In his opening remarks to the Idaho Wildlife Summit, Governor Butch Otter enthusiastically said that every citizen in Idaho benefits from the presence of fish and wildlife in the state, and that it?s time for all Idahoans to share in both charting the course ? and bearing the cost ? of conservation in the state, reports the Wildlife Management Institute. With that background, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDF&G) used a combination of professional facilitation, inspirational speakers, video technology and instant public input to engage thousands of residents in a lively dialog about the future of fish and wildlife management.

IDF&G Director Virgil Moore followed Governor Otter?s lead by presenting results of a comprehensive survey of Idaho hunters, anglers, trappers and citizens that revealed the importance of fish and wildlife to the quality of life in the state.  Over 90 percent of every category surveyed indicated that Idaho?s fish and wildlife ? and their varied uses of wildlife ? were ?important? or ?very important? to them.  Just as impressive was the fact that over 88 percent of Idahoans surveyed expressed the belief that they could personally make a difference in wildlife conservation.

The format of the Wildlife Summit provided people all across the state the opportunity to act on those values.  In addition to accommodating several hundred participants in a large conference room in Boise, the Summit was live-streamed to 6 regional locations around the state as well as on the web so anyone with an Internet connection could observe and contribute to the event.  Public input on a range of issues was gathered through multiple channels, including use of real-time polling devices given to participants in the Boise meeting room and the regional satellite locations.  People watching the Summit online could register their views through the web or via mobile devices like smart phones.  In addition to responding to specific questions with multiple-choice answer options, participants could provide open-ended input via written statements turned in to staff at each venue or online via a moderated chat room that was ?live? throughout the Summit.  In addition to the 500 people in Boise and the regional locations, approximately 3,000 people tapped into the Summit on line, with an average of 100 people participating in the chat room at any given time.

In addition to Governor Otter and Director Moore, the audience heard from Jim Posewitz, founder of Orion: The Hunters Institute; Toni Hardesty, Director of the Nature Conservancy ? Idaho; Tara Teel, Associate Professor of Human Dimensions of Wildlife at Colorado State University; and Shane Mahoney, director of Conservation Visions, Inc.  Each of the speakers acknowledged that the views and values people hold toward wildlife today have the potential to fragment and overshadow their common interest in ensuring the conservation of fish, wildlife and the habitat that supports them.  These speakers emphasized that the historic challenges to conservation were addressed by collective and inclusive efforts and that similar collaboration is essential to secure the benefits people enjoy today for future generations.

Several hours of the second day of the Summit were dedicated to in-depth discussions by small groups focused on key questions, such as ?What can I personally do to contribute to the future of wildlife conservation in Idaho??  Facilitators Dick Gardner and Wendy Green Lowe used the ?world caf?? method (called the Idaho Caf? for the Summit) to ?shuffle? the groups at each table to expose Summit participants to a range of views held by others in the audience and to keep the energy level up throughout the afternoon.

In his closing remarks, Director Moore said, ?The Summit achieved what I had hoped it would. This is the beginning of a conversation, not the end.?  He also pledged to, ?Use the energy generated at the Summit to define the instruments for broadening the political and fiscal support? for IDF&G.  He reminded the audience that while the agency could create the forum for this dialog, it will take the people of Idaho coming together to make a difference for fish and wildlife and encouraged them not to confuse their disagreements over how wildlife is managed or used with their shared commitment to why wildlife is managed ? to ensure it is conserved for the benefit of current and future generations.

View additional information about the Summit, as well as videos of portions of the Summit, from the IDF&G. (cs)