENT AND FUTURE STAKEHOLDERS. THEY WILL HAVE DEVELOPED FOUNDATIONAL COMPETENCIES THAT ALLOW AGENCIES TO BETTER ADAPT TO CHANGING SOCIETAL AND ECOLOGICAL CONDITIONS. THEY WILL HAVE ACCESS TO CONTEMPORARY MATERIALS AND EXPERTISE THAT SUPPORT RELEVANCY RELATED PROJECTS. THEY WILL HAVE THE SKILLS TO AMPLIFY AND ACCELERATE EXPERIMENTATION AND ADOPTION OF NEW APPROACHES TO ENGAGE CURRENT AND BROADER CONSTITUENCIES. THE RELEVANCY COACHES WILL FUNCTION AS COMMUNICATION HUBS WITHIN THEIR ORGANIZATION AND CAN SUPPORT RELEVANCY EFFORTS IN NEARBY STATES BY OFFERING COLLABORATIVE IN KIND SERVICES. WMI STAFF WILL COORDINATE AND MANAGE THE RELEVANCY COACHES COALITION.

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. 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, SARS INSTRUCTORS INITIATE SAFE AND FUN AIR RIFLE PROGRAMS AS PART OF SCHOOLS PHYSICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS USING SARS 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.

THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES (SFWAS) WITH A RELIABLE, REPLICABLE, AND FIELD-TESTED METHODOLOGY FOR INITIATING NEW PARTNERSHIPS THAT INCREASE THEIR CAPACITY TO EFFECTIVELY DELIVER HUNTING, ANGLING, AND SHOOTING SPORTS RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, AND REACTIVATION (R3) EFFORTS. THE NEED FOR EFFECTIVE METHODS OF FINDING AND PARTNERING WITH NEW, R3-VESTED GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS HAS ONLY INCREASED IN RELEVANCE WITHIN THE PROFESSIONAL R3 COMMUNITY IN RECENT YEARS AS NUMEROUS RESEARCH EFFORTS AND R3 COMMITTEE REPORTS HAVE DOCUMENTED THE FAILURE POINTS OF EXISTING PARTNERSHIP MODELS. THESE SHORTCOMINGS HAVE PROVIDED NEW INSIGHTS INTO HOW AND WHY SFWAS STRUGGLE TO SECURE AND MAINTAIN THE PARTNER RELATIONSHIPS THEY RELY ON TO DELIVER SIGNIFICANT PORTIONS OF R3 STRATEGIES AND OBJECTIVES. AS NOTED BY MULTIPLE RESEARCH EFFORTS LED BY THE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE (WMI) AND PARTNER SFWAS, THE MOST SUCCESSFUL SFWA PARTNERSHIP-BUILDING EFFORTS HAVE BEEN THOSE THAT, WHETHER BY DESIGN OR NOT, IDENTIFIED AND EMPOWERED AT LEAST ONE EXISTING STAFF MEMBER TO PLAY KEY ROLES IN CONNECTING AGENCIES WITH NEW PARTNER GROUPS. THESE STAFF MEMBERS BRING CRUCIAL SKILLS, INSIGHTS, AND ENTHUSIASM TO THE PARTNERSHIP-BUILDING PROCESS IN ADDITION, THEY ALSO HAVE PRE-EXISTING CONNECTIONS, EITHER WITH THE SPECIFIC NEW PARTNER GROUP OR WITH THE GROUP TYPE (E.G., WITH VALUES OR PERSPECTIVES THAT DIFFER FROM THOSE THAT PREDOMINATE IN THE AGENCY). BASED ON THESE OBSERVED PATTERNS, WMI HAS DEVELOPED A PROVISIONAL PARTNERSHIP-BUILDING MODEL THAT WILL, OVER THE COURSE OF THIS PROJECT, BE SUBJECTED TO REAL-WORLD EXPERIMENTAL TESTING. IN THIS INTENSIVE APPLIED RESEARCH EFFORT, WMI AND DJ CASE ASSOCIATES (DJ CASE) WILL COLLABORATE WITH AT LEAST ONE AGENCY FROM EACH OF THE FOUR SFWA REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS IN DESIGNING, IMPLEMENTING, AND EVALUATING AGENCY-SPECIFIC STRATEGIES FOCUSED ON ESTABLISHING, IN EACH STATE, AT LEAST ONE NEW PARTNERSHIP THAT CAN EFFECTIVELY CONTRIBUTE TO R3 OUTCOMES. THE TEAM WILL USE THE RESULTS OF RIGOROUS EVALUATION METHODOLOGY TO REFINE THE PARTNERSHIP-BUILDING MODEL, THEN SYNTHESIZE AND PACKAGE TACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR USE BY R3 STAFF AND PRACTITIONERS. ANTICIPATED PROJECT OUTCOMES INCLUDE ENHANCED STAFF CAPACITY FOR BUILDING LASTING R3 PARTNERSHIPS ACROSS A RANGE OF VALUES AND PERSPECTIVES INCREASED CONFIDENCE OF SFWA LEADERSHIP THAT THEIR AGENCY HAS THE TOOLS IT NEEDS TO BUILD EFFECTIVE R3 PARTNERSHIPS AN INCREASE IN HUNTERS, ANGLERS, AND SHOOTING SPORTS PARTICIPANTS WITH A WIDER RANGE OF VALUES AND PERSPECTIVES NEW AGENCY RELATIONSHIPS WITH ACTIVE PARTNERS WILLING TO ENGAGE IN R3 AND OTHER CONSERVATION-SUPPORTIVE BEHAVIORS INCREASED AGENCY CREDIBILITY INAND INCREASED FUTURE SUPPORT FOR AGENCY-RECOMMENDED POLICY AND PRACTICE MEASURES FROMBROADER SEGMENTS OF THE PUBLIC WITH BROADER VALUES AND PERSPECTIVES. PROJECT DELIVERABLES WILL INCLUDE TESTED TACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS PRESENTED AS A PRACTICAL, ACCESSIBLE PARTNER ENGAGEMENT MANUAL THAT CAN BE USED 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. ADDITIONAL DELIVERABLES WILL INCLUDE DURABLE R3-FOCUSED PARTNERSHIPS FOR THE FOUR OR MORE PARTICIPATING SFWAS, AND REAL-WORLD VALIDATION OF THE PROJECT PARTNERSHIP MODEL FOR ALL SFWAS IN NEED OF A RELIABLE METHODOLOGY FOR DEVELOPING NEW PARTNERSHIPS.

VERMONT WETLAND RESTORATION PROJECT - WMI

PROVIDE FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO THE RECIPIENT TO CARRY OUT AVIAN INFLUENZA SURVEILANCE ACTIVITIES

ENHANCING THE WILDLIFE AND SPORT FISH RESTORATION PROGRAM

IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC TOOLS TO EVALUATE, IMPROVE, AND DEVELOP HUNTER RECRUITEMENT AND RETENTION PROGRAMS

RELIABLE RESEARCH SUPPORTING THE EVALUATION OF RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, AND REACTIVATION (R3) EFFORTS HAVE PROGRESSED SIGNIFICANTLY IN RECENT DECADES WITH METHODOLOGIES AND TOOLS BEING DEVELOPED AND INCREASINGLY ADOPTED BY R3 PRACTITIONERS. CENTRAL TO THE STRUCTURING OF THESE NUMEROUS EVALUATION TECHNIQUES IS THE OUTDOOR RECREATION ADOPTION MODEL (ORAM), A FOUNDATIONAL THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK THAT HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN PROMOTING CONSISTENT STANDARDS OF R3 EFFICACY WITHIN THE FIELD. WHILE ITS CONTRIBUTIONS ARE SIGNIFICANT, THE FRAMEWORK IS NOT WITHOUT LIMITATIONS. DECADES OF RESEARCH GROUNDED IN SELF-IDENTITY THEORY REVEAL THAT THE DECISION TO PERSIST IN AN ACTIVITY IS STRONGLY INFLUENCED BY THE INDIVIDUALS PERCEPTION OF THEIR GROUP MEMBERSHIP AND BY THE INDIVIDUALS SELF-PERCEPTION. RECENT RESEARCH (CHASE DUNFEE, THE HOLE IN THE ORAM: GOING BACK TO THE ABCS OF HUNTING AND FISHING, MULTISTATE CONSERVATION GRANT PROJECT, 2025) HAS WORKED TO STRENGTHEN THE ORAM BY FOCUSING ON THE DECISION TO CONTINUE POINT WITHIN THE MODEL AND ITS DIRECT LINKAGE TO INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY FORMATION. THIS PARADIGM-SHIFTING STUDY INTEGRATED, FOR THE FIRST TIME, PRACTICAL METHODOLOGY THAT INCORPORATES IDENTITY FORMATION FACTORS INTO THE APPLICATION OF THE ORAM IN R3 EFFORT DELIVERY AND EVALUATION AT INDIVIDUAL, EVENT, AND PROGRAM LEVELS. CHASE AND DUNFEE (2025) WORKED TO FURTHER EXPAND THE APPLICATION OF IDENTIFY FORMATION IN R3 EFFORTS BY FINDING THAT HUNTERS CAN BE CATEGORIZED INTO EIGHT TYPOLOGIES, BASED THEIR IDENTIFICATION IN THREE IDENTITY FACTORS: APTITUDE, BEHAVIOR AND COMMUNITY. ADDITIONALLY, THIS STUDY PROVED THAT THE NUANCES OF HUNTER IDENTITY FORMATION COULD BE DETERMINED VIA A SIMPLE 10-QUESTION BATTERY THAT COULD BE INCORPORATED INTO EXISTING R3 EFFORT EVALUATION SYSTEMS. WHILE AN ADMIRABLE START, THESE INNOVATIONS WERE DEVELOPED IN A PILOT EFFORT AND NEED ADDITIONAL VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY TESTING IN REAL-WORLD CONDITIONS TO OPTIMIZE THEIR FUNCTIONALITY FOR R3 PRACTITIONERS IN STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES (SFWAS) AND OTHER R3-VESTED ORGANIZATIONS. THIS PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL BUILD ON THE PREVIOUS RESEARCH BY EXTENDING THE STUDY TO OTHER SELECTED SFWAS AND THEIR R3 PARTNERS. SIX TO EIGHT INTERESTED STATES WILL BE RECRUITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS STUDY TO EVALUATE THE DEGREE TO WHICH THEIR R3 EFFORTS CONTRIBUTE TO IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT. UNLIKE THE PILOT STUDY, WHICH RELIED ON EXPERT OPINION TO GENERATE THE STRATEGIC ORIENTATION MATRIX TO CLASSIFY EVENTS AS TO THEIR EFFECTIVENESS AT INCREASING APTITUDE, BEHAVIOR, AND COMMUNITY, THIS RESEARCH EFFORT WILL PROVIDE A FAR MORE ROBUST QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF EACH R3 EVENT THAT EACH PARTICIPATING STATE ASSESSES IN PRE- AND POST-EVENT SURVEYS. UPON COMPLETION, THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE A SERIES OF IDENTITY-FORMATION ASSESSMENT TOOLS, ACCOMPANIED BY ANALYSIS PROTOCOLS, THAT CAN BE SEAMLESSLY INTEGRATED INTO EXISTING SURVEYS, EVENT REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, AND EVALUATION INSTRUMENTS USED TO MEASURE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF R3 INITIATIVES. BY INTEGRATING IDENTITY-BASED MEASURES INTO R3 PRACTICE, PARTICIPATING SFWAS STAND TO ACHIEVE THREE PRIMARY BENEFITS THROUGH THEIR ENGAGEMENT IN THIS APPLIED RESEARCH PROJECT: (1) MORE TARGETED, EFFICIENT, AND STRATEGICALLY ALIGNED R3 PROGRAM DESIGN (2) A MORE ROBUST MEANS OF MEASURING THE IMPACT OF R3 EFFORTS THROUGH INCREASED IDENTIFY FORMATION OF PARTICIPANTS AND (3) IMPROVED BEHAVIORAL OUTCOMES OF PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS WHO WILL BE MORE LIKELY TO MAKE THE PIVOTAL DECISION TO CONTINUE AS INDEPENDENT HUNTERS OR RECREATIONAL SHOOTERS. THESE BENEFITS WILL BE APPLICABLE TO ALL OTHER SFWAS AND THEIR R3 PARTNERS WHO CHOOSE TO INCORPORATE THE TOOLS CREATED AND REFINED BY THIS PROJECT. GIVEN THE LONG-ESTABLISHED NEED FOR MORE TARGETED, EFFICIENT, AND OUTCOME-ORIENTED R3 EFFORTS, THE RESULTS OF THIS PROJECT WILL HAVE SIGNIFICANT AND LONG-STANDING BENEFITS TO ALL R3-VESTED ORGANIZATIONS AND AGENCIES.

