Given that most R3 market research of the past decade has primarily focused on resident hunters, many state fish and wildlife agencies (sfwas) know relatively little about non-resident hunters…

Given that most R3 market research of the past decade has primarily focused on resident hunters, many state fish and wildlife agencies (sfwas) know relatively little about non-resident hunters motivations or expectations when considering (and ultimately choosing) an out-of-state hunting opportunity. In 2024, with assistance from chase chase consulting and southwick associates, the wildlife management institute (WMI) conducted a multi-state conservation grant project that quantified both the motivations driving hunters to visit other states as well as the reasons they select specific locations.findings of this research demonstrated that non-resident hunters are motivated by values and desires strongenough to overcome some of the typical, well-documented barriers that affect most hunters, and non-residenthunters are willing to spend far more effort in their pursuits than the average resident hunter. Perhaps mostimportantly for hunter R3, non-resident hunters are attracted to species and landscapes uncommon to their home states but may be commonplace and potentially underutilized by the resident hunters of the destination state. Though this recently completed research provides an in-depth understanding of the motivations that encourage people to hunt in other states, IT does not provide R3 practitioners with strategies or tactics capable ofcapitalizing on non-resident hunters attraction to places and huntable species that are novel to them.from a hunter R3 strategy perspective, non-resident hunters pose a unique challenge to R3 practitioners giventheir particularly high expectations and myriad hunting opportunity options. If sfwas better understood how, when, and where to best engage and connect with non-resident hunters, they could be more effective at attracting them to their state and its underutilized hunting opportunities. If sfwas can strategically attract non-residents to species and environments that are in less demand by resident hunters, they could increase their hunting numbers without exacerbating real and perceived crowding issues or increasing competition for limited availability tags and privileges. For the hunter, increasing awareness of new and novel hunting opportunitiesavailable to them may maintain their enthusiasm and engagement in hunting, likely serving as a retention tool toincrease overall hunting participation nationally in both hunters home and visited states.using license data augmented by general population samples to support a mixed method research design, thisproject will 1) identify and recommend the optimal mix of messaging, imagery, timing, and placement of marketing that sfwas can use to attract segments of non-residents, and 2) will test the recommended materials and approaches via pilot campaigns to identify the mix of campaign elements that will maximize sfwa effectiveness in recruiting the targeted non-resident hunters. The pilot campaigns will be evaluated by measuring which marketing treatment generates the greatest engagement. The results will be packaged in an easily accessible report that highlights the tested materials and makes clear recommendations for how sfwas should employ the materials through their own custom marketing efforts. The intended outcome will be an increase in non-residents hunting states across the country and greater utilization of hunting opportunities that are undervalued by resident hunters. State wildlife agencies and their hunter R3-vested partners are the intended beneficiaries of this effort.