Like a Hound in the Hunt: Tracking R3

Re-posted from castingaline.wordpress.com.

The world is not perfect. Even though duck hunters might like marshy areas, scientists would prefer our data not to be murky and full of weeds. Unfortunately, at least in my experience, data are rarely clean and clear cut. What does this mean for R3?

Most of us have probably been to an outdoor program. We host fishing clinics and shooting festivals and trapping demonstrations. With the snowballing focus on R3, we have mentored hunts, field-to-fork workshops, and intense multi-day family outings. We emphasize marketing, diversifying, and incentives. We have gained an immense amount of steam on getting wildlife agencies, NGOs, and the outdoor industry involved in recruiting, retaining, and reactivating outdoorspeople. In some areas, we have communicated with the hunting/angling/trapping public and many of those individuals step up every day. Anecdotally, it seems as if the ball is rolling. So how do we know if we are really helping?

One way we can attempt to measure success is by the trends reported to the US Fish and Wildlife Service regarding license sales. USFWS typically publishes this information in a nice report every five years, though the information can be accessed annually (if I remember correctly, the numbers might be a little behind though). This provides a great resource to see if both state and nationwide trends are increasing, decreasing, or remaining stable. But how do we tell if our efforts cause these trends? I don’t think we can. And maybe that’s not an issue. A win is a win, right?

In this case, I don’t think so. Number one, if we don’t have at least a little idea on what caused the change, how do we reproduce it or avoid it in the future? Times change, so approaches will change also, but knowing a little about what has worked in the past can help us evaluate what might or might not work in the future. Take for example, what we consider the traditional approach to recruiting hunters: family/friend mentoring. Someone had a parent, grandparent, cousin, or friend who took the recruit under their wing and provided information, assistance, contacts, etc. Fast-forward to the present. We know that mentoring can help “make” hunters, but in a world that has become increasingly urban, with access in many areas becoming more limited, and with lots of other activities and technologies to take up our attention, both mentors and recruits have been hard to find. But with programs and apps like Outdoor Mentors, Powderhook, GoWild, and Vamos a pescar, we are taking the existing concept, mentoring, and applying it in a new way to reach new people and demographics. This is just one example, but can be applied to most of our programs, even something like the amount of (generally public) hunting access. Identifying the best paths is key though.

(My “mentee” from a 2016 mentored hunt)

Secondly, each program and event requires various amounts of time, money, and labor. Without tracking users through these programs, it can be difficult to decide where, when, and how to apply these resources. Please understand two things: 1. I’m not saying that each program doesn’t have a benefit. Even if traditional shooting programs target those who would already hunt and even if they don’t provide more than one day of mentoring, they still provide an awesome source of (hopefully) positive public relations and can boost morale for those working them. Additionally, they can provide an easy way for conservation partners at various levels to work together. 2. I’m also not saying that tracking users will tell us exactly what works. Even if we could track every person through every program, access used, life events, etc. we still could not say with 100% certainty that our efforts were the cause of the observed trends. That’s the nature of science. But we can make stronger correlations and targeted efforts, which I think are important.

Thirdly, and briefly, having a way to track users can also potentially streamline registration and the sign-in process for each event. I’ll explain this more in a minute.

So how do we track users? That is the big question. Many people use data mining and paper registration forms. With more technology in place, we can use surveys and questionnaires. These methods are not necessarily problematic, and they can be quite helpful, but they can also take lots of time and effort. Consider the issues involved with a paper registration record from a single event that gets submitted to an agency. If that participant has a unique identifier, that’s great, but if all you have is a name, that makes life difficult. Multiple people can have the same name, same birthday, and even live in the same general area. Can this information be decoded? Sometimes, maybe oftentimes, but not without the aforementioned labor. Could we do something that made this process easier? I think so, but it too would take some work, especially in the beginning, lots of coordination, and some way to create a positive public image. I think it would be worth it in the end though.