TO DATE, HUNTING RECRUITMENT, RETENTION AND REACTIVATION (R3) RESEARCH HAS FOCUSED ON THE POTENTIAL OF VARIOUS POPULATION SEGMENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN HUNTING, PREDOMINANTLY YOUNGER PEOPLE WHO, THEORETICALLY, HAVE THE HIGHEST, LONG-TERM PARTICIPATION POTENTIAL. LITTLE ATTENTION HAS BEEN DEVOTED TO UNDERSTANDING THE STRATEGIC R3 ENGAGEMENT POTENTIAL OF OLDER POPULATIONS WHO HAVE AGED OUT OR ARE LIKELY TO AGE OUT OF DIRECT PARTICIPATION IN THE COMING DECADE. THIS PROJECT WILL EXAMINE THE HUNTER R3 RESOURCE POTENTIAL OF OLDER HUNTERS, SPECIFICALLY BABY BOOMERS AND OLDER GEN XERS, WHO HAVE DEMONSTRATED A STRONG COMMITTED COHORT EFFECT IN HUNTING PARTICIPATION (CHASE DUNFEE, THE NEW FUTURE OF HUNTING AND FISHING, 2022). PROJECT RESEARCHERS WILL DISCOVER AND DOCUMENT HOW STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES (SFWAS) AND OTHER R3-VESTED ORGANIZATIONS CAN TAP THIS SIGNIFICANTLY UNDER-RESEARCHED COHORT TO UTILIZE AND ENGAGE THEIR R3-RELEVANT SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, AND OTHER RESOURCES IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ORGANIZATIONAL HUNTING R3 STRATEGIES. THE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE (WMI) AND DJ CASE ASSOCIATES (DJ CASE) WILL EMPLOY A MIXED METHODS SOCIAL SCIENCE APPROACH, COMBINING QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE INQUIRY TO CONFIRM AND CLASSIFY THIS COHORTS R3-RELEVANT RESOURCES AND TO DOCUMENT ACTIONABLE ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS SUCH AS: WHAT R3-RELEVANT RESOURCES ARE MEMBERS OF THIS COHORT MOST WILLING TO SHARE AND INVEST TO BENEFIT SFWAS AND OTHER R3-VESTED ORGANIZATIONS? HOW READILY, AND IN WHAT WAYS, CAN EACH OF THESE RESOURCES BE EFFECTIVELY TAPPED? PROJECT DELIVERABLES WILL INCLUDE SPECIFIC, TACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR R3 PRACTITIONERS AND A COMPREHENSIVE SET OF FINDINGS THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE ONLINE, SHARED WITH SFWAS AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION PARTNERS, AND PRESENTED AT REGIONAL AND NATIONAL CONFERENCES. THE PROJECT IS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE LASTING BENEFITS TO ALL SFWAS IN NEED OF ADDITIONAL R3 RESOURCES.

ASSOCIATION FOR CONSERVATION INFORMATION: EMAIL MARKETING BEST PRACTICES FOR STATE AGENCIES

DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A NATIONAL HUNTING AND SHOOTING SPORTS ACTION PLAN

INCREASING HUNTING MENTOR AND MENTEE NUMBERS AND EFFECTIVENESS

THE SERVICE IS ISSUING A BUNDLE OF SUBAWARDS UNDER THE COLLABORATIVE CONSERVATION INITIATIVE (CCI) FOR WILDLIFE HEALTH COORDINATION TO THE DESIGNATED CCI ENTITY, THE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE (WMI), AS AUTHORIZED BY THE FOLLOWING PARTICIPATING STATES: CT, DE, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT, VA, AND WV. THE CCI ENTITY WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTING THE PROPOSED ACTIONS OUTLINED IN THE GRANT PROPOSAL.HEALTH THREATS INCLUDING DISEASE CAUSING AGENTS SUCH AS PATHOGENS AND TOXICANTS CAN DIRECTLY CAUSE OR CONTRIBUTE TO POPULATION LEVEL DECLINES IN FREE RANGING WILDLIFE SPECIES MANY OF WHICH ARE ALREADY EXPERIENCING OTHER STRESSORS SUCH AS HABITAT LOSS AND FRAGMENTATION. THERE IS A CRITICAL NEED FOR ENHANCED WILDLIFE HEALTH COORDINATION IN THE NORTHEAST UNITED STATES IN ORDER TO MORE HOLISTICALLY AND EFFECTIVELY MANAGE WILDLIFE POPULATIONS. IN RESPONSE TO THIS NEED THE NORTHEAST ASSOCIATION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES NEAFWA HIRED A NORTHEAST REGIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE HEALTH COORDINATOR AND ESTABLISHED THE NORTHEAST FISH AND WILDLIFE HEALTH COMMITTEE TO INCREASE WILDLIFE HEALTH CAPACITY. INITIAL FUNDING FOR WILDLIFE HEALTH COORDINATION IN THE NORTHEAST PROVIDED BY THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE PROGRAM WILL RUN OUT BY MID 2026 AND THUS THE COLLABORATIVE CONSERVATION INITIATIVE CCI GRANT FOCUSED EXCLUSIVELY ON WILDLIFE HEALTH IS NECESSARY TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THESE ENDEAVORS. EFFORTS SUCH AS THESE ARE INTENDED TO BRING STATE WILDLIFE AGENCIES TO READINESS AND ENCOURAGE IMPROVED COORDINATION AND COLLABORATIONS AS WELL AS SERVE ESSENTIAL LIAISONS TO THE BROADER WILDLIFE HEALTH COMMUNITY. THIS CCI PROJECT WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT EFFORTS OF WILDLIFE HEALTH COORDINATION IN THE NORTHEAST UNITED STATES THROUGH INCREASED COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION AMONG WILDLIFE AGENCIES WILDLIFE HEALTH TRAININGS AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT PLANNING. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS PROJECT WILDLIFE HEALTH BROADLY ENCOMPASSES PATHOGENS TOXICANTS INCLUDING CONTAMINANTS AND OTHER CAUSES OF DISEASE E.G. CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE IN FREE RANGING WILDLIFE BIRDS AND MAMMALS. PARTICIPATING STATES INCLUDE THOSE THIRTEEN MEMBER STATES OF NEAFWA CT DE ME MD MA NH NJ NY PA RI VT VA WV. THE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE WMI WILL SERVE AS THE CCI ENTITY AND HAS WORKED CLOSELY WITH NEAFWA LEADERSHIP AND THE CCI STATE TEAM THROUGH REGULAR MEETINGS AND COMMUNICATIONS TO DEVELOP THIS SCOPE OF WORK BUDGET AND EXPECTED BENEFITS AND OUTCOMES. WMI HAS A MULTI DECADES PARTNERSHIP WITH NEAFWA IN WHICH WMI SERVES AS GRANT ADMINISTRATOR FISCAL COORDINATOR AND WILL CONTINUE TO WORK CLOSELY WITH NEAFWA LEADERSHIP AND THE STATE TEAM TO MONITOR PROGRESS FOR THIS CCI GRANT. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS GRANT WMI WILL SERVE AS A SUBRECIPIENT I.E. DESIGNATED CCI ENTITY TO THE PARTICIPATING STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES OF NEAFWA WHO SERVES AS A COLLABORATING PARTNER FOR THIS GRANT. THIS INCREASED WILDLIFE HEALTH CAPACITY ENABLES NORTHEASTERN AGENCIES TO MORE EFFECTIVELY AND HOLISTICALLY ADDRESS AND MANAGE HEALTH THREATS TO WILDLIFE RESOURCES. FURTHER THE NORTHEAST WILL BENEFIT FROM IMPROVED SITUATIONAL AWARENESS REGARDING WILDLIFE HEALTH THREATS WITH THE OTHER REGIONS IN THE UNITED STATES.

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.

ENSURING THE VIABILITY OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM OF CONSERVATION FUNDING: IMPROVING THE UNDERSTANDING OF EXCISE-TAX BASED FUNDING FOR CONSERVATION

RAISING AWARENESS OF THE WSFR PROGRAM

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 (RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, REACTIVATION) EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN, DIVERSIFY, AND ULTIMATELY INCREASE THEIR CUSTOMER BASE BEFORE THE MOST AVID HUNTERS AND ANGLERS AGE OUT IN THE EARLY 2030S. 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.

FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES ARE TRYING TO PARTICIPATE IN AND EVEN MANAGE THE DISCUSSION OF THEIR AGENCIES ON SOCIAL MEDIA. TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT CONVERSATION, THEY NEED TO UNDERSTAND IT.LAST YEAR USING INFEGY (A WEB BASED SOCIAL LISTENING TOOL) WE WERE ABLE TO DEVELOP QUERIES FOR 50 STATE AGENCIES AND MONITOR THOSE QUERIES FOR A YEAR. EVERY SINGLE STATE RECEIVES THESE REPORTS. MANY TO MULTIPLE DIVISIONS WORK UNITS IN AN AGENCY. THESE HAVE BEEN HELPFUL TO AGENCIES TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS BEING SAID ABOUT THEM IN REAL TIME. THE QUERIES THIS YEAR WERE RELATIVELY SIMPLE QUERIES USING ONLY THE NAMES AND ACRONYMS FOR EACH STATE S FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCY. OUR PLAN THIS YEAR IS TO EXPAND THOSE QUERIES TO INCLUDE PROPERTY NAMES (WMAS, PARKS, BOAT RAMPS, PIER S, ETC.) GREATLY EXPANDING THE NUMBER OF POSTS WE COLLECT. WE WILL USE OUR AGENCY CONTACTS FOR EACH STATE TO HELP IDENTIFY WHICH ADDITIONAL AREAS THEY WOULD LIKE TO HEAR ABOUT.WE WILL ANALYZE THE COLLECTIVE DATA FROM 20 WEEKS OF REPORTS FOR 50 STATES AND REPORT RESULTS AND TRENDS ABOUT WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA USERS ARE ACTUALLY SAYING ABOUT FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES. WE WILL SEND BIWEEKLY REPORTS TO A DESIGNATED CONTACT IN EVERY STATE, PROVIDING UPDATES ON AGENCY MENTIONS, MAKING IT LAST MENTIONS, CONVERSATIONS USING GENERIC CONSERVATION TERMS, AND A LIMITED NUMBER OF CUSTOMIZED QUERIES ON TOPICS OF INTEREST TO THE AGENCIES.THIS PROJECT WILL HELP AGENCIES UNDERSTAND WHO IS TALKING ABOUT THEM, WHAT THEY ARE SAYING AND HOW THAT DISCUSSION RIPPLES ACROSS THE INTERNET.

EFFECTIVELY TARGETING NEW ADULT HUNTERS

ASSOCIATION OF CONSERVATION INFORMATION: HELPING STATE AGENCIES EFFECTIVELY RECRUIT AND RETAIN THE NEW LOCAVORE AUDIENCE

DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF AN IMPROVED SYSTEM FOR GATHERING HARVEST INFORMATION PROGRAM (HIP) DATA

WITHIN THE LAST DECADE, TWO MAJOR INITIATIVES AND MULTIPLE TOOLKIT PACKAGES HAVE DELIVERED STRATEGIC FRAMEWORKS, GUIDANCE, AND PRACTICAL TRAINING TOOLS ON R3 (RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, REACTIVATION) 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 ORAMS 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 ATTENDEES 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.

ENSURING THE VIABILITY OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM OF CONSERVATION FUNDING: IMPROVING THE UNDERSTANDING OF EXCISE-TAX BASED FUNDING FOR CONSERVATION.

