NWRS Indian Tribe and State Agency Partner Survey

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT BURDEN STATEMENT

In accordance with the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) and the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501),
please note the following information. This information collection is authorized by the National Wildlife
Refuge Improvement Act of 1997. The Fish and Wildlife Service will use this information to make
management and policy decisions. Your response is voluntary. We will aggregate the information and
use only for statistical purposes. We do not maintain personal identifying information. OMB has
assigned OMB Control No. 1018-XXXX, which expires XX/XX/XXXX. Response is not required unless
a currently valid OMB control number is displayed. We estimate that it will take 20 minutes to complete
this survey. You may direct comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of the form to
the Service Information Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service, Mail Stop 222,
Arlington Square, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, NW., Washington D.C. 20240.

NWRS Indian Tribe and State Agency Partner Survey
Introduction & Organizational Data
This survey is being conducted as part of an evaluation of the effectiveness of the National Wildlife Refuge System
(NWRS). The evaluation is being conducted by Management Systems International under contract to the NWRS.
All responses will be anonymous as the survey does not ask for the respondent's name or any information that could
identify an individual/organization. The answers you provide in this survey will be used, in combination with other
information, to assess the effectiveness of various components of the NWRS. This information will also serve as a
basis for developing recommendations to strengthen the Refuge System's performance.
This survey has been designed to be completed by officials of State Fish and Game Agencies and Indian Tribes who
interact with the Refuge System.
The survey will collect information on two general topic areas:
1) The quality of your organization’s partnership with the NWRS, and
2) Your view as to the NWRS’ effectiveness in achieving its objectives.

This survey should take approximately 20 minutes or less to complete.

If you have any questions before you begin, please contact Dennis Marotta at [email protected]. Thank you
very much.

* 1. Please indicate the organization you represent? (Note - questions that contain an
asterisk (*) require an answer to be provided before you can proceed to the next
question.)
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State Fish and Wildlife Agency

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Native American Tribe

* 2. Indicate in which US Fish and Wildlife Service region your agency operates?
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Region 1 - Pacific (GU, HI, ID, OR, WA)

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Region 2 - Southwest (AZ, NM, OK, TX)

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Region 3 - Midwest (IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, MO, OH, WI)

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Region 4 - Southeast (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, PR, SC, TN, VI)

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Region 5 - Northeast (CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NJ, NH, NY, PA, RI, VA, VT, WV)

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Region 6 - Mountain-Prairie (CO, KS, MT, NE, ND,SD, UT, WY)

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Region 7 - Alaska

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Region 8 - California & Nevada (CA, NV)

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Region 9 - Washington, DC

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NWRS Indian Tribe and State Agency Partner Survey

Quality of Partnership
3. Please summarize the overall quality of the working relationship between
your state/tribal agency and the National Wildlife Refuge System?
1-Poor

2-Fair

3-Good

4-Very Good 5-Excellent

N/A

Regional/Washington Office

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Individual Refuges

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You may use this space to provide a brief explanation for your response.

4. Please review the following list of specific areas of partnership. For those
areas in which you have an active partnership with the Refuge System, provide
a rating of the quality of the partnership. If you do not actively partner in a
given area then you may select "N/A - We do not partner in this area."
N/A - We do
5 - Excellent not partner
in this area

1 - Poor

2 - Fair

3 - Good

4 - Very
Good

Hunting

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Fishing

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Environmental Education and Interpretation

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Habitat Restoration (incl. invasive species
management)

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Wildlife Inventory & Monitoring

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Fire Management

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Law Enforcement

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You may use this space to comment on aspects of particular program partnerships.

5. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.
1 - Strongly
Disagree

2 - Disagree

3 - Agree

4 - Strongly
Agree

N/A

Refuge Acquisition. “The National Wildlife
Refuge System is a valuable partner with our
state/tribe in the acquisition of priority lands
for fish and wildlife conservation.”

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“The in-lieu tax support provided for existing
and new National Wildlife Refuge land provides
fair compensation to my State."

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NWRS Indian Tribe and State Agency Partner Survey
You may use this space to provide a brief explanation for your response.

6. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.
1 - Strongly
Disagree

2 - Disagree

3 - Agree

4 - Strongly
Agree

N/A

“Appropriate members of my organization
have been provided an opportunity to
meaningfully participate in the development of
National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive
Conservation Plans in my state/area.”

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"My organization's participation in the Refuge
System’s Comprehensive Conservation
Planning Process has improved communication
and coordination between our agencies (state
fish and game agency/tribe and the NWRS)."

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You may use this space to provide a brief explanation for your response.

NWRS Indian Tribe and State Agency Partner Survey

NWRS Program Effectiveness
7. For each program area listed below indicate which response best captures
your judgment as to the Refuge System's effectiveness. Answer only for those
areas in which you have substantial knowledge of the Refuge System's program
activities.
1-Ineffective 2-Somewhat 3-Moderately 4-Very
Effective
Ineffective
Effective

5-Extremely
Effective

Don't
Know

Hunting

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Fishing

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Environmental Education and Interpretation

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Habitat Restoration (incl. invasive species
management)

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Wildlife Inventory and Monitoring

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Fire Management

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Law Enforcement

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You may use this space to provide a brief explanation for your response.

Natural Resource Management
8. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statement.

Biological Importance. The Refuge System is
an important partner to the state/tribe in
helping to achieve our wildlife management
and conservation goals.

1- Strongly
Disagree

2 - Disagree

3 - Agree

4 - Strongly
Agree

N/A

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9. How would you rate the performance of the National Wildlife Refuges in your
state/tribal area in achieving the following objective?
1 - Poor

2 - Fair

3 - Good

4 - Very
Good

Conserve, Manage, and Where Appropriate,
Restore Fish, Wildlife, and Plant Resources and
Their Habitats to Fulfill Refuge Purposes, Trust
Resource Responsibilities, and Biological
Diversity/Integrity.

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Provide quality wildlife-dependent recreation
and education opportunities – opportunities for
compatible wildlife-dependent recreation include
wildlife observation, hunting, fishing, nature
photography, interpretation and environmental
education.

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5 - Excellent Don't Know

NWRS Indian Tribe and State Agency Partner Survey

Conclusion
Thank you for providing information regarding your agency's partnership with the National Wildlife Refuge
System. We appreciate you taking the time to share your experiences with us. If you have any final
comments you may write them below.

10. Provide suggestions or comments relating to the relationship between your
agency and the National Wildlife Refuge System.