Is a NZ survey a good template for Alberta high country rivers?

New Zealand has a great deal of rivers. They also have a great deal of spooky trout, most of which are big browns. Their tourism is lifeblood to much of their economy, and many waters are getting more pressure today than they have historically. The NZ F&G is taking the matter of perception seriously, asking anglers to participate in angler surveys on given waters that might be focal points of higher back country use by overlapping access interests (helicopter and hikers). "There has been a good early season response to the Rough River Backcountry angler Survey. Staff have been in the catchment interviewing anglers and collecting data through the email response form. Last year Fish & Game gathered information on angler perceptions of the Karamea River fishery. The Karamea survey was part of a longer term study of angler perceptions of the West Coasts backcountry fisheries. This year the focus is on the Rough River near Ikamatua. All anglers that are planning a trip or have visited the fishery over the last 5 years are invited to have your say about future management of the fishery. Please download and fill out the Rough River backcountry survey form and return it by email or post to Fish & Game".
On a local Alberta note, high elevation lakes like Michele Lakes, given back country rivers such as the Ram or upper Oldman, or reaches of the more popular Crowsnest River could really use a representative survey for future management action. Of course, we have to determine what it is we wish certain waters (or even water types) to be in Alberta, be it reduced pressure/use, limited angler use, limited random camping, limited ohv use, etc. It is always said the intangible is knowing how many users are out there, what the impact is, what people really feel. Perhaps this survey from NZ is a good framework for us to use.
View the Rough R Backcountry Survey now.
(It is a word doc to download and has no virus and is stored on our server)