Progress 10/01/03 to 09/30/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Our work has included projects funded in part by other sources, maximizing the impact of USDA funding. Over the entire life of the project, our most significant outputs and dissemination activities have included: (1) Based on our study of anticipating human-wildlife interactions in exurban areas using landscape and social-psychological variables, we presented findings at several regional and national conferences, and advised influential land and wildlife management organizations regarding the implications of our work for their strategic directions and activities; these included the Adirondack Park, and the Wildlife Conservation Society; (2) Based on our projects on black bear education interventions to reduce human-bear conflicts and adaptive impacts management models, we conducted numerous workshops for natural resource professionals, made presentations at several regional and national conferences, and produced education materials that are used widely by natural resource management agencies, including a feature on Animal Planet's "Backyard Habitat" television show; (3) We conducted a series of workshops and consulting meetings, and conducted natural resources planning-related surveys to support development of community participation strategies and capacity-building related to a Tribal integrated resource management planning effort; (4) We conducted several surveys and held various workshops and consulting sessions with communities and land managers (ranging from university campuses to national parks) experiencing negative impacts from deer populations, focusing on an impacts-based management approach; (5) Stemming from all of our collective studies conducted over the life of this project, university course materials have been updated and enhanced with specific data and case study materials for undergraduate courses in natural resources and wildlife management at Cornell University and at Michigan State University; (6) We conducted a series of training workshops for mid-career professionals in a state wildlife conservation organizations to develop capacity to integrate human dimensions considerations into management programs and to encourage use of impacts management approach and encourage informed transactional approach to stakeholder engagement and management decision processes. For 2008: (1) We facilitated two search conferences to collaboratively develop a list of critical information needs for the management of Lake Ontario, and we surveyed search conference participants to evaluate the effectiveness of the effort; (2) We formed an advisory committee of state, federal, and nongovernmental organization representatives to guide research we are conducting on collaborative efforts to implement State Wildlife Action Plans across the U.S.; (3) We made presentations about the results of our work at the following venues: Pathways to Success: Integrating Human Dimensions into Fish and Wildlife Management; Society for Conservation Biology Annual Conference; International Symposium on Society and Resource Management; The Wildlife Society Conference; Adirondack Park Research Consortium; and Northeast Fish and Wildlife Conference. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals: Barbara Knuth, PI, provided intellectual and administrative oversight, supervised graduate students and staff. Dan Decker, PI, provided intellectual and administrative oversight, supervised graduate students and staff. Tommy Brown, PI, provided intellectual and administrative oversight. Bruce Lauber, research staff, designed and implemented activities on the project. William Siemer, research staff, designed and implemented activities on the project. Partner Organizations and Collaborators: Institute of Ecosystem Studies, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New York Sea Grant, Great Lakes Regional Research Information Network Lake Ontario Committee, Northeast Wildlife Damage Management Cooperative, St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Environment Division, Wildlife Conservation Society, Woodstock Conservation Association, National Park Service; Florida Wildlife Commission, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Conservation. Keith Tidball, Cornell University; Marianne Krasny, Cornell University; Paul Curtis, Cornell University; Peter Otto, Cornell University; Patrick Sullivan, Cornell University; Dana Dolsen, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources; Dennis Figg, Missouri Department of Conservation; Lisa Holst, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; Darren Long, Wildlife Conservation Society; John Organ, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Doug Parsons, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission; Marie Stringer, The Nature Conservancy; Katie Theoharides, Defenders of Wildlife. Training or Professional Development: Meredith Gore, Ph.D. candidate; Heidi Kretser, Ph.D. candidate; Kirsten Leong, Ph.D. candidate; Heather Van Den Berg, Ph.D. candidate; Heather Wieczorek Hudenko, M.S. student. TARGET AUDIENCES: State-level wildlife managers and other professionals. Federal-level wildlife managers and other professionals. Non-governmental organizations interested in the implementation of State Wildlife Action Plans. Lake Ontario resource management agencies, community leaders, and nongovernmental organizations. Tribal environmental managers (St. Regis Mohawk Tribe). Undergraduate students at Cornell University and Michigan State University. Local and regional natural resource managers and land-use planners in New York State. Cornell Cooperative Extension of Westchester County. Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Conservation. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
