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

Executive Summary

· This study was initiated to assess the publics' awareness of the four endangered fish in the Upper
Colorado River Basin~ and their beliefs about, attitudes toward, and support for the recovery of the
fish,

· Data were obtained from a telephone survey of Colorado and Utah residents who live in the Upper
Colorado River Basin, Four different publics were represented, including elected officials (n = 168),
anglers (n = 300), environmental group members (n = 125) and a general public sample (0 = 304),

· When people think about endangered species, the endangered fish of the Upper Colorado River
Basin do not come readily to mind, Of the four species, the Colorado squawfish was listed more
often (26%) than the other three fish, Elected officials were more aware of the endangered fish than
were the other three samples surveyed,

· After the interviewers provided the names of the four endangered fish, a majority (84%) of aU
respondents had heard of the fish, and about two-thirds could list three of the four species, Even
after prompting, the general public was least aware of the fish, These findings highlight the types of
individuals who should be targeted in future educational efforts,

· Word of mouth and newspapers were the most frequently mentioned sources of infonnatioo
regarding endangered fish, Educational presentations, public meetings and slide shows I videos
ranked least in importance, Because these latter strategies for infonning the public are expensive
and time consuming to produce, they may not represent the "best" use of an agency's budget,
Newspaper articles, on the other hand, are less expensive and reach a wider audience,

· Although approximately two--thirds (61 %) of all respondents believed the fish were endangered,
14% believed the fish were not endangered, and 25% did not know, This latter finding suggests that
informational campaigns need to highlight basic issues concerning the status of the fish before
providing a rationale for protecting them,

· About half of the respondents held a positive attitude toward the endangered fish, Because the data
for this project were derived from a random sample of four different publics, this result suggests
there may be a considerable amount of support for the recovery effort to save the fish, and illustrates
that unsolicited complaints from a few individuals may not be indicative of what the public in
general believes or how they feel.

· The strongest positive general attitude toward endangered fish was given by environmental group
members (70%), Between 42% and 48% of individuals in the other three strata held a positive
general attitude. Between 31 % and 400/0, however, of these respondents were neutral, suggesting
that many could be persuaded to become supportive of the recovery effort, The most negative of the
four groups were the elected officials (24%),

· Of the six statements addressing reasons for the decline of the fish, the highest amount of agreement
was found for the impact of water pollution and darns, The least amount of agreement was found
for the statement - "Events in nature have contributed more to the decline of the endangered fish than
\1uman activities,"

· Although most respondents believed that the endangered fish have a right to exist., many linked this
right to benefits that could potentially accrue to humans.