THIS PROJECT WILL IMPLEMENT THE HARVEST INFORMATION PROGRAM (HIP) COMMUNICATION PLAN ENDORSED BY ALL FOUR FLYWAY COUNCILS. FOCUS GROUPS WILL BE USED TO TEST MESSAGES DESIGNED TO CONVEY INFORMATION ABOUT WHO DOES AND DOES NOT NEED TO COMPLETE HIP REGISTRATION AND THE IMPORTANCE OF ACCURATE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY HUNTERS ABOUT THEIR PRIOR YEAR HARVESTS. COMMUNICATION PROFESSIONALS WILL DEVELOP STRATEGIES STATE AGENCIES AND THE USFWS CAN USE TO PROVIDE UNIFIED, CONSISTENT INFORMATION ABOUT THE HIP. THE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE (WMI) WILL WORK WITH STATES TO INTEGRATE COMMUNICATION TOOLS IN STATE LED EFFORTS TO INFORM THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE HIP. WMI WILL WORK WITH DUCKS UNLIMITED TO ENGAGE MAJOR OUTDOOR MEDIA OUTLETS, RETAILERS AND NON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COMMUNICATION PLAN. THIS PROJECT WILL INCREASE THE ACCURACY AND PRECISION OF MIGRATORY BIRD HARVEST ESTIMATES AND IMPROVE CONSERVATION OF MIGRATORY BIRDS FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL CITIZENS.

WE WILL USE FOCUS GROUP AND SURVEY RESEARCH TO DEVELOP A SYSTEMATIC MARKETING APPROACH TO ATTRACT NEW HUNTERS BY DEVELOPING AND UNDERSTANDING THEIR CONSUMER JOURNEY (THE STEPS INDIVIDUALS TAKE TO BECOME HUNTERS). THIS UNDERSTANDING CAN THEN BE USED TO INFORM MORE EFFECTIVE MARKETING PLANS AND CREATE NECESSARY EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. ARMED WITH THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE ADULT-ONSET HUNTER TARGET AUDIENCE THAT WE DEVELOPED WITH THE 2021 MULTI-STATE GRANT, THIS PROJECT WILL UNCOVER THE PROCESS AN INDIVIDUAL FOLLOWS FROM THE FIRST TIME THEY BECOME AWARE OF HUNTING AS A POTENTIAL ACTIVITY, THROUGH TRAINING AND LICENSING, AND ALL THE WAY TO SELF-IDENTIFYING AS A HUNTER. WE WILL BEGIN BY CONDUCTING 8 FOCUS GROUPS AMONG NEW, ADULT-ONSET HUNTERS WHO MEET THE CRITERIA OF THE PERSONAS CREATED IN THE 2021 PROJECT (2 FOCUS GROUPS FOR EACH PERSONA). THESE FOCUS GROUPS WILL UNCOVER DEEP INSIGHTS AND DETAILS ABOUT THE CONSUMER JOURNEY THESE PEOPLE TOOK TO HUNTING. WE WILL USE THE FOCUS GROUP RESULTS TO INFORM A SURVEY INSTRUMENT, WHICH WILL BE SENT TO A MUCH LARGER GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS MATCHING EACH OF THE FOUR NEW HUNTING PERSONAS. THE SURVEY WILL TEST AND VERIFY THE DRAFT CONSUMER JOURNEY ASSUMPTIONS ACROSS A MUCH LARGER, REPRESENTATIVE DATA SET. STATE AGENCIES AND THEIR R3 PARTNERS CAN THEN USE THESE PERSONAS AND VALIDATED CONSUMER JOURNEYS TO INCREASE THE ACCURACY AND EFFICIENCY OF THEIR MEDIA SPENDS, IMPROVE THE FOCUS OF THEIR EDUCATION/TRAINING EFFORTS, AND INCREASE THEIR RELEVANCE WITH THESE NEW, DIVERSE AUDIENCES THAT WANT TO FIND THEIR WAY INTO HUNTING. ONCE WE HAVE COMPLETED THE NEW HUNTER JOURNEY MAP, WE WILL DEVELOP A SHORT, USER-FRIENDLY REPORT THAT DESCRIBES THE RESULTS AND HOW STATE AGENCIES CAN USE THEM TO MORE EFFECTIVELY TARGET "NEW-ADULT" HUNTERS. THIS REPORT WILL BE CIRCULATED TO R3 AGENCIES AND ORGANIZATIONS. IN ADDITION, RESULTS WILL BE PRESENTED TO RELEVANT AFWA COMMITTEES (EOD, HUNTING AND SHOOTING SPORTS PARTICIPATION, ETC.) AT THE AFWA ANNUAL MEETING AND THE NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE, THE NATIONAL R3 SYMPOSIUM AND THE ASSOCIATION OF CONSERVATION INFORMATION. PROJECT RESULTS WILL BE DISSEMINATED TO AS MANY R3 AND WILDLIFE COMMUNICATORS AS POSSIBLE.

PROJECT TITLE: ADVANCING A NATIONWIDE BIODIVERSITY DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: A COOPERATIVE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN USGS COOPERATIVE FISH AND WILDLIFE RESEARCH UNIT PROGRAM (USGS CRU) AND WMIPROJECT PERIOD: 06 29 2023 -06 14 2026PROJECT ABSTRACT: ADVANCING A NATIONWIDE BIODIVERSITY DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM:A COOPERATIVE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE USGS COOPERATIVE FISH AND WILDLIFE RESEARCH UNIT PROGRAM USGS CRU) AND THE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE (WMI)AWARD PURPOSE IS TO ADDRESS DEFICIENCIES IN THE EXISTING DATABASES. NUMEROUS DATABASES AND DATA SOURCES ALREADY EXIST AT STATE, REGIONAL, NATIONAL, AND INTERNATIONAL LEVELS, BUT ARE LACKING A COHERENT STRUCTURE AND FRAMEWORK THAT WILL ALLOW AGENCIES AND CONSERVATIONISTS TO INTEGRATE DATA FROM MULTIPLE SOURCES INTO A SINGLE PLATFORM TO INFORM THEIR CONSERVATION DECISION-MAKING.ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED INCLUDED DISCUSSIONS AND COORDINATION WITH STATE AGENCIES AND REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS OF STATESREGULAR CONVERSATIONS AND DIALOGUE WITH STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES, INCLUDING DIRECTORS, WILDLIFE CHIEFS, AND FISH CHIEFS, REGARDING BIODIVERSITY DATA, INFORMATICS, MANAGEMENT, AND POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLABORATION AND COOPERATIVE RESEARCH WITH THE CRUS.DELIVERABLES AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES INCLUDE: 1) EXPLORE THE INTEREST AND UTILITY IN A NATION-WIDE INTEGRATED DATABASE WITH THE REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND THEIR STATES 2) IDENTIFY A POSSIBLE HOME FOR ANY SUCH REGIONAL AND NATIONAL DATABASES AND ASSOCIATED DATA 3) EXAMINE ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH DATA SHARING WITH STATES AND PARTNERS 4) EXPLORE POTENTIAL IMPROVEMENTS TO THE EXISTING REGIONAL DATABASES FOR DECISION-SUPPORT AND CONSERVATION APPLICATIONS.WRITTEN SYNTHESIS PRODUCTS, INCLUDING 1) A PAPER COMPARING THE EXISTING REGIONAL DATABASE SYSTEMS, WITH DISCUSSION OF SUITABILITY AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR CONTRIBUTING TOWARDS A NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND 2) A REVIEW PAPER SYNTHESIZING INFORMATION ON THE CREATION, ENHANCEMENT, AND MAINTENANCE OF BIODIVERSITY DATA AND DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS FOR STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES, SUMMARIZING KEY FINDINGS FROM THE EXISTING LITERATUREINTENDED BENEFICIARY(IES) THE EXPECTATION IS THAT THIS PROJECT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A STATE-LED AND NATIONALLY COORDINATED INTEGRATED BIODIVERSITY DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. SUCH A SYSTEM WILL HELP INFORM GOVERNMENT AND CONSERVATION DECISIONS RELATED TO FISH, WILDLIFE, HABITAT, AND OTHER NATURAL RESOURCES. THE OVERALL SYSTEM WILL HELP MANAGERS DEVELOP CONSERVATION PLANS FOR STRATEGIC SPECIES AND THEIR HABITATS IMPROVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLABORATIVE MANAGEMENT AND PROBLEM SOLVING AND INFORM MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES THAT CAN LEAD TO DESIRED OUTCOMES FOR FISH, WILDLIFE, AND THEIR HABITATS.

THE MISSING LINK IN R3: MAKING MENTORSHIP WORK.

CREATING MILLENNIAL-CONSERVATIONISTS: INFORMING AND ENGAGING THE NEXT GENERATION

THE WSFR PROGRAM PROVIDES MORE THAN 1 BILLION ANNUALLY TO STATE WILDLIFE AGENCIES, WHICH IN TURN BENEFIT LOCAL ECONOMIES THROUGH WILDLIFE ASSOCIATED RECREATION, AND GIVES AMERICANS THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENJOY FISH, WILDLIFE, AND THE OUTDOORS. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE IS A GROWING DISCONNECT BETWEEN THE PUBLIC AND THE OUTDOORS. OUR UNIQUE SYSTEM OF CONSERVATION AND THE FUNDING MODEL THAT SUPPORTS IT REMAINS POORLY UNDERSTOOD. IT IS CRITICAL THAT OUR COMMUNITY EFFECTIVELY ENGAGE OUR CUSTOMERS, INDUSTRY, AND THE PUBLIC BY TELLING THE COMPELLING STORY OF CONSERVATION FUNDING. ONLY BY STRENGTHENING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN INDUSTRY, AGENCIES, AND OTHER PARTNERS, CAN WE EFFICIENTLY PROMOTE OUR CONSERVATION SUCCESS STORIES, AND COLLECTIVELY ENGAGE OUR PARTNERS AND CUSTOMERS TO ENSURE LONG TERM STABILITY OF CONSERVATION FUNDING. FURTHER, THE LEVERAGING OF PARTNERSHIP RESOURCES WILL HELP TO RAISE AWARENESS AMONG INFLUENCERS AND THE PUBLIC, ALLOWING OUR CONSERVATION MODEL TO FLOURISH FOR DECADES TO COME.THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT WILL CLARIFY THE ROLE THAT INDUSTRIES PARTNERS PLAY IN FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION, PROMOTE THE BENEFITS OF CONSERVATION TO OUR PARTNERS AND CUSTOMERS, AND RAISE AWARENESS OF KEY INFLUENCERS ABOUT THE ROLE THAT STATES, MANUFACTURERS, AND THE SPORTING PUBLIC PLAY IN WHAT HAS LONG BEEN OUR GREATEST KEPT SECRET AND OUR GREATEST CONSERVATION SUCCESS STORY.

THE WILDLIFE AND SPORT FISH RESTORATION 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 PARTNERS 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.

THERE IS A CLEAR AND PRESENT NEED FOR RESEARCH THAT SCIENTIFICALLY FORECASTS FUTURE HUNTING AND FISHING PARTICIPATION AND SOUNDLY CONVEYS HOW PARTICIPATION CHANGES ARE GOING TO AFFECT STATE WILDLIFE AGENCIES. PREVIOUS ITERATIONS OF THE FUTURE OF HUNTING AND FISHING PROJECT (CHASE, 2012; CHASE 2017) INDICATED THERE IS A COHORT OF INDIVIDUALS, CURRENTLY IN THEIR MID-50S, THAT ARE CONSISTENTLY MORE LIKELY TO HUNT AND FISH REGARDLESS OF THE CURRENT YEAR OR THEIR CURRENT AGE. HOWEVER, THIS COHORT IS AGING TO THE POINT WHERE THEY WILL PHYSICALLY NO LONGER BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN OUTDOOR RECREATION. AS A RESULT, HUNTING AND FISHING PARTICIPATION IS PROJECTED TO DECLINE, ALONG WITH ASSOCIATED PURCHASES, AND AT THIS POINT, CONSERVATION'S FISCAL STABILITY WILL LIKELY BE CHALLENGED.THE NEW FUTURE OF HUNTING AND FISHING PROJECT IS A FIVE-YEAR UPDATE ON PAST RESEARCH ON NATION-WIDE HUNTING AND ANGLING TRENDS. IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS, R3 EFFORTS HAVE INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN VOLUME AND EFFICACY, PERHAPS CHANGING THE TIDE OF FUTURE HUNTING AND ANGLING NUMBERS. IN ADDITION, THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ALLOWED FOR MORE DISCRETIONARY TIME AND INSTIGATED A RETURN TO NATURE. WE INTEND TO CONDUCT AN AGE-PERIOD-COHORT ANALYSIS ON NATIONWIDE HUNTING AND FISHING DATA TO UPDATE PAST PREDICTIONS OF LICENSE VOLUME, AND TO IDENTIFY HOW CONTEMPORARY INFLUENCES SUCH AS R3 EFFORTS AND THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAVE ALTERED PREVIOUS PREDICTIONS. THIS STUDY WILL PROVIDE STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES AND INTERESTED STAKEHOLDERS WITH THE INFORMATION REQUIRED TO MAKE IMPENDING FINANCIAL AND BUSINESS DECISIONS.

