Recently, evidence-based community policy approaches to preventing substance use and alcohol abuse, called environmental strategies, have gained in popularity. The environmental survey instrument (ESI) was developed to evaluate perceptions around drinking and related problems. Specifically, the authors were interested in assessing community perceptions about prevention practices. The 53-item self-report survey tool collects data on alcohol consumption patterns and risky behaviors such as drinking-while-intoxicated (DWI) rates. Data from the ESI collected through phone survey methods in 2008 were used for scale development analysis. The [alpha] for the total 53 subscale items on the ESI was 0.73. Overall, the results from the correlation matrix showed high levels of statistical significance with many items reporting "p" values less than 0.001. Additionally, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted to examine the conceptual linkage across items in the instrument subscales. The EFA showed a link between previously theorized intervening variables and statistically derived factors. The results of the ESI study were encouraging, and findings from it can help inform future research on measurement of environmental strategies. (Contains 4 tables.)