Planning updates

Since our last communication in April, here is what the MWHA Planning Team has accomplished:

• Met with Wildlife Division leadership in April to present three weighting options for their decision on how to prioritize the fundamental objectives. They chose the following, which was recommended by staff (the numbers in parentheses are a point allocation out of 100 that represents priorities):
  • Maximize Ecosystem Function (31) o Maximize Waterfowl Abundance and Diversity (28)
  • Maximize Satisfaction with Waterfowl Hunting Experience (21)
  • Maximize Satisfaction with Other Recreation Opportunities (10)
  • Maximize Capacity (10)
• Sent out surveys to recreationists and waterfowl hunters in mid-May to assess their perspectives and feedback on the means objectives to help MWHAs prioritize local management alternatives.
  • Analysis has begun on the responses from over 800 waterfowl hunters that hunted a MWHA in 2021, and from over 3,600 recreationists.
• Met with Southeast and Southwest regional supervisors to begin preparations for local MWHA consequence table development this fall and winter.
• Strategic plan writing and editing continues.

Since our last communication in October, here is what the MWHA Planning Team has accomplished:

• Met with Wildlife Division leadership, supervisors and field operations managers in early November to update them on progress and next steps. They were shown the problem statement, fundamental objectives, means objectives, and some examples of how consequence tables would be used to assess trade-offs between different management alternatives.
• The biannual communication goals survey for MWHA staff was sent out in December to check in on how we are meeting the communication goals we established for this planning process. The response was positive, indicating we are meeting our goals.
• The planning team informed local stakeholder groups on planning progress over the winter.
• The planning team began writing the strategic plan in January.
• Conservation partners were sent the problem statement and the fundamental objectives for review and comment on January 31. Feedback indicated there was overall agreement on the five fundamental objectives identified.
• Weighting of the fundamental objectives to assign priority and agreement on wording for the means objectives began with a staff survey in December and was further refined in a March staff workshop.
• Three weighting options for the fundamental objectives were developed for Wildlife Division leadership approval based on staff and conservation partner input.

Next steps:

• Spring 2023:
  • Meet with Wildlife Division leadership in April to present the three weighting options for the fundamental objectives and for leadership to make final decision on weighting
  • Continue to develop non-waterfowl recreationist and waterfowl hunter surveys to go out in early to mid-May. This will assess their perspectives and feedback on the means objectives to help MWHAs prioritize local management alternatives.
  • Strategic plan writing continues and plan editing begins.
• Summer/Fall 2023:
  • Analyze/summarize non-waterfowl recreationist and waterfowl hunter survey data on the means objectives.
  • Finalize strategic plan draft and conduct internal and external review.
  • Final strategic plan to be completed by October/November.
  • Develop implementation process for MWHAs to select local management alternatives as step-downs from the strategic plan to start in early 2024.

Since our last communication in August, here is what the MWHA Planning Team has accomplished:

• Initiated two new data collection efforts:
  • Historical data since 2000 – compiling data such as waterfowl numbers, harvest numbers, hunter use, permits, non-hunter recreation use of areas, etc. will provide context and support in setting plan priorities and direction
  • New hunter database – by tracking individual hunters, we can now evaluate how many times each hunter uses the area, where they come from, and other demographics to better understand how the areas are used and by whom
• Developed a Communications Plan to guide both internal and external outreach efforts throughout the planning process
• Began sending out the MWHA Planning Workgroup’s biweekly meeting notes to MWHA staff to keep them informed and included in the planning process
• Identified Structured Decision Making (SDM) as the planning method to identify and recommend objectives for the next 10 years
  • Created an internal SDM subgroup to coordinate the process
  • Increased capacity for SDM process and incorporation of other social science by partnering with experts:
    • Dr. Kelly Robinson (Michigan State University), Dr. Mauri Liberati (Michigan State University), and Dr. Emily Pomeranz (MDNR)
  • Conducted Issue Scoping and Prioritization meetings with MWHA staff to identify important issues to address in the planning process
  • Invited waterfowl hunters and non-waterfowl hunting outdoor recreationists to participate in focus groups to share thoughts so that we can understand the important issues related to MWHAs and to inform goals and objectives for the MWHA plan

Next Steps in the coming months

• April/May - Conduct seven focus group meetings to understand stakeholder thoughts about MWHAs
  • Two focus groups will be held in each of the three “regions” (Saginaw Bay, Southeast and Southwest) – one for hunters and one for non-hunters
  • One focus group will be held for MWHA groups/clubs
• July - Host a SDM workshop with MDNR staff to develop draft objectives and alternatives
• August/September/October - Collect feedback from MDNR staff and stakeholders on draft objectives and alternatives via press releases, survey, and/or webinars
• Fall – Send out another planning update
• January/February 2023 – invite feedback on draft MWHA plan

Since our last communication in June, here is what the MWHA Planning Team has accomplished:

• Added several new participants to the workgroup, and said goodbye to one
  • Jeremiah Heise left the Michigan DNR for another job opportunity
  • Kaitlyn Barnes, Mike Richardson, and Brandy Dybas-Berger were welcomed to the workgroup