WSFR. WMI,ENSURING THE VIABILITY OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM OF CONSERVATION FUNDING: IMPROVING THE UNDERSTANDING OF EXCISE-TAX BASED FUNDING FOR CONSERVATION

THE PRAIRIE POTHOLE JOINT VENTURE AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE WILL JOINTLY SUPPORT A HIGHLY MOTIVATED SELF STARTING COLLABORATIVE INDIVIDUAL TO WORK AS A KEY STAFF MEMBER OF THE PPJV. THE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS AND ADMINISTRATION MANAGER SERVES AS A PARTICIPANT IN THE PPJV TEAM LEADING OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT FOR WORK ACROSS THE FIVE STATE AREA OF THE PRAIRIE POTHOLE REGION I.E. PORTIONS OF MT ND SD MN IA. THE OPERATIONS AND ADMINISTRATION MANAGER SUPPORTS THE PPJV BUSINESS MODEL OF ACHIEVING PARTNERSHIP BASED BIRD HABITAT CONSERVATION THROUGH SHARED INVESTMENTS BY PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ENTITIES. THIS POSITION PLAYS AN INSTRUMENTAL ROLE IN ACHIEVING THE PPJV GOALS AND OBJECTIVES BY MANAGING ASPECTS OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS INCLUDING TRACKING BUDGETS FINANCIAL AGREEMENTS GRANTS AND ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS. THE POSITION LEADS AND MANAGES PPJV OPERATIONS AND ADMINISTRATION TO ACHIEVE A HIGH LEVEL OF ACCOUNTABILITY COST EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY IN IMPLEMENTATION OF BUSINESS FUNCTIONS. THE POSITION SUPPORTS PPJV STAFF IN STRATEGIC PLANNING INITIATIVE DEVELOPMENT AND THE PURSUIT OF NEW FUNDING BY SUPPORTING PARTNERSHIPS AND SEEKING GRANT OPPORTUNITIES.

TITLE:ENSURING THE VIABILITY OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM OF CONSERVATION FUNDING: IMPROVING THE UNDERSTANDING OF EXCISE-TAX BASED FUNDING FOR CONSERVATION.ABSTRACT:THE WSFR PROGRAM PROVIDES MORE THAN S1 BILLION ANNUALLY TO STATE WILDLIFE AGENCIES, WHICH IN TURN BENEFIT LOCAL ECONOMIES THROUGH WILDLIFE-ASSOCIATED RECREATION, AND GIVES AMERICANS THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENJOY FISH, WILDLIFE, AND THE OUTDOORS. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE IS A GROWING DISCONNECT BETWEEN THE PUBLIC AND THE OUTDOORS. OUR UNIQUE SYSTEM OF CONSERVATION AND THE FUNDING MODEL THAT SUPPORTS IT REMAINS POORLY UNDERSTOOD. IT IS CRITICAL THAT OUR COMMUNITY EFFECTIVELY ENGAGE OUR CUSTOMERS, INDUSTRY, AND THE PUBLIC BY TELLING THE COMPELLING STORY OF CONSERVATION FUNDING. ONLY BY STRENGTHENING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN INDUSTRY, AGENCIES, AND OTHER PARTNERS, CAN WE EFFICIENTLY PROMOTE OUR CONSERVATION SUCCESS STORIES, AND COLLECTIVELY ENGAGE OUR PARTNERS AND CUSTOMERS TO ENSURE LONG-TERM STABILITY OF CONSERVATION FUNDING. FURTHER, THE LEVERAGING OF PARTNERSHIP RESOURCES WILL HELP TO RAISE AWARENESS AMONG INFLUENCERS AND THE PUBLIC, ALLOWING OUR CONSERVATION MODEL TO FLOURISH FOR DECADES TO COME. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT WILL CLARIFY THE ROLE THAT INDUSTRIES PARTNERS PLAY IN FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION, PROMOTE THE BENEFITS OF CONSERVATION TO OUR PARTNERS AND CUSTOMERS, AND RAISE AWARENESS OF KEY INFLUENCERS ABOUT THE ROLE THAT STATES, MANUFACTURERS, AND THE SPORTING PUBLIC PLAY IN WHAT HAS LONG BEEN OUR GREATEST KEPT SECRET AND OUR GREATEST CONSERVATION SUCCESS STORY.

SOCIAL LISTENING FOR RELEVANCY: THERE IS A TIDAL WAVE OF ONLINE CONVERSATIONS GOING ON ABOUT OUTDOOR RECREATION (AND STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES) EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY. THESE CONVERSATIONS WILL GO ON WITH OR WITHOUT THE PARTICIPATION OF THE CONSERVATION COMMUNITY. STATE AGENCIES AND THEIR PARTNERS NEED A TOOL FOR MONITORING THESE CONVERSATIONS TO STAY ABREAST OF TRENDS AND ISSUES IMPORTANT TO THEIR CUSTOMERS, AND TO HELP THEIR CUSTOMERS CONNECT WITH THE OUTDOORS. THIS PROJECT WILL USE SOCIAL LISTENING TOOLS TO MONITOR THESE CONVERSATIONS AND PROVIDE STATES WITH INSIGHTS INTO HOW THEY CAN BETTER MANAGE SOCIAL MEDIA CONVERSATIONS AROUND THEIR BRANDS AND AROUND IMPORTANT CONSERVATION ISSUES. OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR, RESEARCHERS WILL MONITOR PUBLICLY AVAILABLE SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS FOR CONVERSATIONS THAT MENTION STATE WILDLIFE AGENCIES AND/OR KEY CONSERVATION-RELATED TOPICS, AND WILL SYNTHESIZE RESULTS INTO USEFUL INSIGHTS INTO HOW AGENCIES CAN BETTER MANAGE SOCIAL MEDIA CONVERSATIONS AROUND THEIR BRANDS AND AROUND IMPORTANT CONSERVATION ISSUES. WE WILL ANALYZE THE DATA AND REPORT RESULTS AND TRENDS ABOUT WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA USERS ARE ACTUALLY SAYING ABOUT FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES. WE WILL SEND BIWEEKLY REPORTS TO A DESIGNATED CONTACT IN EVERY STATE, PROVIDING UPDATES ON AGENCY MENTIONS, MAKING IT LAST MENTIONS, CONVERSATIONS USING "GENERIC" CONSERVATION TERMS, AND A LIMITED NUMBER OF CUSTOMIZED QUERIES ON TOPICS OF INTEREST TO THE AGENCIES. ONCE THE SOCIAL LISTENING STUDY IS COMPLETE, A WHITE PAPER AND PRESENTATION WILL BE DEVELOPED AND CIRCULATED TO STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES. WE WILL REPORT ON THE GENERAL TRENDS AND LESSONS LEARNED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR OF MONITORING. PRESENTATIONS WILL BE OFFERED TO RELEVANT AFWA SUBCOMMITTEES, THE NATIONAL R3 SYMPOSIUM AND THE ASSOCIATION OF CONSERVATION INFORMATION. OUR GOAL WILL BE TO GET THE RESULTS INTO THE HANDS OF AS MANY R3 AND WILDLIFE COMMUNICATORS AS POSSIBLE.

MEASURING THE EFFICACY OF STATE RECRUITMENT, RETENTION AND REACTIVATION (R3) EFFORTS: A QUANTITATIVE APPROACH

ENHANCING THE WSFR PROGRAM

NEAFWA: WINNING AT THE POINT OF CONTACT: BOOSTING R3 RESPONSE RATES THROUGH PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATIONS

THE ADOPTION OF NATIONAL HUNTING AND SHOOTING SPORTS ACTION PLAN (NHSSAP) FACILITATED A RAPID RISE IN INDIVIDUAL R3 EFFORTS AND, TO SOME DEGREE, STRATEGIES ACROSS AGENCIES AND ORGANIZATIONS. UNFORTUNATELY, THESE ORGANIZATIONS (STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES SFWA IN PARTICULAR), ARE EXTREMELY RESOURCE LIMITED. THOUGH GROUNDBREAKING AT THE TIME, THE NHSSAP FAILED TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE ON HOW AN ORGANIZATION, SECTION, OR DEPARTMENT SHOULD CONSTRUCT A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO 1) DETERMINE WHAT TYPES OF PROGRAMS, EFFORTS, AND TACTICS IT IS BEST LEVERAGED TO DELIVER, AND 2) HOW TO MAKE CRITICAL DECISIONS ON THE SCOPE AND SCALE OF PRIORITY R3 EFFORTS BASED UPON EXISTING AND OR FLUCTUATING RESOURCE LEVELS. THE LACK OF A STRUCTURED DECISION MAKING PROCESS FOR RESOURCE LIMITED ORGANIZATIONS IS AN INCREASINGLY IMPACTFUL OBSTACLE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE ORGANIZATIONAL APPROACHES TO R3. A PROCESS PROTOCOL FOR DIRECTORS AND R3 PRACTITIONERS TO DESIGN THIS STRUCTURE (GOALS, OBJECTIVES, PERSONNEL, AND RESOURCE ALLOCATION) IS NEEDED IF R3 IS TO ADVANCE BEYOND A COLLECTION OF ISOLATED EFFORTS. THIS PROJECT WILL UTILIZE PUBLISHED LITERATURE, ASSESSMENTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGIC R3 APPROACHES, AND PROVEN STRUCTURED DECISION MAKING PROTOCOLS TO CREATE A DECISION MATRIX AND PROCESS GUIDE FOR ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERS TO BEST ALIGN THEIR AVAILABLE RESOURCES TO DEFINE AND ACHIEVE HIGH LEVEL R3 GOALS.COMPLETION OF THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE DECISION MAKERS WITH A DECISION FRAMEWORK TO LEVERAGE ACQUIREDKNOWLEDGE FROM EXAMPLES OF EFFECTIVE AND INEFFECTIVE R3 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES. PROJECT LEADS WILLDEVELOP A PRESCRIPTION FOR ORGANIZATIONS TO ASSESS GOALS AND OBJECTIVES, RESOURCES ALLOCATED, COLLABORATIONS INPLACE, POTENTIAL RESOURCES AND PARTNERSHIPS, AND CONDUCT AN ASSESSMENT OF NEEDS. THIS ITERATIVE PROCESS WILLALLOW DECISION MAKERS TO ANALYZE THEIR PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES AND IDENTIFY AN R3 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURETHAT WILL FACILITATE EFFECTIVENESS AND ADAPTATION RESULTING IN OPTIMAL ALLOCATION OF EXISTING RESOURCES ANDENHANCE AND EXPAND THE IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION OF THE NHSSAP. THE RESULTS WILL FACILITATE THEDEVELOPMENT AND ADAPTATION OF ORGANIZATIONAL R3APPROACHES THROUGH A GUIDE THAT ALLOWS ORGANIZATIONS TOEFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY IMPLEMENT AN OBJECTIVE PROCESS TO SELECT AND PRIORITIZE THE R3 EFFORTS MOSTAPPROPRIATE AND LIKELY TO SUCCEED IN THEIR ORGANIZATION. WITH THIS GUIDE, AND BY IMPLEMENTING SDM, EACHAGENCY AND ORGANIZATION WILL BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THEIR UNIQUE STARTING POINT, RESOURCES TO COMMIT, ANDDIRECTION(S) TO TAKE IN IMPLEMENTING R3.

