Strategic Plan Update: Goal #3: Improve public understanding of and involvement in fish and wildlife management
Please review and submit your comment for Goal #3: Improve public understanding of and involvement in fish and wildlife management in the Draft IDFG Strategic Plan 2026.
The plan is organized around four goals. Under each of these goals are updated objectives, strategies and actions that reflect the changing needs of Idaho now and in the years ahead.
Objective 1: Create partners and supporters among the Department’s constituents through timely, transparent, meaningful and proactive engagement, outreach and education.
Strategy 1: Increase the effectiveness of public engagement by improving awareness of and participation in Department and Commission decision-making processes.
Action #1 - Increase awareness of opportunities to provide input on Department actions through more visible and frequent communications.
Action #2 – Increase participation in decision making by simplifying and expanding methods to gather public input, including improved website tools, in-person opportunities and virtual meetings.
Action #3 – Promote an understanding of the Department’s scope of authority and responsibility in context to other regulatory or management agencies.
Strategy 2: Increase transparency on decisions impacting Idaho’s fish and wildlife.
Action #1 - Improve the public input feedback loop by thorough after-action outreach efforts following Department or Commission decisions by summarizing outcomes, rationale for decisions and the impact of public input.
Action #2 – Provide staff with talking points on key decisions and training on how to facilitate input from the public.
Strategy 3: Increase and enhance volunteer engagement through the development of a professional statewide volunteer program.
Action #1 – Create a comprehensive plan to guide the volunteer program over the next five years.
Action #2 – Provide all volunteers with exceptional service and resources, including web-based sign-up capabilities, convenient timekeeping processes, and necessary training.
Action #3 - Provide efficient and effective volunteer management resources to staff by modernizing administration procedures, unifying statewide volunteer support and removing barriers to the use of volunteers.
Strategy 4: Enhance the awareness and understanding of the Department’s mission through coordinated marketing, communications, and outreach efforts.
Action #1 - Strengthen digital platforms and tools by updating and enhancing the Department website and mobile app and exploring use of other digital resources.
Action #2 - Unify messaging and establish a consistent voice and visual identity across all outreach methods.
Action #3 - Build common ground with new and established audiences by developing opportunities to highlight connections between hunters, anglers, trappers and participants in other wildlife-related recreation.
Strategy 5: Develop safe, ethical, and responsible hunters, trappers, and anglers that demonstrate stewardship of Idaho’s fish and wildlife resources.
Action #1 - Recruit, train, retain, and evaluate active hunter, bowhunter, and trapper education volunteer instructors to provide high-quality, engaging, and hands-on instruction for students.
Action #2 - Activate and retain hunter education graduates by monitoring postcertification activity and engaging non-active hunters.
Action #3 – Meet the demand for angling education by providing staff-led instruction and curricula and equipment for self-directed activities.
Strategy 6: Provide educational experiences that build public understanding of fish and wildlife conservation, the importance of habitat, and the concepts of public trust.
Action #1 - Provide conservation programs and materials at fish and game facilities to promote awareness of the importance of fish, wildlife, and habitat conservation.
Action #2 – Promote an understanding of the potential impacts of diseases and invasive species on fish and wildlife populations, and associated challenges for fish and wildlife management.
Action #3 - Provide aquatic education programming that encourages public understanding of healthy aquatic habitats and ecosystems, and how they can support conservation of Idaho’s natural resources.
Please review and submit your comment for Goal #3: Improve public understanding of and involvement in fish and wildlife management in the Draft IDFG Strategic Plan 2026.
The plan is organized around four goals. Under each of these goals are updated objectives, strategies and actions that reflect the changing needs of Idaho now and in the years ahead.
Objective 1: Create partners and supporters among the Department’s constituents through timely, transparent, meaningful and proactive engagement, outreach and education.
Strategy 1: Increase the effectiveness of public engagement by improving awareness of and participation in Department and Commission decision-making processes.
Strategy 2: Increase transparency on decisions impacting Idaho’s fish and wildlife.
Strategy 3: Increase and enhance volunteer engagement through the development of a professional statewide volunteer program.
Strategy 4: Enhance the awareness and understanding of the Department’s mission through coordinated marketing, communications, and outreach efforts.
Strategy 5: Develop safe, ethical, and responsible hunters, trappers, and anglers that demonstrate stewardship of Idaho’s fish and wildlife resources.
Strategy 6: Provide educational experiences that build public understanding of fish and wildlife conservation, the importance of habitat, and the concepts of public trust.