(05/15/20)

Compiled by Scott Ball, TBW Editor

We asked, “What measures are you taking to accomplish your work in the current conditions?” Here are some of the responses…

from Crystal Egli, Colorado Parks and Wildlife:

“Working from home has been really challenging! I love my career as a videographer because I get to travel constantly, learn new things I never even thought about before, and meet new person after new person. Now I’m lucky if I travel from my living room to my home office!

All my video calls are with folks I’ve already met, and I become overly excited every time someone changes their background to a tropical scene or mountain vista. I find comfort in other artistic folks telling me that they too are losing creativity and focus without the constant change in scenery – the emotional solidarity makes me feel less isolated.

At the end of the day, my family is doing far better than many others out there, and my heart goes out to those it isn’t going well for. I am grateful to have “being antsy and losing creative drive” be the one major downfall in my life. So many are losing jobs, houses and lives. The world is going to be a different place when the virus runs its course, but I’m looking forward to connecting with people again, learning, travelling and creating art.”

from Beth Shockley, Delaware Dept. of Natural Resources & Environmental Control:

“Like Oklahoma, we couldn’t be more pleased since we ramped up Outdoor Delaware’s social media presence. Engagement, as evidenced by metrics, has also “skyrocketed.” While the decision has been made to discontinue our print version (in publication since 1956), we are transitioning to go entirely online with our same OD-branded magazine content in the form of blogs, rather than just offering a pdf flipbook of the printed version on our agency’s website. While we are quite sad to let our print version go, we believe our message will be seen and appreciated by far more Delawareans – as well as readers in nearby states. Our subscriptions had fallen to an alarming, all-time low, and despite concerted marketing efforts to increase them, we were unsuccessful. We could find no better alternative in order to continue to carry our message and legacy to the public, than to switch over to a more effective medium for the future of our magazine. Check us out in July/August!”

from Jenifer Wisniewski and Jason Harmon, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency:

• • Email to lapsed hunters and anglers – http://tinyurl.com/yx3j27jb
  • Email to multiple lists encouraging people to go outside – http://tinyurl.com/unwvgk6

“We are currently trending up in license sales and people that haven’t had time to hunt or fish have been commenting that they are getting to participate again. COVID might not be such a bad thing for R3.

TWRA has increased the number of Facebook posts over the past few weeks encouraging folks to social distance themselves, but don’t forget the Tennessee outdoors is open. Posts have been about social distancing, hunting & fishing opportunities, homeschool material to involve the kids, and fishing & hunting tip videos just to name a few. We have also seen increased traffic and interaction with our posts. It is a great time to reach folks, they are on social media all day long.”

from the Oklahoma Dept. of Wildlife Conservation’s Kelly Adams:

“Not only has our social media engagement skyrocketed, so has the team effort to produce content. A team of information specialists and R3 coordinators are working together to make sure we get something posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram every day. This has helped diversify our content and reach. Most notably, we have started doing weekly quizzes on Facebook using Kahoot. It is a lot of fun and we have had some great feedback. Lastly, this situation has definitely highlighted the value of social media in communication strategies. More than ever I think top level decision-makers are starting to understand its importance.”

So what about your state? What are you doing differently? Has your agency modified or suspended its programs? How are you handling public meetings? If you have anything you’d like to share with your ACI friends, please let me know by email. You don’t have to write a lengthy article – just a few sentences to describe your experience.