THIS GRANT SUPPORTS THE COORDINATION AND OPERATIONS OF THE EBTJV. THIS COORDINATION ENSURES HIGH-IMPACT CONSERVATION PROJECTS ARE IDENTIFIED, ALIGNED WITH FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES, AND SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENTEDLEVERAGING NFHP AND OTHER FEDERAL, STATE, AND PRIVATE RESOURCES TO GENERATE MEANINGFUL ON-THE-GROUND RESULTS. COORDINATION IS CRITICAL TO ENSURE THE GENERATION AND PRIORITIZATION OF PROJECTS THAT WILL ADDRESS THE ROOT CAUSE OF DECLINE OF BROOK TROUT, IMPROVE PUBLIC ACCESS, EXPAND STREAM MILES OCCUPIED BY BROOK TROUT, AND BOOST RECREATIONAL FISHING OPPORTUNITIES. BECAUSE BROOK TROUT REQUIRE CLEAN, COLD, AND CONNECTED WATER, PROJECTS TO RESTORE CONDITIONS FOR BROOK TROUT ALSO BENEFIT THE WATER QUALITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE OF DOWNSTREAM COMMUNITIES. FURTHERMORE, HABITAT RESTORATION FUNDS TYPICALLY SUPPORT LOCAL CONTRACTORS, EQUIPMENT RENTAL, AND LABOR. APPLICANTS IN ALL 17 STATES IN THE EBTJV FOOTPRINT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR NFHP-EBTJV FUNDING.

WSFR, WMI:WORDS MATTER: DETERMINING HOW TO ENGAGE THE AMERICAN PUBLIC THROUGH THE LANGUAGE OF CONSERVATION.

HUNTING HERITAGE ACTION PLAN

TITLE:MODERNIZE THE ORGANIZATION, AUTHORITY AND PROGRAMS OF STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES REPORTABSTRACT:THIS PROJECT WILL REVISE AND UPDATE THE ORGANIZATION, AUTHORITIES AND PROGRAMS REPORT AND PROVIDE TIMELY INFORMATION OF EACH STATE CONSERVATION AGENCY'S ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE; FORMAL AUTHORITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES; AND ITS PRIORITY PROGRAMS. THE REPORT WILL BETTER INFORM ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS, SISTER AGENCIES, THE ASSOCIATION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES AND ITS NATIONAL AND REGIONAL COMMITTEES, NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS, THE PRIVATE SECTOR, AND THE PUBLIC TO COLLABORATIVELY SUPPORT IMPROVED CONSERVATION OUTCOMES; WORK TO SECURE STABLE, LONG-TERM FUNDING; AND HELP STATE AGENCIES UNDERSTAND AND ADAPT TO CHANGING SOCIAL CONDITIONS. THIS PROJECT WILL CREATE A MECHANISM TO EASILY GATHER STATE-LEVEL INFORMATION IN DIGITAL FORMAT, AGGREGATE AND ANALYZE THE INFORMATION, AND COMMUNICATE ABOUT THE CHANGES THAT OCCUR OVER TIME TO INCREASE AND IMPROVE THE ABILITIES FOR AGENCIES TO ACHIEVE THEIR CONSERVATION GOALS. INFORMATION ON CURRENT ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES AND CHANGES TO FORMAL AND INFORMAL AUTHORITIES WILL HELP POSITION STATE CONSERVATION AGENCIES TO ADDRESS CURRENT AND FUTURE CONSERVATION CHALLENGES.THE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE (WMI) WILL CONTRACT WITH DJCASE AND ASSOCIATES, INC. TO REVIEW THE SURVEY INSTRUMENT FROM THE PREVIOUS ORGANIZATION, AUTHORITIES AND PROGRAMS REPORT WITH WMI STAFF. THEY WILL WORK COLLABORATIVELY TO DELETE OBSOLETE QUESTIONS AND CREATE NEW QUESTIONS THAT REFLECT AND PROVIDE INSIGHT ON MODERN CONSERVATION ISSUES AND CHALLENGES. CONTRACTOR WILL DESIGN AND BUILD A WEB-BASED INQUIRY PLATFORM THAT WILL ALLOW STATE CONSERVATION AGENCY STAFF TO EASILY ANSWER SURVEY QUESTIONS ONLINE. THE PLATFORM WILL BE DESIGNED TO AGGREGATE ANSWERS IN A SEARCHABLE DATABASE, SO USERS CAN QUERY THE SYSTEM TO SEE HOW OTHER STATES RESPONDED TO THE VARIOUS SURVEY QUESTIONS. CONTRACTOR WILL TEST THE SYSTEM WITH SEVERAL PILOT STATES TO ENSURE EASE OF USE AND DESIRED REPORTING CAPABILITIES AND WILL MODIFY AS APPROPRIATE. THE SEARCHABLE DATABASE AND ONLINE PLATFORM WILL BE HOUSED ON THE WMI WEBSITE AND MADE AVAILABLE FOR ON-DEMAND AGENCY USE.

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 AGENCYS 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 GEOGRAPHIC MANAGEMENT UNIT (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.

ACCELERATING DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE LEADERS IN STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES.

FRAMEWORKS AND STANDARDS FOR R3 EFFORT AND STRATEGY EVALUATION

RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS OF POLICY AND LAW TO PREVENTTRANSLOCATION OF FERAL SWINETHE WILLFUL OR ACCIDENTAL INTRODUCTION OF FERAL SWINE INTO SUITABLE HABITATS ACROSS NORTH AMERICA IS PERHAPS ONE OF OUR MOST SERIOUS CONSERVATION ISSUES. INCONSISTENCIES IN STATE POLICIES AND LAWS REGARDING THE TRANSPORT/TRANSLOCATION OF FERAL SWINE UNDERMINE STATE AGENCIES' EFFORTS TO PREVENT EXPANSION AND REDUCE THE IMPACT OF THESE ANIMALS. THE NEWLY FORMED AFWA FERAL SWINE WORKING GROUP HAS DEFINED AS ITS PRIORITY TO "ENCOURAGE UNIFORM POLICIES THAT PROHIBIT THE INTERSTATE MOVEMENT OF FERAL SWINE AND TRANSLOCATION OF FERAL SWINE." UNDER THIS GRANT, WMI WILL WORK WITH OUR STATE AND PROVINCIAL PARTNERS TO RESEARCH THE POLICIES, REGULATIONS, AND STATUTES (BOTH WILDLIFE AND AGRICULTURE) OF ALL 50 STATES AND ADJACENT CANADIAN PROVINCES REGARDING THE TRANSPORT AND TRANSLOCATION OF FERAL SWINE. WE WILL ANALYZE THE DATA TO IDENTIFY INCONSISTENCIES, GAPS, AND TRENDS THAT HAMPER THE ABILITY OF AGENCIES TO EFFECTIVELY CONTROL THE SPREAD OF FERAL SWINE. WMI WILL ALSO ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THESE POLICIES, REGULATIONS, AND STATUTES FOR THEIR ABILITY TO EFFECTIVELY CONTROL THE MOVEMENT AND SPREAD OF FERAL SWINE. FINALLY, WMI WILL DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REVISIONS TO STATUTES, REGULATIONS, OR POLICIES TO INCREASE CONSISTENCY AND IMPROVE DESIRED OUTCOMES REGARDING THE CONTROL OF FERAL SWINE. A FINAL REPORT WITH THE ANALYSIS OF THE CURRENT STATUS OF FERAL SWINE STATUTES, REGULATIONS, AND POLICIES WILL BE PROVIDED TO ALL 50 STATES AND CANADIAN PROVINCIAL WILDLIFE AGENCIES. THIS REPORT WILL ALSO CONTAIN RECOMMENDATIONS FROM WMI BASED ON CURRENT DATA TO IMPROVE THE ABILITY OF STATES AND PROVINCES TO EFFECTIVELY MANAGE THE MOVEMENT OF FERAL SWINE. WMI WILL ATTEND MEETINGS AND REPORT THE FINAL WORK PRODUCT TO THE AFWA FERAL SWINE WORKING GROUP, NATIONAL WILD PIG WORKING GROUP, SEAFWA AND MAFWA WILD PIG WORKING GROUPS, AND INDIVIDUAL STATE AND PROVINCIAL AGENCIES UPON REQUEST.

THE WSFR PROGRAM 75TH ANNIVERSARY

79TH AMERICAN CONFERENCE

AT-RISK-SPECIES PROJECT

CONSERVATION LEADERS FOR TOMORROW: EXPOSING UNIVERSITY WILDLIFE AND OTHER NATURAL RESOURCE STUDENTS TO HUNTING AND THE HUNTER'S ROLE IN CONSERVATION

CONSERVATION LEADERS FOR TOMORROW: EXPOSING UNIVERSITY WILDLIFE AND OTHER NATURAL RESOURSE STUDENTS TO HUNTING AND THE HUNTERS ROLE IN CONSERVATION.

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.

WMI, CAPACITY BUILDING, TRAINING, AND PILOT TESTING OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE RELEVANCY ROADMAP

THIS PROJECT WILL STRENGTHEN THE CAPACITY AND COORDINATION OF STATE FEDERAL AID COORDINATORS (FACS) BY SUPPORTING THE FEDERAL AID COORDINATORS WORKING GROUP (FACWG) WITH ENHANCED FACILITATION, INFORMATION-SHARING, AND DEVELOPMENT OF PRACTICAL TOOLS. AS FEDERAL AID PROGRAMS GROW MORE COMPLEX, STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES (STATES) FACE INCREASING DEMANDS FOR CONSISTENT COMPLIANCE, EFFICIENT ADMINISTRATION, AND EFFECTIVE COLLABORATION WITH FEDERAL PARTNERS. THE FACWG SERVES AS THE PRIMARY FORUM FOR ADDRESSING THESE CHALLENGES AND DRIVING IMPROVEMENTS AT THE NATIONAL AND POLICY LEVELS, BUT REQUIRES SUSTAINED SUPPORT TO OPERATE EFFECTIVELY AND DELIVER MEANINGFUL AND TIMELY PRODUCTS TO STATES. THROUGH THIS GRANT, A PART-TIME COORDINATOR POSITION WILL BE HIRED BY THE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE (WMI) AND DEDICATED TO PROVIDING FACWG SUPPORT. ACTIVITIES WILL INCLUDE FINALIZING AND DISTRIBUTING A NATIONAL CAPACITY SURVEY OF STATE FACS, ANALYZING RESULTS, AND PROVIDING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE SUPPORT. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO ENSURE THAT TIMELY AND ACCESSIBLE RESOURCES ARE MAINTAINED ON THE ASSOCIATION OF FISH WILDLIFE AGENCIES (AFWA) WEBSITE (OR AN ALTERNATIVE PLATFORM), AND THAT REGULAR COORDINATION WITH THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICES OFFICE OF CONSERVATION INVESTMENT (FWS-CI) AND THE FEDERAL STATE JOINT TASK FORCE ON FEDERAL ASSISTANCE POLICY AND THE FISH AND WILDLIFE TRUST FUNDS COMMITTEE IS SUPPORTED THROUGH AGENDA DEVELOPMENT, DOCUMENT PREPARATION, AND FINALIZATION OF CHAIRS REPORTS. IN ADDITION, THE COORDINATOR WILL ASSIST THE FACWG TO UPDATE AND DEVELOP BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPS), JOB AIDS, AND TRAINING MODULES TO SUPPORT CONSISTENT FEDERAL AID ADMINISTRATION ACROSS STATES, WHILE CREATING A FRAMEWORK TO ONBOARD NEW MEMBERS AND MAINTAIN LEADERSHIP CONTINUITY. THE COORDINATOR WILL ALSO PROVIDE CONTINUITY AS FACWG CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR POSITIONS TRANSITION AND AS MEMBERS ROTATE OFF AND NEW MEMBERS ARE ONBOARDED, ENSURING CONSISTENT LEADERSHIP AND INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE. OUTCOMES WILL INCLUDE STRONGER STATE CAPACITY FOR FEDERAL AID ADMINISTRATION, IMPROVED COMPLIANCE, ENHANCED CROSS-AGENCY COORDINATION AND INNOVATION TO PROVIDE TOOLS AND RESOURCES TO STATE WILDLIFE AGENCIES THAT WILL INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY OF WILDLIFE AND SPORT FISH RESTORATION PROGRAM GRANT ADMINISTRATION, AND PROVIDE SUSTAINED INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE TO SUPPORT EFFECTIVE CONSERVATION FUNDING ADMINISTRATION NATIONWIDE.

