Reaching New Audiences for Wildlife Conservation Exploring a cost recovery model
P roblem: • W ildlife management agencies are suffering due to declining revenues brought on by low participation in hunting and fishing sports. H ow do we broaden our support base and revenues? • Grow new hunters and anglers • Grow our support base
ARIZONA RESIDENTS’ OPINIONS ON THE ARIZONA GAME AND FISH DEPARTMENT AND OUTDOOR RECREATION IN ARIZONA TELEPHONE SURVEY AND TRENDS STUDY 2018 Conducted for the Arizona Game and Fish Department by Responsive Management “Of those activities, current participation levels are shown, with wildlife viewing being the most popular, as nearly half of Arizona residents did so at home—47%— in the past 12 months, while 28% took a wildlife viewing trip during that time. Just under a third went target or recreational shooting (29%), and slightly more than a quarter did so with firearms (26%).” 31% of AZ residents hunted or fished in the last 12 months.
2018 47% of Arizonan’s viewed wildlife at home while 28% of took wildlife viewing trips. Nearly 3 times the number of Arizonans traveled to view wildlife than hunted.
The highest means are for off-highway driving (28.5 days) and wildlife viewing trips (20.2 days) . Boaters and target shooters and boaters are the most likely to go only a single day.
O ur Goal: B roaden the AGFD’s recognition and support through innovative and compelling programs that engage the public with wildlife and promote wildlife appreciation and conservation using a pay to play model.
15 Banding Involvement Eagles Deer Relocation Bighorn Relocation 10 Native fish Bird reintroductions Watching Interest Elk Viewing Spotlighting Ferrets Mist-netting bats Javelina Viewing 5 Electro-shock Fish Bat Workshop Frog Calls Rare Rare Common Common 0 Hands-On Hands-Off Hands-On Hands-Off 0 1 2 3 4
A pproach: two pronged • W ildlife lecture series. Appeals to those who are ____ more outdoor oriented • F ield-based activities. appeals to the stay at home • L ive streaming wildlife cameras ____ wildlife viewers C hallenge: “What have you done for wildlife in your own backyard?”
W ildlife Lecture Programs Partners: DBG, Pima Co., PPP, VRBNF, BTA
F ield Based Activities: bat netting, bat viewing, night hikes, bighorn sheep viewing, bighorn sheep photo tours, bison viewing Partners: SWWCC, Pima Co., Camp Colley, MSC, TNF, DBG, BTA
C harging for events: • W ildlife lecture series: $0-$30.00 • F ield based activities: $5- $150.00 • L ive streaming wildlife cameras: Free
Combined Three (3) Year Customer Data 100 90 80 Percentage of Attendees 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 % of Attendees that attended previous % Likely to attend another WOW event % Satisfied with the event WOW event Series1 29.6 83.6 97.6
W eb Cams: Partners: Maricopa Co., A/S Forest, State Land Dept., MCC. Peak viewership > 900,000 downloads a month. Over 78,959 people viewing cameras in 38 countries and 35 US States. > $2,700 donated to cameras As of this fall we will have 5 operational wildlife cams for the public to view.
What the Numbers Say • Participants of wildlife viewing events are paying an average of $35.25 per event which is just $2.00 less than an annual resident hunting license. • According to surveys filled out by participants, numerous people attend more than one event annually (up to 5) with the average person contributing about the same amount or more money to conservation than a person who purchases a javelina, turkey, bear, or mountain lion tag and a hunting license. • Wildlife cams have the greatest potential of introducing the AZGFD to a broader audience and delivering targeted messaging on science based conservation.
Closing Thought We should be striving to create not just new hunters and anglers but new conservationist.
F INIS We are perishing for want of wonder, not for want of wonders.
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