DNR casts license lure, nets new customer data

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DNR casts license lure, nets new customer data
(Released May 23, 2011)


Thousands of Minnesotans who purchased a 2010 fishing license but have not yet purchased their 2011 license have been cast a friendly lure by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

These anglers received an email that asks, “Are you going to let your friends have all the fun?” The image shows an angler hooking-up with a bass as it explodes through the water’s surface. The email also allows recipients to connect directly to the DNR’s online license center.

“This is the first year we’ve used email to connect with our angling customers,” said Jenifer Wical, DNR customer enhancement manager for the Fish and Wildlife division. “We see it is as a low-cost way to reach people.”

Wical said the email reflects the agency’s interest in having more direct communication with the fishing community, which is changing constantly.

“Only 27 percent of Minnesota anglers buy a license five out of five years,” said Wical. “In fact, 32 percent of anglers buy a license only once every five years.”

These figures mean Minnesota has far more anglers than those who show up in the annual sales tally, added Wical. “We now know that our existing angling license holders come from a large pool of people who tend to fish every other year or even less frequently,” she said. “Before our electronic license system was in place we largely believed our licensed anglers represented an avid group that bought a license every year.”

Wical said the DNR has also learned that hunters are more loyal license buyers than anglers. Nearly half of Minnesota’s hunters buy a license five out of five years, she said.

The DNR has netted these new insights by closely examining license sales data and listening to customers. This past winter, for example, the DNR received input from more than 2,100 licensed anglers and hunters as part of a public opinion survey of fishing and hunting license.

The survey and assessment was done, in part, to help the DNR better understand how to price and structure fishing hunting and licenses. Hunting and fishing license prices haven’t changed in a decade. Revenues from license sales fund the vast majority of the state’s fish and wildlife management and conservation law enforcement. The assessment was conducted by Responsive Management, a natural resources research firm based in Virginia.

“We asked Responsive Management to help us conduct the survey of our customers because they have extensive survey expertise,” said Wical. “We did this so we can provide hunters and anglers with the license types they want at prices that meet multiple objectives.”

Among Responsive Management’s findings:

Minnesota’s current resident fishing license ($17) is on the low end of fees charged throughout the United States
Minnesota’s non-resident fishing license fees are on the low end of fees charged throughout the United States; non-resident licenses account for about 30 percent of license sales
the most desirable fishing licenses are the annual combination (husband and wife) annual individual, and individual sports (angling and small game hunting
anglers would like to be able to buy a three-year or five-year fishing license
anglers would like to be able to buy a “super license” that includes a number of angling and hunting privileges and their related stamps
by a 4-1 ratio, Minnesotans rate Minnesota fishing “better” than that of other states compared to “worse” than other states
by a 3-1 ratio, non-residents rate Minnesota fishing “better” than that of other states compared to “worse” than other states.
Mark Damian Duda, executive director of Responsive Management, said the DNR used detailed information on customer preferences as the basis for a license fee initiative currently being considered by the Minnesota Legislature.

“To its credit,” Duda said, “the Minnesota DNR isn’t proposing new license price and types based on arbitrary opinions. Instead, it is using a solid business model that incorporates the input of its customers.”

As an incentive to reply, Responsive Management purchased a lifetime fishing license and offered survey respondents an opportunity to win it in a random lottery. Gwen Elvira Orth of Sauk Rapids won the lottery.