Research Topics

Responsive Management’s research is routinely used by agencies and organizations to answer essential questions, determine how to allocate resources and funding, and base management decisions on a solid foundation of fact. Responsive Management’s research is used to:

• Assess participation rates and trends
• Understand opinions, attitudes, constraints, and motivations
• Develop and evaluate messages
• Assess the impacts and outcomes of programs and initiatives
• Fine-tune marketing efforts, communications plans, and public relations campaigns
• Explore specific demographic segments of the population

Responsive Management conducts research on these and other topics:

According to the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, 11.5 million Americans ages 16 and older went hunting in 2016, spending more than $36 billion on trips, equipment, and other hunting-related items. Read More

Recreational fishing is one of America’s most popular and universal outdoor recreational activities. According to the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, 35.8 million Americans ages 16 and older went fishing in 2016, spending $44.7 billion on trips, equipment, and other fishing-related items. Read More

Each year, about 50 million American adults participate in some type of target or sport shooting activity, with the most popular activities being target shooting with a handgun, target shooting with a rifle, and target shooting at an outdoor range. Read More

Responsive Management has tracked national participation rates in archery for the Archery Trade Association (ATA) for more than a decade, in addition to conducting numerous other studies on archery and bowhunting. The last archery participation tracking survey was conducted in 2016 to examine archery and bowhunting participation during the previous year. Read More

Recreational boating participation has been growing with the United States population. According to Responsive Management research, nearly a third of Americans 18 years old and older go boating each year. The increase in the number of recreational boaters, as well as increases in boat registration and the amount of time spent on the water, have led to increased demands for and use of public and private boating access, boating facilities, and boating supplies. Read More

Over the past decade, participation in wildlife viewing, specifically wildlife viewing around the home, has been increasing, according to both the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation and Responsive Management research. Read More

Responsive Management routinely helps natural resource agencies and recreational providers to assess participation rates and trends in outdoor recreation activities among residents. Knowing residents’ needs for outdoor recreation opportunities and facilities allows for the best allocation of funding and planning of programs and recreational development projects. Read More

The importance of hunters, anglers, sport shooters, and archers goes beyond the simple imperative of keeping alive these venerated American traditions; each year, participants in the four activities, through their purchases of licenses and sporting equipment, contribute hundreds of millions of dollars in essential funding for fish and wildlife conservation, including species recovery, habitat improvements, and other critical work carried out by agencies and organizations across the country. Read More

Accurate data reflecting hunter harvest and angler catch of various species is critical to effective fish and wildlife management. Fish and wildlife managers depend on such data to precisely monitor the populations of different species and to set regulations accordingly. This process ensures the health and sustainability of the species and the continuing conservation of the resource in general. Read More

The importance of law enforcement officers goes beyond the direct results of law enforcement. Natural resource and wildlife law enforcement officers are some of the most visible and recognizable individuals of natural resource agencies and organizations, and the image of the entire agency or organization can be affected by the activities of law enforcement personnel. Public perceptions of these individuals are often a crucial indicator of public perceptions of the agency or organization itself. Read More

Private landowners will play an increasingly important role in the future of the nation’s natural resources—over two-thirds of the nation’s land is privately owned and contains some of the most important habitat in the United States. In addition, about three quarters of the wetlands remaining in the United States are privately owned. Outdoor recreation also depends upon the involvement of private landowners, as many outdoor recreation opportunities can be found there; also, many outdoor recreation locations must be accessed by crossing private land. Read More

National, state, and privately owned forests provide numerous benefits, including wildlife habitat; supporting biodiversity; taking carbon out of the air and thus serving as carbon sinks; and providing the outdoor environments desired by many people for recreation. Americans have strong values toward the use and protection of America’s forests. Accurate assessment of public and stakeholder attitudes toward the use and management of forests is critical to implementing sound policy. Read More

As the landscape continues to become more urbanized, and humans continue to place more pressure on our natural resources and wildlife populations, wildlife management will continue to be a significant issue. Wildlife populations provide numerous hunting opportunities, wildlife viewing opportunities, and contributions to overall biodiversity. Aside from economic and instrumental value, wildlife holds subjective values for most people. These values may be symbolic, aesthetic, or educational, but they are as important as utilitarian or economic values in the consideration of management options. Read More

Endangered species protection and restoration have been important issues in wildlife management programs since the inception of the Endangered Species Act. Threatened, endangered, and nongame wildlife programs have and will continue to become increasingly important to fish and wildlife agencies as these programs become more comprehensive in nature. Although most states have initiated nongame wildlife programs, the majority of programs remain underfunded and understaffed to appropriately monitor nongame populations in order to avoid costly eleventh-hour attempts to restore species. Read More

By far one of the most important natural resource and environmental issues for Americans today is water resources. Water resource issues consistently rank at or near the top in importance for Americans. Although Americans care about water, factual knowledge about water and water resources is generally low. Read More

About half of the United States population lives in coastal counties, which account for only about a quarter of the nation’s total land area, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. Coastal areas are becoming the most crowded and developed parts of the nation. With this population growth, more and more pressure will be placed on coastal resources and coastal ecosystems. Read More

Over the past century, human activity has rapidly destroyed or polluted many ecological systems and habitats throughout the world. Being aware of and actively involved in solving environmental problems is necessary not just for the health of the environment but also for the health and safety of people worldwide. For the most effective environmental management to occur, environmental and natural resource agencies and organizations must build strong partnerships among themselves and with the public. Read More

Responsive Management often works with county and municipal government agencies to survey residents about their opinions, needs, and preferences with regard to governmental services and programs. Our research examines residents’ opinions on facilities and services, standard of living and quality of life satisfaction, and attitudes toward living in the county or city in general—results from these studies are commonly used for governmental planning and development initiatives. Read More

Responsive Management assists with strategic planning and direction by working with agencies and organizations to collect new data regarding their future priorities. Large-scale plans outlining agency/organization vision and direction identify areas for investments in funding, staffing, and other resources; as such, these plans must rest on a solid foundation of fact through scientific and systematic data collection. Read More

Programmatic evaluations measure the effectiveness and success of programs, policies, services, or organizations, and identify areas of potential improvement. A programmatic evaluation can be used to measure what is working and what is not. Read More

Responsive Management’s research is often used by clients to inform marketing efforts, communications campaigns, and branding initiatives. For example, Responsive Management partnered with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to conduct research and design marketing to increase freshwater fishing participation in the state. Read More

Responsive Management has a long history of working with the nation’s top conservation, environmental, and sportsmen’s nonprofit organizations to help them increase their membership numbers. As part of this work, Responsive Management often assists in the development of taglines, logos, branding, and other marketing elements to attract new members. Read More

Understanding the economic impacts of natural resource and outdoor recreation programs, as well as the expenditures of outdoor recreationists, is an increasingly important component of management and planning. Outdoor recreationists spend money on equipment, lodging, licenses, food, access permits, and other amenities, which ultimately have a positive impact on the local, state, and national economies. Read More