THROUGHOUT THE CONSERVATION FIELD, SPECIFICALLY WILDLIFE RESTORATION (WR) OR SPORT FISH RESTORATION (SFR) RELATED EFFORTS, THERE IS A CONTINUAL CHALLENGE TO MAINTAIN LEADERSHIP CAPACITY AS SENIOR STAFF RETIRE AND MORE EARLY- AND MID-CAREER STAFF BEGIN TAKING ON LEADERSHIP ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES. ALTHOUGH EXISTING LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS ALREADY PROVIDE EXCELLENT TRAINING, THEY MAINLY TARGET MID- TO LATE-CAREER STAFF AND CAN ACCEPT ONLY SO MANY PARTICIPANTS ANNUALLY. CONSERVATION OF BIRDS, MAMMALS, AND SPORT FISH REQUIRES NAVIGATING DEEPLY HELD BELIEFS AND CONFLICTS AMONG CONSTITUENTS (E.G., MANAGING MULTI-USE GAME LANDS, PROMOTING CATCH AND KEEP PROGRAMS TO REMOVE INVASIVE FISH SPECIES, MANAGING EFFECT OF DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS ON SPORT FISH, AND MANAGING WATERFOWL PONDS FOR THE BENEFIT OF BOTH BIRDERS AND HUNTERS). TO BE EFFECTIVE, CONSERVATION PROFESSIONALS MUST EMPLOY HIGH-LEVEL LEADERSHIP THE VISION TO SEE PROBLEMS FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES, SKILLS TO MODERATE CONFLICTS, AND CREATIVITY TO DEVISE NOVEL RESOLUTIONS. THESE ASPECTS OF LEADERSHIP ARE KEY TO PRESERVING HUNTING AND FISHING HERITAGE AND BIODIVERSITY. TO INCREASE THESE LEADERSHIP CAPACITIES AND PROMOTE MORE CONSISTENT AND EFFICIENT PROGRESS IN THE SOUTHEASTERN US, WE PROPOSE THE SOUTHEAST CONSERVATION LEADERSHIP PROGRAM (SECLP), A CONSERVATION LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM TARGETING EARLY- AND MID-CAREER STAFF IN THE SOUTHEASTERN US. THIS PROGRAM WILL INTRODUCE PARTICIPANTS (FELLOWS) TO LEADERSHIP CONCEPTS AND TOOLS, INCLUDING ENGAGING IN ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP, DEVELOPING REFLECTIVE PRACTICES, AND BOOSTING INTERNAL CAPACITY. BY TEACHING THESE SKILLS EARLIER IN THEIR CAREERS, FELLOWS WILL HAVE MORE TIME TO FURTHER DEVELOP AND APPLY THEM. ADDITIONALLY, THE SECLP WILL OFFER AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ALUMNI OF OTHER LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS TO SHARE THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP TO SEAFWA STAFF. THESE COACHES WOULD BE WORKING ON OR HAVE HAD EXPERIENCE WITH WR SFR SPECIES OR ACTIVITIES. AS WE GAIN MORE ALUMNI FROM THIS REGIONAL PROGRAM, WE WILL MAINTAIN A CONNECTED NETWORK, ALLOWING CONTINUED LEARNING ALONGSIDE OTHERS WHO HAVE COMPLETED THE TRAINING. WE ENVISION THAT THIS NETWORK WILL ENABLE UNIQUE AND INNOVATIVE COLLABORATIONS THAT MIGHT NOT BE POSSIBLE OTHERWISE. RELATIONSHIPS AND TRUST BUILT BETWEEN FELLOWS IN EACH COHORT WILL PROMOTE AND ADVANCE COLLABORATIVE APPROACHES TO REGIONAL AND NATIONAL WR AND SFR CHALLENGES FOR DECADES.

FOR THE ATRISK SPECIES 2024 2028 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT WMI IS REQUESTING 80000 TO SUPPORT EFFORTS TO RESTORE AND ENHANCE HABITAT FOR ATRISK SPECIES. AS DETAILED IN THE PROJECT NARRATIVE FUNDS FROM THIS AGREEMENT WILL BE USED TO SUPPORT HABITAT RESTORATION ACTIVITIES FOR FOUR ATRISK SPECIES GROUPSTURTLES SALTMARSH SPARROWS FROSTED ELFIN NEW ENGLAND COTTONTAIL AND POLLINATORS. A LIST OF POTENTIAL PROJECTS IS PROVIDED IN THE PROJECT NARRATIVE THESE PROJECTS WILL INCLUDE HABITAT MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES SUCH AS PRESCRIBED BUMS INVASIVE SPECIES CONTROL PLANTING FENCING MOWING AND CUTTING. THESE HABITAT MANAGEMENT ACTIONS WILL BE COMPLETED BY MULTIPLE CONTRACTORS. THEY ARE CONSIDERED CONTRACTORS BECAUSE THEY PROVIDE THE SERVICES NEEDED TO MEET THE GOALS OF THIS PROJECT. THESE CONTRACTORS REGULARLY PROVIDE THESE SERVICES. ALL PLANNING PERMITTING AND COORDINATION OF THE PROJECT WILL BE DONE BY THE UNITED STATES FISH WILDLIFE SERVICE USFWS AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE WMI.THE TOTAL FEDERAL BUDGET REQUESTED FOR THIS PROJECT IS 80000. THE CONTRACTUAL PORTION OF THE BUDGET IS 72728 WHICH WILL BE USED TO HIRE MULTIPLE CONTRACTORS TO COMPLETE THE HABITAT MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES. WMI IS VOLUNTARILY LOWERING THE CHARGED INDIRECT RATE FROM 30.73% TO 10% OF DIRECT COSTS FOR THIS PROJECT FOR A TOTAL OF 7272.

NATIONAL COORDINATION AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE PREVENTION, SURVEILLANCE, AND MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE (CWD)

AT-RISK SPECIES HABITATS

NEW ENGLAND COTTONTAIL HABITAT MANAGEMENT-2016

THE WEBLESS MIGRATORY GAME BIRD RESEARCH PROGRAM

APPLYING GOVERNANCE PRINCIPLES TO ENHANCE LEADERSHIP AND RELEVANCE OF STATE WILDLIFE AGENCIES

THE NORTHEAST ASSOCIATION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES (NEAFWA) HAS PROPOSED THE PROJECT, CONNECTING DIFFERENT CULTURES TO HUNTING AND FISHING THROUGH FOOD, TO CREATE AWARENESS OF HUNTING AND FISHING AMONG UNDERREPRESENTED AUDIENCES. HARVESTING AND COOKING WILD GAME IS A SIGNIFICANT MOTIVATION FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT TO START HUNTING AND FISHING BUT THERE IS A LACK OF CONTENT THAT SHOWCASES HOW TO USE WILD GAME IN ETHNICALLY DIVERSE CUISINES AND RECIPES. THIS PROJECT WILL FILL THIS NEED BY CREATING 15 HIGHLY PROFESSIONAL COOKING VIDEOS AND ASSOCIATED RECIPE CARDS OF FOOD RECIPES FROM AROUND THE WORLD INCLUDING ASIA, SOUTH AMERICA, AFRICA, THE CARIBBEAN AND MORE. THE GOAL IS TO CREATE HELPFUL "HOW-TO" CONTENT THAT WILL INCREASE THE AWARENESS OF HUNTING AND FISHING TO UNDERREPRESENTED AUDIENCES BY FEATURING RECIPES THAT REFLECT CUISINES FROM DIFFERENT ETHNIC GROUPS. THIS PROJECT WILL WORK WITH A VIDEO PRODUCTION COMPANY TO DEVELOP MODERN COOKING VIDEOS THAT APPEAL TO A YOUNGER AUDIENCE AND ARE SIMILAR TO "TASTY" VIDEOS WHICH GENERATE 500 MILLION VIEWS PER MONTH. NEAFWA WILL WORK WITH OTHER AFWA REGIONS TO IDENTIFY DIVERSE HUNTERS AND ANGLERS WHO CAN PROVIDE CULTURALLY AUTHENTIC FOOD RECIPES AND WHO CAN SHARE THEIR STORY ABOUT HUNTING AND FISHING. THESE VIDEOS WILL PROVIDE MANY PEOPLE WITH AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE FIRST TIME TO SEE THEMSELVES AND THEIR CULTURES REFLECTED IN HUNTING AND FISHING CONTENT. CORRELATING PRINTABLE RECIPE CARDS WILL BE CREATED ALONG WITH CONTENT THAT HIGHLIGHTS THE STORIES BEHIND THE RECIPES, ADDITIONAL FOOD PREPARATION TIPS, AND A SUGGESTED CONTENT CALENDAR. ALL 50 STATE WILDLIFE AGENCIES WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS PROJECT BECAUSE THE PRODUCTS WILL BE AVAILABLE ON THE R3 CLEARINGHOUSE AND WILL BE FULLY EDITABLE TO ADD BRANDING AND CALLS TO ACTION. THIS PROJECT WILL SEEK TO WORK WITH AN EXPERIENCED VIDEO PRODUCTION COMPANY AND PROFESSIONAL CHEFS, IF NEEDED. THE END RESULT WILL BE A CATALOG OF EYE-CATCHING VIDEOS AND CONTENT THAT BETTER REPRESENTS THE NEW AND DIVERSE AUDIENCES THAT CAN BE RECRUITED INTO HUNTING AND FISHING.

WMI - ATLANTIC BRANT BANDING PROGRAM IN CANADA

AS A FEDERAL AGENCY WITHIN DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR, THE MISSION OF THE UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE (USFWS) IS TO WORK WITH OTHERS TO CONSERVE, PROTECT, MANAGE, AND ENHANCE FISH, WILDLIFE, PLANTS, AND THEIR HABITATS FOR THE CONTINUING BENEFIT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. THE USFWS DIVISION OF MIGRATORY BIRDS SERVES AS A FOCAL POINT IN THE UNITED STATES FOR POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGIC PLANNING, PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION, AND EVALUATION OF ACTIONS DESIGNED TO CONSERVE MIGRATORY BIRDS AND THEIR HABITATS. THE PURPOSE OFTHIS AWARD IS TO FUND STAFF AND ASSOCIATED EXPENSES TO SUPPORT THE USFWS DIVISION OF MIGRATORY BIRDS IN NORTHEAST REGION WITH ACTIVITIES RELATED TO OFFSHORE RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS IN U.S. WATERS, WITH A PRIMARY FOCUS ON PROJECTS IN THE USFWS NORTHEAST REGION. IN ADDITION, THE STAFF MAY OFFER EXPERTISE AND ASSISTANCE FOR RELATED ACTIVITIES IN OTHER REGIONS (E.G., SOUTHEAST, GULF OF MEXICO, GREAT LAKES AND PACIFIC) AND NATIONALLY. SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES OF THIS AWARD INCLUDE HIRING MULTIPLE RENEWABLE ENERGY BIOLOGISTS WITHIN THEUSFWS DIVISION OF MIGRATORY BIRDS IN THE NORTHEAST REGION AND PURCHASING SUPPLIES TO SUPPORT ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW OF OFFSHORE RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS. ACTIVITIES OF THE RENEWABLE ENERGY BIOLOGISTS WILL INCLUDE: I) CONDUCTING ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS OF MIGRATORY BIRDS AT ALL ACTIVE OFFSHORE RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS IN THE USFWS NORTHEAST REGION, II) DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AVOIDANCE, MINIMIZATION, MITIGATION, MONITORING MEASURES AND BENEFICIAL PRACTICES INFORMED BY THE BESTAVAILABLE SCIENCE AND METHODOLOGIES, III) WORKING WITH PARTNERS TO DEVELOP, LEAD, AND SUPPORT SCIENTIFIC STUDIES THAT ADDRESS THE HIGHEST PRIORITY INFORMATION GAPS FOR MIGRATORY BIRDS AND OFFSHORE RENEWABLE ENERGY, AND IV) COORDINATION OF RELATED ACTIVITIES WITH PARTNERS ACROSS PROGRAMS, REGIONS, AGENCIES, AND SECTORS. DELIVERABLES PRODUCED BY STAFF FUNDED UNDER THIS AGREEMENT MAY INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO, PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS, TECHNICAL REPORTS, WHITE PAPERS, DATABASES, DATA PRODUCTS, SCIENCE SUPPORT TOOLS ANDOTHER SCIENCE PRODUCTS RELATED TO FEDERAL WATERS ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AND MIGRATORY BIRD CONSERVATION, AND TRAININGS FOR SERVICE STAFF AND CONTRACTORS TO UTILIZE THESE TOOLS AND PRODUCTS. EXPECTED OUTCOMES INCLUDE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE EFFICIENCY, CONSISTENCY, AND CONTENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS RELATED TO RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS IN U.S. WATERS BASED ON THE BEST AVAILABLE INFORMATION.

