Hiroto "Hiro" Hayashi

As part of a 2022 Multi-State Grant, the Association for Conservation Information (ACI) and DJ Case & Associates utilized social listening to monitor the social media posts about every US state fish and wildlife agency. Every other week, reports were sent to state agencies, and at the end of the year, thousands of posts were analyzed for trends that could be useful in state agencies’ efforts to manage their brands in social media.  

We were able to develop queries for 50 state agencies and monitor those queries for a year. Every single state received these reports. Many reports went to multiple divisions/work units in an agency. These have been helpful to agencies in understanding what is being said about them in real-time.

In 2023, DJ Case is expanding those queries alongside WSFR and ACI to include property names (WMAs, parks, boat ramps, piers, etc.), greatly expanding the number of posts we collect. We are using our agency contacts for each state to help identify which additional areas they would like to hear about. We are also splitting our reports into two modules.

1. Incoming reports are conversations happening outside the agency about the agency 
2. Outgoing reports capture the conversations started or promoted by the agency through an agency's own social media

We are adding to the existing queries for all 50 state fish and wildlife agencies and are monitoring social media conversations for: 

• Positive and negative conversations that revolve around agencies 
• Demographics of the people having these conversations 
• What triggers these conversations 
• How these conversation threads move through social media channels 

We will analyze the data and report results and trends about what social media users are actually saying about fish and wildlife agencies.

Joined DJ Case and Associates as an engagement strategist and project manager. 

Unlike many American demographics, little qualitative or quantitative data has been generated capable of documenting the barriers, experiences, and perceptions of Black hunters in a scientifically rigorous or defendable way. Consequently, natural resource management agencies have been chronically ill-equipped to deliver programs, practices, and engagement points to Black Americans that effectively address the specific, and often obscured, needs of this community. Additionally, past efforts have a), proven too generalized to capture the critical nuance behind the barriers and needs of the Black outdoorsperson, b) lacked incorporation of established social science best-practices for researching marginalized communities, and c) failed to provide actionable and effective recommendations for agencies committed to serving and engaging broader constituencies. This project is working to correct the above gaps and deficiencies in our knowledge of engagement strategies for Black outdoorspersons and to empower agencies to implement strategies that can help re-enforce the tradition of Black hunters in America. 

There are many factors that impact hunting participation. Biological capacity often caps the number of hunters for big game animals while development and posted land reduces participation in all types of hunting. Hunters' perceptions of overcrowding and/or game scarcity, distances required to access hunting, plus mandatory hunter education might further dissuade participation. In addition, constant social attention on ‘trophy species’ might be reducing interest and participation in hunting for small game, waterfowl, and other species, especially among new recruits. Concerns have been heard that the outdoor media’s frequent focus on over-subscribed hunts and occasional questioning of the necessity of R3 programs can turn hunters against R3. These issues may eventually combine to cap hunters’ numbers, push out existing hunters when new hunters are recruited, and potentially grow opposition to R3 efforts. Considering national trends in applied R3 efforts, hunting participation and public perceptions cannot be affected by a single or even several organizations. The R3 community must work together to answer questions and implement any changes. With coordination and facilitation from the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation, this project will bring together leading R3 organizations to discuss and prioritize the issues, oversee research, develop potential community responses and actions to address R3 capacity and perception issues, and ultimately oversee implementation.

Published Writing

• Minnesota Conservation Volunteer Magazine
• Florida Sportsman Magazine
• Minnesota Trout Unlimited
• The Fly Fish Journal 
• The Sun
• Everest News

Joined Fishing For All as Outreach Coordinator and Media Manager running social media, bi-weekly newsletter, outreach programs, guide trips, and partnerships

Graduated from Black Hills State University in Spearfish, SD with a Bachelor of Science in English and minors in Outdoor Education and Professional Writing.

Certified as a Level 5 "Teaching English as a Foreign Language" Instructor with The TEFL Academy Program 

Certified as South Dakota Master Naturalist with state's first ever master naturalist cohort.

Certified as an official NAI CIG

• Fishing Skills Instructor, Social Media Manager, and Environmental Educator
• Implemented watershed and R3 education in Greater Minneapolis Area
• Worked with MNTU's Trout In the Classroom education program
• Developed media coverage of historical stream improvement sites
• Shot and edited photography and videography concerning fishing skills and aquatic insect ID

Certified Collegiate Outdoor Leadership Program Leader (COLP) for fishing programming