Interpretation is the priority use of wildlife refuges that has most often been misunderstood. An interpretative program on a wildlife refuge is designed to facilitate meaningful and memorable visitor experiences. People have a natural tendency to care for what they first care about; therefore, interpretative programs encourage stewardship of the wildlife and habitat of the visited refuge. The Service has an incredible tool to reach out to the hearts and mind of America in the National Wildlife Refuge System. Often described as the “front porch of the Service,” the Refuge System provides an incredible meeting place for Americans to meet the Service.
Wherever the Service finds an interest in preserving natural or cultural heritage, wilderness stewardship, citizen science, volunteering or healthy outdoor activities, there is an opportunity to engage more Americans as stewards of the land and waters. This includes opportunities to work with non-traditional supporters. The Service should use technology and social networking as part of efforts to expand the idea of appropriateness to include a wider array of users. The Service must actively advertise and market the benefits of conservation to a changing America.
Communication and interpretation are complex disciplines that utilize a variety of techniques. As society diversifies, the Service must use more techniques to reach a wider audience. The heart should be engaged, as well as the mind, understanding that wildlife refuges hold an undeniable place for many.
The Refuge System must develop a strategy for interpretation to ensure that visitors to wildlife refuges find an opportunity to personally connect with the refuge. The interpretive program strategy will assist individual wildlife refuges in developing programs that identify the characteristics of a site that make it a wildlife refuge in a way that is meaningful to the American public. The strategy should also develop standardized materials on the Refuge System and how the network of wildlife refuges across the nation conserves fish, wildlife and habitat for the continuing benefit of the American people. To successfully build and implement a strong interpretation program, the Refuge System must also make sure that front-line staff understand interpretation and the “story” of their wildlife refuge.
Recommendation: Develop an Interpretation Program Strategy to build meaningful interpretation opportunities at all wildlife refuges that support visitation.
Recommendation: Train all front line staff in the basic concepts of interpretation.
Despite this opportunity, not every visitor to a national wildlife refuge knows that they are at a wildlife refuge, that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages it, or understands that it is part of a system with breadth and a mission. Despite significant efforts, the Refuge System has been unable to create a widely identifiable brand. Branding issues persist even after some solutions have been mandated. For example, there are standardized designs for offices and visitor facilities, but branding the Refuge System will be advanced only if the standards are employed. The Service uniform is not always worn consistently in the field, and the uniform may or may not reflect a look that would seem welcoming and professional today. It may be time for a makeover.
Recommendation: The Refuge System needs an integrated strategy that assures a consistent and professional refuge brand is developed, including publications, websites, signs, facilities and uniforms.
Ultimately, a range of topics discussed under the concept of becoming relevant to a changing America – from the use of communications technologies to stronger branding of the Refuge System – comes under the far broader heading of strategic communications. Communicating the value of the National Wildlife Refuge System to an internal audience of Service employees and an external audience of Refuge Friends and other, targeted audiences is central to expanding a zone of influence on behalf of wildlife conservation. The Service must connect with the minds and hearts of a diverse America to ensure a wildlife legacy that endures for generations.
Recommendation: The Refuge System must create a multi-faceted, long-term communication strategy, identifying key, targeted audiences and incorporating the newest communication technologies.
Recommendation: Join and leverage marketing opportunities with a broader array of groups, including private companies/organizations to promote the System conservation message as well as visits to national wildlife refuges.
Strategic communications will help the Service make wildlife conservation of paramount importance to the American people, yet any strategy will only be as effective as its content. The Refuge System was once described as “America’s Best Kept Secret.” As the Refuge System moves forward into the beginning of its second century of conservation success, America must know of the incredible story that is the National Wildlife Refuge System. The secret must get out.
Stories told about wildlife have engaged mankind for generations. The stories centered around families of wildlife seen on television may seem ridiculous when viewed through a scientific lens, but they have done a lot for instilling conservation ideals in children and families – they have engaged the heart. Engaging the public demands that conservation professionals stretch themselves, be creative, and talk about and teach conservation in a manner that compels the American public to care about wildlife.
Nature provides recognizable benefits in clean air and water, for example, yet there are other benefits, equally important, that are far more difficult to quantify. Despite the difficulty of explaining the mystery of nature’s intangible benefits, Americans agree that time in nature is especially restorative to people’s health and mental well-being and provides a way to nourish their sense of wonder, imagination and curiosity. The benefits and immeasurable gifts of nature are beneficial for all Americans, and realized by many people who may never visit lands or waters of a national wildlife refuge.
The American public too often discounts wildlife conservation threats as being too far away, not relevant to their everyday lives and even temporal. The finest minds, the strongest partnerships and the greatest innovation must be brought to the task of increasing society’s conservation literacy to fulfill the agency’s mission “for the continuing benefit of the American people.”
Comment below and/or move on to Chapter 5 – Organizational Excellence
10 Comments in this post »
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Internally, I believe visitor services staff need training in differentiating between interpretation and environmental education. We often conduct something that we call an EE program because the audience was school children, but in practice we actually delivered an interpretive program (myself included). Of course there is some overlap, but there are important differences, too.
Another recommendation might be that each time an employee is hired to a field station, their orientation includes being taught the story of that site and of the FWS/NWRS.
Branding is not just about the things or the slogan. It is also about a feeling and an experience.
