SAM Rates High on State Poll

By George Smith

Having tracked Dr. Christian Potholm’s polling results for SAM since 1992, I have seen steady  progress in SAM’s standing with the general public, and exceptional improvements in SAM’s standing with Maine sportsmen.  Recently I provided SAM’s Board with two pages of charted results, covering polls from 1992 to the most recent bear referendum poll taken in June of 2003.  Here are the highlights.

            With the general public we have steadily improved our credibility and cut in half the number who have no opinion about SAM.  We are also catching up to the Maine Audubon Society!  In 1992, Maine Audubon was ahead of us in believability by 27.6 percent.  Today, we’re trailing by only 11 points.  This is especially significant given the fact that the population of Maine has moved away from us on hunting and trapping issues, and Audubon has a very strong and positive public image.

With hardcore sportsmen, SAM has increased its believability from 58.4 percent to 82.7 percent!  This is a fantastic profile for our organization.  We have also significantly improved our credibility with those who only fish.  And we have totally eclipsed Maine Audubon in this category.  In 1992, Audubon’s believability with sportsmen was 13.3 percent better than SAM’s.  Today, we’re 53.9 percent ahead of them!

I am especially pleased that we have gained so much with anglers.  For decades, SAM focused on guns and hunting.  Seven years ago, we organized our Fishing Initiative Committee and added fishing issues and projects to our areas of interest.  The dividends have been significant in terms of membership growth and our credibility with anglers throughout the state.

Although, from the early years, we have no polling results for those who only fish, it was apparent to many of us at that time that SAM was weak with those whose favorite outdoor activity is fishing.  SAM’s focus on fishing has delivered real benefits, as these numbers demonstrate.  In just the last two years, SAM’s believability with those who fish but don’t hunt rose from 59 percent to 72.5 percent.  Today, only 15.5 percent in this category have no opinion of SAM.  This is absolutely tremendous.

SAM’s favorability rating (believability vs. unbelievability) with our hardcore constituents (those who hunt and fish) has risen from slightly better than 2 to 1 in 1992 to 8 to 1 today.  Fabulous!  This is a rating that any politician would envy.

Attached to this report is a report I presented to the SAM Board in 1992, during the campaign for DIF&W’s Constitutional Amendment, and prior to the time I accepted the challenge of guiding SAM into the future.  I was managing the Constitutional Amendment campaign as a consultant to the Council on Fish and Wildlife Management, but I was not working for SAM. 

The briefing paper, titled “IF&W Referendum Poll” provides interesting insight into the problems SAM suffered at that time, and helps measure the stunning progress we have made in just ten years. I was particularly struck by how close we have come to achieving the measurable goals I recommended in 1992, when I wrote, “This plan should include measurable goals - for example, increase SAM’s identification to 95 percent amongst sportsmen (it is now 94.2 percent), increase SAM’s believability to 75 percent with sportsmen (it is now 82.7 percent) and 55 percent with the general public (it is now 53 percent).  Mission accomplished!