MAPPING AND MODELING OF CONSERVATION FOCUS AREAS FOR AMERICAN WOODCOCK

PROPERTY TAX INCENTIVES FOR ACCESS TO PRIVATE LANDS

WILDLIFE/NATURE RESOURCE CONFERENCE

THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI GREAT LAKES JOINT VENTURE, UMGL JV, IS SEEKING AN ENTITY CAPABLE OF HOSTING AN EASTERN TALLGRASS PRAIRIE CONSERVATION DELIVERY NETWORK, CDN, MANAGER STAFF POSITION. THE CDN MANAGER WILL COORDINATE ACTIONS AND COMMUNICATION ACROSS THE PARTNERSHIP TO EXPAND AND ACCELERATE GRASSLAND CONSERVATION IN THE EASTERN TALLGRASS PRAIRIE SYSTEM AND ASSOCAITED LANSCAPES AS GUIDED BY THE JV SCIENCE PLANNED PRODUCTS.WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE, WMI, IS PROPOSING TO HOST THE CDN POSITION AS A LIMITED TERM EMPLOYEE, LTE. RECRUITMENT WILL BE COORDINATED WITH BOTH ENTITIES, INCLUDING UMGL JV AND IOWA DNR REPRESENTATION ON ANY HIRING PANEL. THE POSITION WILL FUNCTION AS A MEMBER OF THE UMGL JV STAFF AND WILL BE HIRED AND ADMINISTERED BY WMI AND PHYSICALLY HOUSED WITH IOWA DNR. STRATEGIC GUIDANCE WILL BE PROVIDED BY THE CDN STEERING COMMITTEE, INCLUDING IOWA DNR STAFF.

PROJECT TITLENORTHEAST POLLINATOR AND IMPORTANT SGCN INSECT CONSERVATION ACTION COORDINATOR A COOPERATIVE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE USGS COOPERATIVE FISH AND WILDLIFE RESEARCH UNIT PROGRAM USGS CRU NORTHEAST ASSOCIATION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES NEAFWA AND THE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE WMI. PROJECT PERIOD08 15 2024 03 30 2028PROJECT ABSTRACT SUMMARYINVERTEBRATES ARE CRITICAL FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO1 THEY INCLUDE NUMEROUS TAXA REPRESENTING THOUSANDS OF SPECIES IN THE NORTHEAST 2 THEY PROVIDE CRITICAL ECOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS AND REPRESENT IMPORTANT FOOD SOURCES FOR OTHER SGCN 3 MANY SPECIES ARE BELIEVED TO BE DECLINING AND 3 CERTAIN SPECIES LIKE POLLINATING INSECTS ARE CRITICAL FOR MAINTAINING HABITAT TYPES AND OUR HUMAN FOOD PRODUCTION. HOWEVER STATE NATURAL RESOURCE AGENCIES LACK CAPACITY AND RESOURCES TO ADDRESS POLLINATOR AND OTHER IMPORTANT INSECT SPECIES. AS SUCH THE DISTRIBUTION CONDITION THREATS AND NECESSARY CONSERVATION ACTIONS ARE LARGELY UNKNOWN FOR MOST TAXA. BECAUSE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF POLLINATING INSECTS MANY PARTNERING ORGANIZATIONS HAVE INITIATED CONSERVATION EFFORTS. HOWEVER THESE EFFORTS ARE SELDOM COORDINATED AMONG STATES AND PARTNERING ORGANIZATIONS TO ACHIEVE MAXIMUM SUCCESS FOR THE SPECIES CONSERVATION. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES FOR THE PROJECT INCLUDE1. IDENTIFY REGIONAL AND SUBREGIONAL CONSERVATION OPPORTUNITIES FOR INVERTEBRATE CONSERVATION WITH FOCUS ON POLLINATORS AND SERVE AS INVERTEBRATE COORDINATOR FOR THE NEFWDTC ON NORTHEAST INVERTEBRATE CONSERVATION INITIATIVES INCLUDING OTHER RCN 3.0 PROJECTS.2. DEVELOP NORTHEAST BMPS FOR EFFECTIVELY CREATING RESTORING AND AUGMENTING POLLINATOR HABITAT IN A ROADSIDES UTILITY RIGHTSOFWAY AND PIPELINES 2 SOLAR ENERGY DEVELOPMENTS AND 3 BROWNFIELDS AND OTHER RESTORATION AREAS AND 4 NATURAL AREAS.3. DEVELOP A REGIONAL INVERTEBRATE BIOMASS MONITORING PROTOCOL THAT CAN BE IMPLEMENTED LONGTERM AND COSTEFFECTIVELY WITHIN STATES BY CITIZEN SCIENTISTS NGOS AND ACADEMICS. INVERTEBRATE BIOMASS HAS BROAD IMPLICATIONS FOR WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SINCE MOST VERTEBRATE RSGCNS RELY ON INVERTEBRATE FOOD SOURCES.

AMERICAN WOODCOCK

82ND NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL

THE LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION PROGRAM IN THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE (FWS) NORTHEAST REGION SUPPORTS THE FWS MISSION BY FACILITATING VOLUNTARY, PROACTIVE CONSERVATION MEASURES WITH A FOCUS ON COLLABORATIVE LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION, AT-RISK SPECIES CONSERVATION, AND SCIENCE SUPPORT. THE PROGRAM DELIVERS THE BEST-AVAILABLE LANDSCAPE-LEVEL SCIENCE, TOOLS, AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO COLLABORATIVE CONSERVATION PLANNING PARTNERSHIPS IN SUPPORT OF POLICY-RELEVANT DECISION-MAKING. BY FACILITATING VOLUNTARY, PRO-ACTIVE, COLLABORATIVE APPROACHES TO FISH AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT, STATE AND FEDERAL WILDLIFE AGENCIES CAN IMPROVE EFFICIENCY, HAVE GREATER COLLECTIVE IMPACT ACROSS JURISDICTIONS, AND REDUCE THE NEED TO LIST SPECIES UNDER THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT. TO EFFECTIVELY DELIVER IN THESE AREAS, THE LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION PROGRAM REQUIRES DATA MANAGEMENT AND SPATIAL ANALYSIS SUPPORT. WMI WILL PROVIDE THIS SUPPORT TO FWS NORTHEAST REGION LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION PROGRAMS, INCLUDING THE DELAWARE RIVER BASIN RESTORATION PROGRAM, THE CHESAPEAKE WILD PROGRAM, AND THE HIGHLANDS CONSERVATION ACT GRANTS PROGRAM. SPECIFIC SERVICES INCLUDEDATA AND RECORD MANAGEMENT, GEOSPATIAL ANALYSIS, DEVELOPMENT OF DECISION SUPPORT TOOLS AND USER PLATFORMS, AND USER SUPPORT INCLUDING TRAINING ON GEOSPATIAL PRODUCTS.

THE PRIMARY FOCUS AND GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS THE REMOVAL OF THE BURKE?S POND DAM LOCATED ON SUCKER BROOK IN PEPPERELL, MASSACHUSETTS TO COMPLETE CONNECTIVITY RESTORATION FROM THE HEADWATERS OF THE BROOK TO ITS MOUTH AT THE NISSITISSIT RIVER. BURKE?S POND DAM IS LOCATED WITHIN MIDDLESEX COUNTY IN THE TOWN OF PEPPERELL, MASSACHUSETTS ON SUCKER BROOK, UPSTREAM OF SHEFFIELD STREET AND DOWNSTREAM FROM HEALD STREET. THE PROJECT AREA IS GENERALLY THE RUN OF THE BROOK FROM 800 FEET UPSTREAM OF BURKE?S POND DAM (NATIONAL ID: MA03346) TO A SMALL DISTANCE DOWNSTREAM (150 FEET) OF THE DAM. THE HEADWATERS OF SUCKER BROOK BEGIN APPROXIMATELY 10,300 FEET UPSTREAM OF BURKE?S POND DAM. SUCKER BROOK FLOWS MAINLY WEST TO EAST THROUGH THE PROJECT AREA, ULTIMATELY JOINING THE NISSITISSIT RIVER APPROXIMATELY 2 MILES DOWNSTREAM OF BURKE?S POND, JUST BEYOND BROOKLINE STREET. THE NISSITISSIT IS A TRIBUTARY TO THE NASHUA RIVER, FLOWING TO THE MERRIMACK RIVER WHICH CONNECTS TO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. THE MASSACHUSETTS OFFICE OF DAM SAFETY HAS INSPECTED BURKE?S POND DAM RATING THE DAM HAZARD CLASS AS ?SIGNIFICANT? AND DAM CONDITION AS ?POOR?. SUCKER BROOK HAS BEEN THE FOCUS OF THE SQUAN-A-TISSIT CHAPTER WITH MULTIPLE RESTORATION ACTIVITIES AMONG PROJECT PARTNERS FOR OVER 30 YEARS. THIS HAS INCLUDED EROSION MITIGATION, WOODY MATERIALS AUGMENTATION, NATIVE PLANTS RESTORATION, AND ENDANGERED SPECIES HABITAT PROTECTION. VERY RECENTLY, THIS HAS INCLUDED THE REMOVAL OF A STONE DAM AND REPLACEMENT OF A FAILING/UNDERSIZED CULVERT IN THE KEYES PARKER CONSERVATION AREA IN 2021 AND THE REPLACEMENT OF A CULVERT ALONG HEALD STREET. BURKE?S POND DAM IS THE ONLY REMAINING PERMANENT BARRIER TO THE MIGRATION OF FISH AND OTHER AQUATIC SPECIES ALONG SUCKER BROOK. PROJECT WILL REMOVE BURKE'S POND DAM, OPENING AN ADDITIONAL 1.1 MILE OF SUCKER BROOK UPSTREAM (4 MILES TOTAL RECONNECTED), AND IMPROVE PUBLIC SAFETY. BEYOND THIS GRANT SCOPE, BUT INCLUDED IN THE LARGER PROJECT SCOPE, PARTNERS WILL ADD LARGE INSTREAM WOOD, RESTORE 2-3 ACRES RIPARIAN HABITAT, RELOCATE BROOK TROUT TO THE STREAM FROM NEARBY GULF BROOK, AND MONITOR BROOK TROUT POPULATIONS AND STREAM TEMPERATURES.

THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES (SFWAS) WITH A RELIABLE, REPLICABLE METHODOLOGY FORDEVELOPING NEW COLLABORATIONS WITH UNENGAGED POPULATION SEGMENTS AND NOVEL PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS, USING EXISTINGSTAFF AND RESOURCES WITHOUT BEING HEAVILY RELIANT ON EXTERNAL CONSULTANTS. THE NEED FOR AGENCY-LED ENGAGEMENT OFBROADER CONSTITUENCIES HAS EMERGED FROM THE MANY PILOT PROJECTS LED BY WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE (WMI) ANDITS 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 BRIDGEBUILDERSOMEBODY WHO HAS THE INTEREST AND SKILLS TO DEVELOP AND ENGAGE A SPECIFIC CONSTITUENCY IN A LONG-TERMMUTUALLY BENEFICIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE AGENCY. AS THE ROADMAP WAS NOT INTENDED TO BE, NOR WRITTEN AS, ANIMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCE DOCUMENT, THERE IS A CRITICAL NEED TO ESTABLISH SPECIFIC AND TACTICAL APPROACHES FORSFWAS TO FORGE RELATIONSHIPS WITH NEW CONSTITUENCIES BY LEVERAGING IN-HOUSE CONNECTIONS THAT, IF SUPPORTED, CANBUILD 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 OFTHE FOUR ASSOCIATION OF FISH WILDLIFE AGENCIES REGIONS IN DEVELOPING, IMPLEMENTING, AND EVALUATING A BRIDGEBUILDING 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 TACTICALRECOMMENDATIONS 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 UNENGAGEDPOPULATION SEGMENTS AND NEW PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS INCREASED CONFIDENCE OF AGENCY LEADERSHIP THAT THEIR AGENCYHAS THE TOOLS IT NEEDS TO BUILD COLLABORATIONS WITH SUCH POPULATIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS, LASTING RELATIONSHIPSWITH CONSTITUENCY GROUPS WHO HAVE NOT HISTORICALLY ENGAGED WITH AGENCIES, AND INCREASED CONSTITUENCY AWARENESSOF, PARTICIPATION IN, SUPPORT FOR THE AGENCYS ROLE IN CONSERVATION.PROJECT DELIVERABLES WILL INCLUDE TACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS PRESENTED AS A SET OF PRACTICAL, ACCESSIBLE TOOLS THATCAN 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 POPULATIONSEGMENTS AND POTENTIAL PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS ENGAGED DURING THE PROJECT.