Amen to a makeover of the uniform! Also please consider how volunteers can identify themselves. The FWS gave me a vest and a baseball cap. I don’t like wearing a hat, and lots of times it is too hot to wear the vest, or I am doing work that would destroy the vest (e.g. tromping through blackberries doing GPS work). I would much prefer a t-shirt (when it is hot) and a button/tag (when it is not hot). I would pay extra if I could choose the t-shirt material and color, e.g. some kind of wicking material.
Re: strategic communications, in our friends group we identified the need for a “communications coordinator” for our friends group. We sought volunteers for this role and found a great volunteer who keeps our facebook updated, writes articles for newsletters, writes recruiting fliers, sends out regular emails to our volunteers, etc. Perhaps each refuge complex could have a similar role?
Re: meaningful interpretation, one thing I would suggest is to have some guided walking tours at night. We had one for the first time last summer, and it was very popular, we had to turn away about 25 people who wanted to sign up. I brought along my bat detector, and the other leader gave all kinds of bat and owl info, she even had a bat puppet. People loved it, and I think to many it was like visiting another planet. We are planning several more this summer. So the lesson learned was to give people an experience that they have probably never had before, that engages many of their senses.
It is important that every refuge has a communications plan for both internal and external audiences that insures that key refuge and Service messages are delivered in a clear, consistent manner. These plans should cover websites, press releases, articles, interviews, and new media message releases provided by refuge staff for off-site audiences, and brochures, interpretive signs and exhibits for visitors on-site. It is also important that refuge staff who provide interpretative and environmental education programs receive proper training and mentoring, and that they are encouraged to obtain certification through organizations like the National Association for Interpretation or a Service-developed program similar to the National Park Service’s Interpretive Development Program.
Consistent naming conventions and signage can help identify the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Wildlife Refuge System.
FWS needs to start marketing themselves the way the National Park Service does, as a tourist destination. Also, being more visitor friendly such as easier to read signage.
Access, access, access! Our new visitor center is a nice but poorly laid out! The building is situation very far from the parking lot and the front door faces the side street. Acess for someone that is handicap is nearly impossible. I would love to know who planned the building, they obviously have never experienced being in a wheelchair or difficulty walking. As a volunteer, I have to walk far on days when it is raining or snowing which for our elderly volunteers is discouraging. They don’t volunteer on those days so can you imagine being a visitor that is handicap and having to walk in the pouring rain.
Also, having a visible FWS employee on weekends when most visitors come. Our refuge is staff on the weekends by one or two volunteers only and occasionally a federal officer for safety. Most refuges are understaffed and that seems to be part of the problem.
RE:
Recommendation: The Refuge System must create a multi-faceted, long-term communication strategy, identifying key, targeted audiences and incorporating the newest communication technologies.
Recommendation: Join and leverage marketing opportunities with a broader array of groups, including private companies/organizations to promote the System conservation message as well as visits to national wildlife refuges.
Today, America’s National Wildlife Refuge System is “America’s Best Kept Secret” and for this reason the majority of the American public do not understand the role/purpose of NWRs. We need to embark on a national marketing strategy to educate the general public about the NWR System. Most Americans can identify with the National Park Service and our National Park System because National Parks have become part of the “fabric of America”. We could learn a thing or two from the National Park Service in so much that National Parks have used mass media (movies, print and television) to get their word out. If we are successful, most Americans will identify with NWR System and it will no longer be “America’s Best Kept Secret”, but “America’s Place where Wildlife Comes First”. Along with this recognition will come appreciation, respect and support (funding) for the NWR System. I challange us to rise to the call for “Conserving the Future: National Wildlfie Refuges and the Next Generation!”
I recommend a greater emphasis in this section on the following stark reality: Wilderness is how we breathe. Without it we suffocate. We protect it or we die.
A lot of the emphasis in this section is on the value of refuges as places to visit. That value is real, certainly. But even if I never set foot on a refuge – even if I didn’t know any refuges existed – they are serving to keep me alive by maintaining the volume of wilderness on the planet, and thus maintaining the volume of oxygen in the air for me and all aerobic life to be able to breathe. Many, many people do not understand this. Education in this area is needed and would represent a legitimate function to be explored in this section.
Would the “Interpretive Program Strategy” be the same as an Interpretation step-down plan? No need to give it another name.
I agree with training for front line interpreters – and NAI has two existing courses for front-desk types (Certified Intepretive Host) and program leaders (Certified Interpretive Guides). However, there are only a handful of Service trainers for these programs and I think an effort should be made to train more trainers, so we have consistent training across regions and stations.
There’s no need to recreate a training program for interpreters the National Association for Interpretation has several courses that are appropriate for FWS staff. If more Visitor Services Staff took these courses there would be consistency. They have Certified Heritage Interpretation, Certified Interpret Host – very good for Friends Members and volunteers, Certified Interpretive Planner, Certified Interpretive Guide – very appropriate for front-line interpreters.
Concerning the recommendation, “Develop an Interpretive Program Strategy to build meaningful interpretative opportunities…” I’m not sure what you mean by Interpretive Program Strategy? It sounds like a one size fits all. All Refuges are unique and what may work at one refuge won’t necessarily work at another. I think it is wise to develop a set of proven techniques, ideas, methods opportunities, etc. for refuges to chose which will work best for them, but there shouldn’t be a mandate that these techniques, etc. will be used.
On the recommendation,”Train all front line staff in the basic concepts of interpretation.” I hope that front line staff means? I hope that front line staff at a minimum means all permanent staff whether in management, biological, administrative, maintenance, etc and not just the front line visitor services staff.