(Participants waiting in line to check in at a 2017 event)

When I was a member of the Kansas R3 Task Force, our main objective was to advocate for the appointment of an R3 Coordinator. While doing this, we also discussed various obstacles to R3, ways to remove obstacles, promote the outdoors, and measure our impact. One idea I brought to the group was met with mixed reviews. I am nearly certain that others have had the same, or similar ideas, but seeing as how I’d like to think we’re all on the same team and it’s important to share information and ideas, I figured I would share with the rest of the world. My idea involved a system to track users who participate in programs, license buying, and possibly even public access use (e.g., through iWIHA or iSportsman). It would absolutely require cooperation with partners and would result in a huge dataset, but the hope is that it would take less effort to manage and use than the oft used paper registration.

Here’s the basis of the system. Many states give license/permit buyers a unique number. Unfortunately, that number usually does not get administered until the person has purchased a license. So, we end up with Hunter Ed numbers, agency numbers, driver’s license numbers, and so on and so forth, with some difficulty in connecting them all, and still no way to track people through programs. My question at the time was if we could associate an agency number with someone who is not buying a license or permit. The answer I received was a skeptical, “yes.” Why is this important? My thought was that if we could create an ID for participants (primarily youth, but also adults without licenses), we could gather all the participant information once (e.g., name, DOB, SSN?) and assign an agency number before the participant even had a Hunter Education course. In fact, that Hunter Ed number would then be immediately associated with the agency number and that would provide some tracking. That’s it. That’s the foundation. Everyone gets a number, but they don’t need to purchase a license first. Now let me explain how I envisioned the process.

("Passport” idea example)

I think it’s best to think of a hypothetical youth to illustrate the idea. Let’s look at Jane Doe. She is six years old and lives in Kingman, KS. Her dad used to hunt, and occasionally still fishes, but work and life have created some obstacles; her mom fishes with her husband (Jane’s dad) but doesn’t hunt currently. This is just a hypothetical folks, I’m not being discriminatory. Jane hears an ad on the radio on the way to school about a shooting clinic put on by the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism and the local NWTF chapter. She wants to check it out and Mom and Dad agree. Normally, there would either be a pre-registration or an on-site paper registration. But in this case, Mom and Dad are told to go to a website (or an app, or fill out a paper form) to register Jane for a Kansas Outdoors Passport (or some other catchy name). They fill out all the information online and immediately receive an email copy of an ID with a note to expect a physical copy in 2-6 weeks. They can also download the Outdoor Pass app and see the same basic thing. Included on the ID is a QR code (or bar code). Now when they show up at the shooting event, all they must do is scan the code. They attend the event, scan the code, and little Jane has the time of her life. Her information, as well as the clinic information, is recorded. The next summer, Jane is now seven and she hears about a fishing derby at the local state fishing lake. This is set to be a big event with over 200 kids. Mom and Dad call a local number to see how registration works. They are told that they can go through the aforementioned app or website and “plan” to attend, but for this activity, all they must do is bring the pass and scan it. They show up, and despite the large number of people, they walk right through, scan the code, and the fun begins. Of course, little Jane is excited to have the pass, and while her parents think that she might not be responsible enough to carry it all the time, it does give her practice carrying “a license” while at events. If all else fails, they have the code on their phones. Well Jane really likes the outdoors. She decides to keep participating and her parents start to take an interest as well. When she’s 11, Jane takes Hunter Education. Due to her parents’ work schedules, she uses the online option and works at her own pace but will still have to attend a test/field day. On test day she brings the sheet that says she passed the online quiz, scans her ID, and proceeds with the day’s events. She passes the test and gets a Hunter Ed card that can already be associated with her KDWPT/Outdoor Pass number. Good news! Mom decided to take Hunter Ed with Jane, so now she has the basics down too. A few years later, Jane wants to go rabbit hunting. She’s 16 now and will need a license. Her parents let her drive them to the courthouse where they all decide to purchase a license. While the County Clerk can use Mom and Dad’s old fishing licenses to get their numbers/information, Jane has never had a license. Instead, the clerk can just scan Jane’s card and in a moment that I am sure seems like magic, all her information is on the screen and her license is ready to go. Six years later, Jane has been busy with college and other life events. She doesn’t lose interest but finds it hard to make time to go hunting. One day, she receives an email stating that hunting season is coming up and there are lots of different species that can be targeted. Her youth license expired a year ago, and she had originally opted out of buying a license this year. Well by golly, Jane knows she will have time at Christmas, why not target some rabbits?

