The Landowner Survey

The landowner survey was implemented to identify the landowners / stakeholders ideas and opinions on what issues need to be addressed to continue improvement of the water quality of the Indian Lake Watershed. This survey was mailed to 590 landowners and key stakeholders in the watershed. Surveying watershed residents proved difficult because no one in the three counties had a list nor any idea of how many watershed landowners existed. Because watershed boundaries are ambiguous, exact landowners are difficult to identify.

By working closely with the county auditors from Logan, Hardin and Auglaize counties, though Watershed boundaries are not designated in taxing district records, by using the variables of townships, school districts, fire protection districts and vote polling locations, a rough estimate of watershed landowners was obtained. This procedure may have included landowners outside of the Watershed boundaries as well as left others close to the boundaries off the list. Considering the antiquated computer systems in which these records were stored, this list was the best source to use.

Two groups were surveyed as part of the 590 individuals. One group included 137 people identified by their peers as key stakeholders in the watershed project. They consisted of landowners, business operators, environmental leaders, concerned citizens, local and state agency people, and others who were connected in the watershed project. The other 453 individuals were landowners randomly selected from the list of greater than 8,000 names identified as landowners from the county auditor lists.

Return Rates from Landowner Surveys

Group Surveyed Surveys Sent Surveys Returned Percent Returned

Key Stakeholders 137 55 40%

Landowners 453 130 29%

TOTAL 590 185 31%

N=185

Pilot Testing the Survey
Once refined, eight copies of the survey were sent to specialists in evaluation at Ohio State University (OSU) and Ohio State University Extension (OSUE) at the state and county level offices. Representatives from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) were also asked to respond to the instrument. Dr. Ruben Nieto, Program Development and Evaluation Leader with OSUE felt the survey would produce valid results.

A pilot survey was conducted on the members of the Operation Future Association (OFA) whose members are farmers and business operators within the Darby Creek Hydrologic Unit Area Watershed Project in Central Ohio, west of Columbus.

Scoring the Surveys
The coding system was designed and developed with the help of Dr. Annie Berry, Senior Statistician, with Ohio State University Extension, Department of Communications and Technology. The coding procedures were done using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, (SPSS 6.1 for Windows). This system interpreted the quantitative analysis of the surveys. I did the qualitative analysis by transferring the data through a word processor and developing logical patterns from the responses given. Dr. Annie Berry and Dr. Ruben Nieto, were valuable resources when developing and conducting the surveys.

Displayed Results
All response values in the landowner survey results are displayed in absolute frequency or absolute percentages. The frequency and percentages are also displayed as the combined values for both the key stakeholders and the landowners randomly surveyed (N=185). The N=l85 indicates that there were 185 returned surveys or respondents to the survey. The landowner survey asked people to express their opinions, values, ideas and viewpoints on many issues. The three sections and twenty-six questions were designed to uncover the individual's knowledge of the project, knowledge of water quality issues, their attitude towards both water quality and the project, and opinions on what should be done in the watershed. There were three types of question formats: First, rating questions by circling a response number; second, checking responses on the blank provided; and third, open-ended questions.

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