35th Anniversary — Lessons Learned. Part 1: Angler Perceptions and Economic Value
35th Anniversary – Lessons Learned Part 7: Angler Perceptions and Economic Value Using science to understand what anglers value or to quantify the economic contribution of fishing to the local economy is a relatively new component of HFF’s programmatic work. A series of angler attitudes surveys began in 2008 – repeated in 2014 and redesigned for 2016, 2017, 2018 – to get a better sense of factors like angler satisfaction with their fishing experience, angler characteristics, and any changes in attitudes between years. The first attempts to quantify economic value of fishing on the Henry's Fork began in the late 90s and was repeated in 2004 and again in 2016-2018. Dr. Cliff Nowell of Weber State University was involved in design, implementation, and analysis both for the original study and the most recent. Here are a few highlights of what we’ve learned about angler perceptions and the economic value of fishing on the Henry’s Fork: Angler Attitudes Studies: The “median” Harriman angler: comes from Idaho, Utah, or California; began fishing the Ranch in 1995; fishes the Ranch 6 days/yr; fishes other sections of the Henry’s Fork 3 days/yr, and catches zero fish per day on the