Pilot States
Funding provided by a 2019 Multi-State Conservation Grant from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was used to provide consultation, training, and other forms of support for efforts by Florida, Indiana, Iowa, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Missouri to pilot the Relevancy Roadmap and overcome barriers to engaging and serving broader constituencies.
Find a short summary of each state’s efforts below or read more about the pilot states in the Wildlife Management Institute’s April 2020 Outdoor News Bulletin.
Additionally, you can read each state’s report on its Relevancy Roadmap project as the reports become available.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is developing strategies to help increase and improve stakeholder engagement with broader constituencies.
The Indiana Division of Fish and Wildlife will conduct interviews to gain a better understanding of the behavioral motivators for participating in conservation activities.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is examining data to develop questions for several focus groups to gain a better understanding of wildlife watchers’ and outdoor photographers’ interests and needs.
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is focusing on improving alignment of their agency culture with the culture of nontraditional outdoor recreationists, under-represented minorities, the Spanish-speaking community, and urban/suburban constituents.
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is conducting research to design effective outreach and develop additional fishing opportunities that will engage more diverse participants in angling and boating.
The Missouri Department of Conservation is developing an internal relevancy plan as they increase their efforts to better understand and serve the needs of existing and new constituents.