THIS PROJECT WILL IMPROVE THE ABILITY OF STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES TO ENGAGE AND SERVE THE BROADER PUBLIC THAT BENEFITS FROM PROJECTS SUPPORTED BY THE WILDLIFE RESTORATION AND SPORT FISH RESTORATION ACTS. 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 CONDUCTED BY STATE AGENCIES FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL. THESE MATERIALS AND TOOLS HAVE BEEN TESTED IN MULTIPLE CONSERVATION AGENCIES AND HAVE BEEN REFINED FROM OUR EXPERIENCES IN WORKING WITH THEM. THESE WILL BE HOSTED ON A PUBLIC WEBSITE (WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE) FOR ANYONE TO ACCESS AND USE. THE MATERIALS ARE CUSTOMIZABLE TO SUIT THE INTERESTS, 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.

TO HELP RECIPIENT IMPLEMENT MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES FOR AMERICAN WOODCOCK AND OTHER SPECIES

RESTORE WETLAND, UPLAND AND EARLY SUCCESSIONAL HABITATS

WILDLIFE HABITAT INCENTIVES PROGRAM

THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO REVIEW AND REVISE EXISTING MATERIALS THAT INCREASE AGENCY KNOWLEDGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND CREATE ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS THAT CAN BE USED WITH STAFF, COMMISSIONERS AND STAKEHOLDERS TO EXPLAIN THE ESSENTIAL ROLE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE IN CONSERVATION DECISION MAKING PROCESSES. IT WILL PRODUCE A TOOL KIT OF BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE NEED FOR, ACQUISITION, AND APPLICATION OF SOCIAL SCIENCE FOR STATE AGENCIES TO USE AND CUSTOMIZE FOR THEIR CONTEXT AND AUDIENCES. THE MATERIALS WILL BE TARGETED FOR MID LEVEL CAREER STAFF WHO ARE PROMOTING INTO ROLES OF HIGHER LEVEL DECISION MAKING. THE MATERIALS CAN BE USED FOR INDIVIDUAL LEARNING OR CUSTOMIZED FOR IN HOUSE TRAINING SESSIONS OR PRESENTATIONS TO COMMISSIONERS AND ELECTED OFFICIALS ABOUT THE NEED FOR AND APPLICATION OF SOCIAL SCIENCE IN CONSERVATION.1. OBJECTIVE 1 PROVIDE LEARNING MODULES FOR STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES ON THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE IN CONSERVATION DECISION MAKING. THE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE (WMI) WILL REVIEW PEER REVIEWED LITERATURE, WHITE PAPERS, EXISTING TRAINING MATERIALS AND GUIDES TO DEVELOP FREE ONLINE, ON DEMAND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE MATERIALS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE, ACQUISITION AND APPLICATION OF SOCIAL SCIENCE (HUMAN DIMENSIONS OF WILDLIFE) IN FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION. THESE MATERIALS MAY INCLUDE VIDEOS, WHITE PAPERS, SLIDE DECKS WITH NOTES, CASE STUDIES, COMPILATIONS OF ADDITIONAL RESOURCES, AND TRAINING AGENDA(S) WITH DISCUSSION QUESTIONS THAT WILL BE OPEN SOURCE AND CUSTOMIZABLE FOR EACH AGENCY. THE PRIMARY AUDIENCE FOR THIS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IS MID LEVEL AGENCY STAFF. MID LEVEL STAFF MAY HAVE HAD AN INTRODUCTORY HUMAN DIMENSIONS OF WILDLIFE CLASS IN THEIR ACADEMIC PROGRAM BUT LIKELY HAD LITTLE NEED TO APPLY SOCIAL SCIENCE EARLY IN THEIR CAREERS. AS THEY MOVE INTO HIGHER LEVEL POSITIONS IN THEIR AGENCIES AND HAVE A BIGGER ROLE IN CONSERVATION DECISION MAKING, THESE MATERIALS CAN PROVIDE A REFRESHER COURSE ON THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE IN CONSERVATION AND WHERE TO FIND MORE INFORMATION ON HOW TO GET AND APPLY SOCIAL SCIENCE. ADDITIONAL MATERIALS WILL BE DEVELOPED FOR USE WITH COMMISSIONERS, ELECTED OFFICIALS AND AGENCY LEADERSHIP THAT MAY NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE IN FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION.THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE MATERIALS TO CONSERVATION AGENCIES THAT DONT HAVE IN HOUSE SOCIAL SCIENCE EXPERTISE TO INCREASE UNDERSTANDING OF THE ROLE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE IN CONSERVATION AND ALSO AS SUPPORT RESOURCES FOR THOSE AGENCIES THAT DO HAVE IN HOUSE EXPERTISE. THESE PRODUCTS CAN BE CUSTOMIZED AND USED FOR IN PERSON TRAININGS AT NATIONAL, REGIONAL OR STATE BASED PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS (E.G., AFWA, AFS, TWS). THESE FREE RESOURCES WILL BE AVAILABLE USING THE EXISTING RELEVANCY COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE WEBSITE (THE AFWA HUMAN DIMENSIONS SOCIAL SCIENCE SUBCOMMITTEE IS USING THIS AS THEIR COMMUNICATIONS PLATFORM).

WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE 2016 MONARCH BUTTERFLY HABITAT ENHANCEMENT

2017 NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE & NATURAL R

BLM-WO, ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT THE COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE FOR WILDLIFE CONSERVATION

CONSERVATION WITHOUT CONFLICT COALITION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SUPPORT

THE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE - ATLANTIC COAST WOODCOCK INITITATIVE

INCREASE FUNDING BY $30K IMPLEMENT NEC CONSERVATION EFFORTS

NEW ENGLAND COTTONTAIL RECOVERY PROJECT

INCREASING EFFECTIVENESS OF STATE WILDLIFE AGENCIES THROUGH LEADERSHIP

NNA TRACK 2: DEVELOPING COORDINATED MONITORING NETWORKS ACROSS ALASKA AND NORTHWEST CANADA TO EVALUATE AND ADDRESS RAPIDLY CHANGING ENVIRONMENTS

RCH - WILDLIFE MGMT INSTITUTE

AMERICAN WOODCOCK CONSERVATION INITIATIVE: ATLANTIC NORTHERN FOREST BIRD CONSERVATION

82ND ANNUAL NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE & NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE

81ST NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCE CONFERENCE

FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT THE 80TH NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE

THE 79TH NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE.

78TH NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE

SUPPORT FOR THE 75TH NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE & NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE

APHIS INITIATIVE_PROTECTING AGRICULTURE. THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OFAGRICULTURE HAS IMPLEMENTED A NATIONAL RESPONSE TO REDUCE, AND IN SOMEAREAS ELIMINATE, THE DAMAGES INFLICTED BY WILD INVASIVE PIGS. THE FIRSTOBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY IS TO HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE, SYSTEMATICEVALUATION OF STATE POLICIES AND LAWS RELATED TO FERAL SWINE, INCLUDINGBUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY POLICIES AND LAWS RELATED TO DISPOSITION OF LIVEFERAL SWINE AND FERAL SWINE CARCASSES. BY RESEARCHING AND ANALYZING THECURRENT STATUTES, REGULATIONS, AND POLICIES CONCERNING FERAL SWINE FORFIFTY (50) STATE WILDLIFE AGENCIES, THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY WILLPROVIDE GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WILL HELP THEM TO MORE EFFECTIVELYCONTROL DISEASES OF FERAL SWINE SUCH AS AFRICAN SWINE FEVER (ASF),CLASSICAL SWINE FEVER (CSF), AND FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE (FMD).

73RD NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE CONFERENCE

DEVELOPMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE 89TH NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE

DEVELOPMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE 88TH NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE.

DEVELOPMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE 87TH NORTH AMERICAN WIDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE.

DEVELOPMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE 86TH NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE

THE PURPOSE OF THIS GRANT IS TO PROVIDE FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO THE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE FOR THE 88TH ANNUAL NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE MARCH 20-24, 2023, AT THE MARRIOTT GRAND HOTEL IN ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS GRANT IS TO PROVIDE SPONSORSHIP FOR THE ANNUALPROFESSIONAL MEETING ON WILDLIFE POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION WORKINGTOWARD THE GOAL OF IMPROVED MANAGEMENT OF WILDLIFE RESOURCES, WMI ISINVOLVED IN A WIDE RANGE OF ISSUE, POLICY, RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONALEFFORTS. THE WMI NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCESCONFERENCE SERVES AS THE ANNUAL FORUM OF PROFESSIONALS TO SETCONSERVATION POLICY IN NORTH AMERICA, AND LEARN AND EXCHANGE IDEASTHROUGH A FORMAL PROGRAM, SESSIONS, TECHNICAL WORKSHOPS, RELATEDMEETINGS AND OTHER SCHEDULED BUSINESS, SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL EVENTS.THE FUNDING PROVIDED BY APHIS WILL PROVIDE FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND ISDISBURSED TO THE COOPERATOR FOR THE FOLLOWING:• SUPPORT RURAL COMMUNITIES AND THE PUBLIC, AND PROMOTE AND ENFORCEANIMAL WELFARE.• PROTECT FORESTS AND PRIVATE LANDS, AS WELL AS NATURAL RESOURCES.• EXPAND OPPORTUNITIES TO DEVELOP AND TRADE SAFE BIOTECHNOLOGY DERIVEDAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.• MINIMIZE AND PREVENT DAMAGE TO THE U.S. FOOD SUPPLY CAUSED BY PLANTAND ANIMAL PESTS AND DISEASES.

HEALTH & HUMAN SAFETY - SPONSORSHIP OF THE 86TH ANNUAL NORTHAMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE.

2019 NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE

CONDUCT THE 76TH NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE IN KANSAS CITY, MO, MARCH 14 - 19, 2011.

CONDUCT THE 75TH NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE IN MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, MARCH 22-27, 2010.

CONDUCT THE 74TH NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE IN ARLINGTON, VA, APRIL MARCH 16-21, 2009.

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVE PROGRAM

NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE & NATURAL RESOURCES

SUPPORT OF THE 86TH NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE.

SPONSOR AWARD FOR THE 85TH NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE, OMAHA, NE.

FOREST MANAGEMENT TO BENEFIT MIGRATORY BIRDS

CONDUCT THE 80TH NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE IN OMAHA, NEBRASKA, MARCH 8-13, 2015.

CONDUCT THE 79TH NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE IN DENVER, COLORADO, MARCH 9-14, 2014.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS GRANT IS TO PROVIDE FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO THE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE FOR THE 89TH ANNUAL NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE (NORTH AMERICAN), SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE MARCH 25-29, 2024, AT THE AMWAY GRAND PLAZA HOTEL, GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN. THE NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE IS THE PREMIERE ANNUAL GATHERING OF OVER 1,000 OF THE NATURAL RESOURCE PROFESSION'S TOP ADMINISTRATORS, SCIENTISTS, MANAGERS AND EDUCATORS.

CONDUCT THE 77TH NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE IN ATLANTA, GA, MARCH 12 - 17, 2012.

CONDUCT THE 78TH NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE IN ARLINGTON, VA, MARCH 25 - 30, 2013.

ANNUAL FISH & WILDLIFE BUSINESS SUMMIT, KENNESAW, GA, APRIL 3-4, 2017

WMI'S ANNUAL FISH & WILDLIFE BUSINESS SUMMIT, JULY 6-8, 2016, RICHMOND, VA

THE SEVENTH ANNUAL FISH AND WILDLIFE BUSINESS SUMMIT, WMI

FISH AND WILDLIFE BUSINESS SUMMIT, FORT LAUDERDALE, FL, APRIL 29-30, 2014

PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR THE 81ST NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE IN PITTSBURGH,PA, MARCH 13 -18, 2016.

PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR THE 80TH NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE IN OMAHA, NEBRASKA, MARCH 8-13, 2015.

NAT'L WSFR COORDINATORS MTG - WMI

SPONSORSHIP OF THE 85TH ANNUAL NORTH AMERICAN NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE

CLIMATE CHANGE AND SCIENCE APPLICATIONS

CONSERVATIO LEADERS FOR TOMORROW PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

PROPERTY TAX INCENTIVES FOR ACCESS TO PRIVATE LANDS

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE HUNTING HERITAGE ACTION PLAN

HUNTING HERITAGE ACTION PLAN