Protecting the Great Lakes:
Responsibility to Awareness to Action
(released Jan, 2003) (pdf/Acrobat)
A three-phased research project to assess attitudes about water resources in the Great Lakes region. The research – six focus groups, 21 interviews with key decision-makers, and a 1500-person, region-wide phone survey – was designed to find out what residents in the region know and feel about the Great Lakes, and to identify where and how we can engage them on water resource issues over the long-term.
Summary Analysis
Topline Data
State by State Summary

Americans and Biodiversity: New Perspectives for 2002
(Feburary 2002) (pdf/Acrobat)
Topline data from a national survey of 1,500 adults gauging awareness of biodiversity, and appreciation for the importance of saving species and habitat diversity. This survey acts as a "follow-up" survey to the 1996 biodiversity poll.

New Hampshire Eastern Forests Focus Group Report (November, 2001)
Biodiversity Project commissioned two focus groups held in Manchester, New Hampshire. Discussions explored general attitudes about forests, terms and phrases related to forest preservation, support for solutions to forest threats and various messages for and against forest protection.

Choices Between Asphalt and Nature: Americans Discuss Sprawl: Analysis of 20 Focus Groups Across the U.S. (February 1998) (pdf/Acrobat)
This study looks at Americans' attitudes about housing preferences, land use and sprawled development. The inquiry addresses several relevant questions: Is sprawl a problem that Americans want to fix, or feel capable of fixing? What are the implications of sprawl that are meaningful to Americans' lives, and are there connections to nature? Are there actions that Americans will take to stop or control sprawl? Are there ways to plan communities that can be both appealing to people and sustainable?

Human Values and Nature's Future: Americans' Attitudes on Biological Diversity: A Cluster Analysis of Findings from a National Survey (December 1996) (pdf/Acrobat)
The analysis detailed in this report complements the findings of the national biodiversity poll, and breaks the American public down into groups or "clusters" according to their attitudes about biodiversity.
    Cluster Analysis at a Glance
    A one-page summary of the Biodiversity Poll's cluster analysis
    findings (see above item).

Human Values and Nature's Future: Americans' Attitudes on Biological Diversity: An Analysis of Findings from a National Survey (October 1996) (pdf/Acrobat)
This analysis identifies key values and messages for communicating the impact of the loss of species and habitats and describes specific audiences for information about biodiversity. The survey it was based on is different than many others on environmental issues because it measures the values that underlie Americans' feelings about the environment. The quantitative findings of this survey complement the qualitative findings of the 1995 focus groups.

Current Trends in Public Opinion on the Environment: Environmental Compendium Update (January 1996) (pdf/Acrobat)
This memo highlights the trends found in survey data from 1992 to 1995, looking at public opinion on the environment in five main areas: 1) attitudes regarding environmentalism and the environmental movement, 2) the public's assessment of the state of the environment, 3) the priority assigned to the environment by the public, 4) the environmental issues of most concern, and 5) the role of government in environmental protection.

Communicating Biodiversity: Summary of Focus Group Research Findings (June 1995) (pdf/Acrobat)
This focus group project was designed to explore the public's lack of interest in and concern for biological diversity, and to identify strategies for public engagement. Using previously existing research as a foundation, this report identifies the attitudes and barriers to communicating the importance of saving biodiversity and the ecosystems which support it; and identifies approaches, messages, and language most useful in overcoming these hurdles. It served as the precursor to the 1996 poll, and provided the qualitative component of this paired research.