9395

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9395
• Author: Vaske, J. J., M. P. Donnelly and M. Lyon.
• Title: Knowledge, Beliefs, and Attitudes Toward the Endangered Fish of the Upper Colorado River Basin.
• USFW Year: 1995.
• USFW - Doc Type: 20,
• Copyright Material: NO

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Endangered Fish Survey

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Survey Design

The survey examined a range of issues affecting the public's attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge
about the endangered fish, The instrument (Appendix A) was divided into sections to enhance
the flow of items and make it easier for the respondents to answer. Section one addressed the
respondents' awareness of endangered species in general, as well as their knowledge of the
four endangered fish, Individuals were first asked to think of endangered species in Colorado
or Utah and to name which ones came to mind, Follow-up questions focused specifically on
endangered fish in the Upper Colorado River Basin, Respondents indicated if they were aware
of any endangered fish in the Colorado River and asked to list the fish they believed were .
endangered. The names of the four endangered fish species were then read to respondents and
individuals indicated which of the fish they were aware of Also included in this section were
questions related to the sources of infonnation (e,g" magazines, fishing licenses, signs along
the river, educational presentations) used by respondents to obtain infonnation about the
endangered fish.

The second section explored general beliefs and attitudes about the endangered fish, their
specific beliefs about the decline of these species, and their attitudes toward recovering the fish.
Beliefs and attitudes about the recovery program were examined in the third section of the
survey, Questions here focused on respondents' awareness and support of the program and
their reasons for support for or opposition to the recovery effort. Section four examined
reactions to the stocking of non-native sportfish, The final section included a series of
demographic questions (e,g" age, education, sex),

Resu] ts

For each major section in the survey, the findings are presented for the entire sample, as well as
for the four sampling strata (i,e" elected officials, general public, anglers, and environmental
group members). Where appropriate, response scales have been collapsed (e,g" agree versus
disagree) to highlight general trends in the data, Appendix B shows the responses for the
original scales (e,g" strongly, moderately, and slightly agree or disagree), Appendix C
compares the responses of Colorado and Utah residents,