(Mobile-friendly would be ideal)

I could write more, but I think everyone gets the picture here. Jane received her ID and subsequent agency number early, before she ever even purchased a license. That ID or pass gave her experience carrying a license and an easy way to get through registration lines. It gave the event coordinators an easy and efficient way to run the registration process, as well as a potential avenue for marketing. Finally, it gave the agency and its partners a way to track Jane’s progress as she developed into a hunter and when she started to lapse. Jane’s age changed, her address changed, maybe even her name changed, but her ID number stayed the same and we were able to tie her to specific events. This is what we need. Multiply these events by the number of participants at programs each year, and you have a real dataset and way to specifically tie activities to users and track recruits as they move through the Outdoor Recreation Adoption Model. You can even look at various demographics to see what the strongest correlations were in each case.

Some more thoughts: First, this would likely have to be all voluntary. If enough participants opted to not use the system, there would still be tracking and registration nightmares. Additionally, if the NGOs and partners opted not to use the system, we would be missing lots of data and still have a lack of information. Second, it would be helpful and almost necessary, to have a large database of events that could be accessed through the system. I envision a map or list of events that can be filtered by location, time, skill-level, subject matter, etc. On one side, the partners and agency can log in to set up events, market them, and set up pre-registrations. On the other side, potential participants can find events in which they are interested in the areas they can attend. It’s not absolutely necessary to have this, but it would be super helpful. I know that some partners are trying to do something similar, but this would really require large-scale cooperation and adoption by partners, especially at the chapter level. If a local chapter decides they don’t want to fuss with the technology or do something different than they’ve always done, the system fails. Thirdly, and probably even more problematic, is that it would be really cool to have this done nationally. The problem is that every state has a different license scheme and different numbers and different agencies. Who would run the system? It would be simpler if it was by each state, but what happens to the people who live on the border? If I live in Sioux Falls, I might want to go to an event in Minnesota or Iowa. Do I need three IDs? Standardization is great for data collection, but is it realistic?

Finally, here’s what drew the most skepticism from my colleagues: the actual tracking. Many people get very paranoid about being tracked and having their own “code” or “number.” I get it. I don’t want people snooping into my personal life either. But what we ignore or fail to recognize is that it already happens all the time. We use credit cards and carry cell phones. We use rewards cards at grocery stores and other retailers. We shop online and click on email promotions. These people and industries know exactly what we are doing, where we live, what we purchase, etc. Have you ever received coupons in the mail or email from your grocery store that are for exactly what you already buy (or maybe the name-brand version of those things)? How do you think they know what to send? That little rewards card is awesome to get discounts on products and gas, but it lets the store know what you are buying, and they take advantage of that. What I’m proposing is taking a cue from other industries. It’s not something that has never been done, but it seems like it hasn’t been done in this way. There will absolutely be critics and skeptics and paranoid people who don’t want to participate. That’s fine. But just like a rewards card, we can offer promotions, discounts, contests, etc.

I have a lot of other ideas. Mentoring rewards, access rewards, etc. Many of them can be tied to this proposed system, but they can also be separate. Seeing my word count climb over 2,000 words; however, makes me think I should leave these for another day. I don’t have all the answers, I just have ideas. They aren’t all novel and I’ve shared many with various groups and audiences, because that’s what I think I should do. I haven’t worked out all the kinks on any of this, but I’m also not getting paid for any of it either. Let’s work together and figure this out. And for everyone in the outdoor industry, whether agencies, NGOs, businesses, or mentors: Keep up the great work!

Now who is willing to be a guinea pig?