In order to broaden the support base for wildlife conservation and to set the direction for how wildlife is managed, many Idahoans gave up time on the weekend of August 24-26 to voice their opinions by attending the Idaho Wildlife Summit. Attendees traveled to one of seven different locations in the cities of Boise, Coeur d’Alene, Lewiston, Twin Falls, Pocatello, Idaho Falls, and Salmon. Idahoans and other stakeholders participated in a program that included several different sessions to share information and ideas. Wireless audience response systems provided by OTI helped improve the collaborative process by capturing, tabulating and reporting opinions of Summit attendees in real time.
Input sessions were playfully identified as “Trading Posts”, “The Idaho Café”, and “Fishing Polls" with the session name providing a clue to the manner in which opinions would be gathered. Participants also completed evaluations after the event.
The Trading Post sessions consisted of booths that allowed guests to speak face-to-face with staff from the Idaho Fish and Game Commission in order to gain a better understanding of their current programs benefiting wildlife as well as challenges facing wildlife conservation.
At the Idaho Café sessions, tables for groups of four participants were set up to encourage group dialogue and discussions of important conservation topics. Each group tackled five compelling questions and received a poster to help them record areas of agreement, ideas and individual perspectives.
The Fishing Poll sessions involved a series of surveys of the audience using OptionFinder Micro+ keypads. The wireless voting keypads and OptionPower audience response software, which ran on computers at each site, enabled the Summit facilitators to gather data in real time and capture a digital record of survey responses. Data was collected from each of the seven different cities and then consolidated into an overall analysis after each session.
Overall, there were 49 participant sessions (seven sessions at each of the seven locations) that provided input on a total of 70 survey questions. The post-event report included 15 cross tabulations to better break down the data to show how the participant sub-groups perceived the various issues. In all, there were approximately 25,000 separate responses captured over the three days. OTI provided a detailed report analyzing all of the Summit’s research data for each meeting location and then compiled results into one master report. These reports will be used to provide Idaho leaders with a better understanding of public opinion as they plan future conservation programs.
Here are a few examples of opinions expressed: 91.8% thought that enforcing fish and wildlife laws are very important; 94.1% said that protecting fish and wildlife habitats was very important; 95.1% agreed with Toni Hardesty (Director of The Nature Conservancy – Idaho) in saying that it was very important to them that hunters, anglers, and conservationists should work together to conserve habitats.
According to Fish and Game Director Virgil Moore, the Idaho Wildlife Summit “went better than I could have expected.” He continued on to say “I am encouraged that such a diverse group expressed such a strong consensus on conservation values.”
If you’d like to learn more about how voting keypads and OptionPower audience response software can help enhance the effectiveness of your public meeting or program, please call us at 407-872-3333 or click here. We look forward to providing you with a demo or answering you questions!