• Conducted a virtual workshop with conservation partners to gather their input on the importance of these areas, what is going well, where improvements could be made, and understanding user conflicts

• Held several Structured Decision Making workshops internally for staff consisting of the MWHA workgroup, staff from each MWHA, and invasive species, climate adaptation, wetland, and human dimensions specialists
  • From these workshops, we’ve developed the following problem statement that sets the purpose and direction for this SDM planning process:

We need a cohesive plan for how best to manage the MWHAs in Michigan to support waterfowl and waterfowl hunting, as well as a diversity of wildlife species, habitats, and access for other wildlife-compatible recreation. Decisions made at MWHAs will incorporate user satisfaction, integrity and resilience of species and their habitats, and recognition of the benefits of these areas in a larger landscape context. The plan will provide flexibility in implementation to allow for local area differences in stakeholder desires, habitat, infrastructure, staff capacity, and decision-making constraints. The actions will consider uncertainties related to funding and staffing, as well as political, social, climate, and ecological uncertainties that exist now and will potentially exist. the future.

• Fundamental objectives and means objectives were also developed at the workshops. Fundamental objectives describe what is essential and what we are ultimately attempting to achieve at the MWHAs. Means objectives describe how each fundamental objective will be achieved.  Each fundamental objective will have a set of management alternatives or strategies that will be evaluated together to determine the actions that will best meet our suite of objectives.  The fundamental objectives are:
  • Maximize Waterfowl Abundance and Diversity
  • Maximize Waterfowl Hunt Satisfaction
  • Maximize Other Recreational Satisfaction
  • Maximize Ecological Functions (e.g., ecological features, diversity of species and habitats, climate resiliency)
  • Maximize Efficiency and Staff Capacity

• Modified the final 10-year MWHA Plan format so that it will include the five prioritized fundamental objectives and an implementation process for each MWHA to complete that will allow flexibility for individual MWHAs to select the means objectives and management strategies that make the most sense for their areas.

Next steps in coming months

• Fall/Winter 2022-2023:
  • Initiate engagement with conservation partners on the fundamental objectives identified
  • The MWHA workgroup and Structured Decision Making workshop participants will work through prioritizing the fundamental objectives with final approval by Wildlife Division leadership
  • Local engagement with stakeholder groups on planning progress

• Spring 2023:
  • Stakeholder input on the means objectives and alternatives will be solicited.

• Summer/Fall 2023:
  • Initiate individual MWHA meetings to select means objectives and alternatives and continue to work through the structured decision making process at the local level

Since our last communication in March, here is what the MWHA Planning Team has accomplished:

• Partnered with Dr. Emily Pomeranz, Wildlife Division Human Dimensions Research Specialist, and Michigan State University Extension to hold 7 focus group meetings in April and May to better understand use, opportunities, and issues surrounding the MWHAs for waterfowl hunters, other hunters, and non-hunting recreationists. Results from these focus groups will help to inform objectives and alternatives in the MWHA plan.
  • 2 focus groups were held in each of the 3 “regions” (Saginaw Bay, Southeast, Southwest) – one each for hunters and other recreationists
  • 1 meeting for hunting clubs/organizations directly associated with MWHAs
• Began planning for a Conservation Partner Workshop to be held in July to understand how our key partners’ goals and objectives are related to the MWHAs and what they think are the most important issues facing MWHAs, both now and in the future. Similar to focus groups, this information will help inform MWHA Plan objectives and alternatives.
• Continued preparing for the MDNR staff Structured Decision Making (SDM) workshop in July – identifying participants, sending invitations, and preparing content
• Determined the need to combine the previously separate planning processes for hunt management and habitat management on the MWHAs. This is in recognition that habitat management cannot be completely separated from discussion of issues around hunt management, nor from discussions around future recreation planning, and vice versa. Combining these planning processes will allow for more comprehensive objectives and alternatives development, will allow for a more thorough consequences and trade-offs review, and will reduce redundancies in planning and writing steps. Scoping efforts to date have not limited discussion topics, and therefore habitat considerations have always been included. Originally, the hunt plan timeline called for completion in and implementation in 2023, while the habitat plan timeline called for completion and implementation in 2024. Now, the combined plan is slated for completion and implementation in early 2024.
• Developed a plan outline, timeline, and review process
• Developed a MWHA Plan webpage with information on the planning process, the desired outcomes, planning team, and updates

Next Steps in the coming months

• Summer
  • Host the Conservation Partners Workshop in July
  • Host a SDM workshop with MDNR staff to develop draft objectives and alternatives in July
  • Determine if follow-up SDM meeting is needed, to be held in September
  • Evaluate consequences/trade-offs of objectives and alternatives identified during SDM workshop
  • Develop draft list of objectives and alternatives for review
• Fall
  • Collect feedback from MDNR staff and stakeholders on draft objectives and alternatives via press releases, survey, and/or webinars
  • Send out another planning update