New Research by Responsive Management Examines the Effectiveness of Aquatic Invasive Species Outreach Campaigns

Responsive Management recently completed a study for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Fish and Aquatic Conservation, and the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force to determine the extent to which various aquatic invasive species awareness campaigns are influencing the conservation‐related behaviors of outdoor recreationists who potentially interact with aquatic invasive species.

Within the United States alone, there are more than 250 non-native aquatic invasive species originating from around the world.¹ The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service identifies invasive species as one of the leading causes of global biodiversity loss.² Additionally, according to a recent report, invasive species are responsible for $423 billion in annual losses to the global economy, including through threats to human health and damage to ecosystems.³

Preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species depends on both enforcement measures, such as inspections at boat launches, and responsible behaviors by recreationists themselves in the field. To help encourage the desired prevention behaviors, the aquatic invasive species management community has developed messaging campaigns that employ simple taglines and imagery to generate awareness of the issue. However, with a multitude of national, regional, state, and local invasive species campaigns vying for recreationists’ attention, new research was needed to identify the campaigns having the most impact.

Responsive Management’s project in partnership with the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force was designed to address this need. The study entailed a survey of adult U.S. residents who engaged in any of seven water‐based outdoor recreational activities, including freshwater fishing, saltwater fishing, motorboating, non‐motorized boating, scuba diving, snorkeling, or waterfowl hunting.

The survey sample was stratified by the four major regions of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies to ensure statistically valid results at the regional and national levels. In total, Responsive Management obtained 5,082 completed interviews with aquatic recreationists.

Some of the major findings of the project include the following:

• In terms of general issues of importance, water‐based recreationists tend to be less concerned about invasive species than about issues such as water pollution and loss of habitat from development. Therefore, to generate more concern about aquatic invasive species, the community should link the issue of aquatic invasive species to the broader issues of water pollution and water quality.

• While concern about aquatic invasive species is lower than concern about other environmental issues like water pollution, awareness of aquatic invasive species is fairly high. About half of water‐based outdoor recreationists have heard a great deal or a moderate amount about aquatic invasive species in their state in the past few years. Additionally, 40% are aware of laws requiring aquatic recreationists to clean boats and other equipment to help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species. While 40% are aware of laws, only 26% of all outdoor recreationists are very or somewhat familiar with those laws.

• The two most important motivations for taking action to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species are simply wanting to keep invasive species out of state lakes and rivers, and wanting to abide by laws and regulations that are intended to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species. These were considered more important than motivations relating to personal responsibility, preventing damage to personal property, avoiding fines, avoiding embarrassment, avoiding threats of enforcement from conservation officers, and motivations related to peer pressure.

• While many water-based outdoor recreationists say they are aware of a campaign about aquatic invasive species, relatively few are actually able to recall the specific name of the campaign. More than a third of survey respondents said they were aware of campaigns or programs focused on stopping the spread of aquatic invasive species; however, just 2% were able to name a specific campaign or program. (The survey also explored familiarity with specific campaigns for which names were provided to respondents; however, unaided awareness of campaigns was examined before these questions.)

• Some of the campaigns with the highest levels of familiarity and the strongest effectiveness ratings are state-specific campaigns. In terms of familiarity, the top-rated campaigns included Texas’s Protect the Lakes You Love, Wisconsin’s Clean Boats, Clean Waters, and Minnesota’s Clean In Clean Out. Clean, Drain, Dry, a national campaign, was next in the ranking of respondents saying they were very familiar with it. In terms of effectiveness, the top‐rated campaigns are again state initiatives: Texas’s Protect the Lakes You Love and Utah’s STD of the Sea. The next three campaigns in the effectiveness ranking are national efforts: PlayCleanGo®, Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers, and Clean, Drain, Dry. (These findings are based on survey questions that named each specific campaign for respondents.)

• Despite generally low awareness of specific campaigns, water-based outdoor recreationists are taking at least some of the steps recommended to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species. Respondents in each of the seven recreationist categories were asked how often they took key preventative actions like disposing of unwanted bait, draining water from watercraft, drying all gear and equipment when moving between waters, and more. In general, fairly sizable percentages of recreationists in each category regularly take part in certain preventative actions.

The example below shows how often motorboaters take each of the recommended actions:

• The more familiar recreationists are with the major aquatic invasive species campaigns, the more likely they are to always engage in steps to prevent the spread of invasive species. This suggests that the campaigns are having a positive impact. The examples below compare those who are either very familiar or not at all familiar with the national Clean, Drain, Dry campaign (the graph on the left is among motorboaters; the graph on the right is among non-motorized boaters). As shown on the graphs, recreationists who are very familiar with the Clean, Drain, Dry campaign engage in the recommended preventative actions at much higher rates than do those who are not at all familiar with the campaign.



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