The Human Dimensions of Fish and Wildlife Management in Maine

Responsive Management recently worked with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife on a series of studies to provide the agency with new insights into Maine residents’ attitudes toward the agency itself as well big game and freshwater fisheries management in the state. Through Responsive Management’s extensive data collection and consultation based on decades of human dimensions research, the Department was able to tailor its communications and marketing strategies affecting how the public perceives the agency, its priorities, and its accomplishments.

The Department also applied the findings from the other research studies to the new iterations of its big game and freshwater fisheries management plans. With new data regarding Mainers’ opinions on the management of black bear, moose, deer, and turkey (Maine’s four primary big game species), as well as the state’s multitude of freshwater fish species (including the iconic brook trout), the Department is better able to balance biological goals and objectives with the needs and preferences of residents.

The first of the three studies, which resulted in the new agency-wide communications and marketing plan, was initiated in June 2015; the final research for the updated big game and fisheries management plans was completed the following June. The overall data collection for the three projects involved Maine general population residents, hunters, anglers, wildlife viewers, trappers, boaters, and landowners, and included surveys, focus groups, public meetings, and interactive online public input discussion forums.

To develop the communications and marketing plan for the Department, Responsive Management partnered with Mile Creek Communications, a Connecticut-based firm specializing in strategic marketing and communications for the conservation community and outdoor recreation industry. The newly created communications roadmap produced by Responsive Management and Mile Creek Communications was written to fulfill two basic objectives: raise overall public awareness and support among Maine residents for the Department’s mission, programs and projects; and measurably increase support and participation in activities and programs overseen and/or administered by the Department. In a more general sense, the plan was designed to strengthen the Department’s relationship with Maine residents.

The other two studies centered on the human dimensions of wildlife and fisheries management. Historically, the Department has updated its big game and fisheries management plans every 15 years, partly based on input from working groups made up of select citizen stakeholders, landowners, and representatives of sportsmen’s groups, wildlife and conservation nonprofits, and tourism groups. For the new plans, the Department was interested in expanding the public input process so that as many Maine residents as possible were invited to participate in the planning by voicing their opinions in one of the various modes of data collection. Thus, rather than engaging only a small number of key individuals, the new management plans were developed based on the involvement of thousands of Maine residents.