Over the lifetime of the project, (1) We synthesized discussions of two search conferences to produce a list of critical information needs for the management of Lake Ontario, to be used by area natural resource managements; (2) We produced new knowledge using spatial analyses, showing that human-wildlife interactions tend to cluster in exurban land uses and to some extent in suburban areas, and that perceptions of interactions with wildlife in general are positive but tend to be more indifferent or negative when respondents are asked to consider specific species around their property or home; (3) The New York NeighBEARhood Watch program was designed and evaluated, leading to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) adapting their state-wide black bear-related outreach efforts based on insights from our research, and the Woodstock Environmental Association adopted community-wide black bear-related outreach efforts; (4) The skills developed during trainings, workshops, and ongoing consultations with natural resource managers enable these professionals to better work with local communities on contentious wildlife management issues; (5) Findings from the our impacts management studies have led to revisions in management approach for deer, black bear, and coyotes among several natural resource management agencies and a major university; (6) Our work influenced the way in which the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Environmental Division approached community involvement as they developed an Integrated Resource Management Plan, and the establishment of priorities by the Wildlife Conservation Society's Adirondack Communities and Conservation Program; (6) Results from these related projects have been and will be applied extensively in the design and implementation of communication and education programs by state and federal agencies involved in partnering with local communities to address wildlife and natural resource management issues of concern; (7) Results provide a basis for development and have helped leverage funding for several major external grant proposals, including projects supported by the NYSDEC, the National Park Service, the Northeast Wildlife Damage Cooperative, and the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Publications
- Decker, D.J., Siemer, W.F., Leong, K., and Riley, S. 2007. A Guide to Developing a Managers Model from Scratch, Fall 2008 edition. Human Dimensions Research Unit. Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
- Gore, M.L., Knuth, B.A., Scherer, C.W., and Curtis, P.D. 2008. Evaluating a conservation investment designed to reduce human-wildlife conflict. Conservation Letters: 136-145.
- Kretser, H.E. 2008. The Exurban Frontier: Anticipating Human-wildlife Interactions Where We Live, Work, and Play. Doctoral Dissertation, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
- Lauber, T.B., Decker, D.J., and Knuth, B.A. 2008. Social networks and community-based natural resource management. Environmental Management. 42:677-687.
- Siemer, W. F., Leong, K., Decker, D.J., and Smith, K.K. 2007. Deer, people, and parks: Perspectives of residents in communities near Fire Island National Seashore. HDRU Series Publication 07-8. Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
- Siemer, W. F., Leong, K., Decker, D.J., and Smith, K.K. 2007. Deer, people, and parks: Perspectives of residents in communities near Valley Forge National Historic Park. HDRU Series Publication 07-9.
- Siemer, W. F., Leong, K., Decker, D.J., and Smith, K.K. 2007. Deer, people, and parks: Perspectives of residents in communities near Morristown National Historic Park. HDRU Series Publication 07-10.
- Siemer, W. F., Leong, K., Decker, D.J., and Smith, K.K. 2007. Deer, people, and parks: Perspectives of residents in communities near Prince William Forest Park. HDRU Series Publication 07-11.
- Lauber, T.B. and Brown, T.L. 2008. Information needs for Lake Ontario: The Great lakes Regional Research and Information Network Search Conferences. HDRU Publ. No. 08-3. Dept. of Nat. Resour., College of Agric. And Life Sci., Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY 61 pp.
- Siemer, W. F., Leong, K., Decker, D.J., and Smith, K.K. 2007. Deer, people, and parks: Perspectives of residents in communities near the Great Falls Area of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park. HDRU Series Publication 07-12.
- Wieczorek Hudenko, H., Decker, D.J. and Siemer, W.F. 2008. Reliance on informants in wildlife management situation analysis shortcut or shortcoming Human Dimensions of Wildlife 13(6): 459-470.
- Wieczorek Hudenko, H., Decker, D.J., and Siemer, W.F. 2008. Stakeholder insights into the human-coyote interface in Westchester County, NY. Human Dimensions Research Unit Series Publication 08-1. Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
- Wieczorek Hudenko, H. 2008. Exploring attitudes and experiences associated with human-coyote relationships in suburban New York. Masters thesis, Cornell University.
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Progress 10/01/06 to 09/30/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Our work includes projects funded in part by other sources, maximizing the impact of USDA funding. Specific activities, events, and products include the following. (1) In our study of anticipating human-wildlife interactions where we live, work, and play using landscape and social-psychological variables, we presented findings at the Urban-Rural Fringe conference in Atlanta, Georgia in April 2007, and at the Adirondack Research Consortium in Tupper Lake, New York, in May 2007. We discussed information about results of this work with staff at the Adirondack Park Agency who are interested in information on development impacts to wildlife, and with diverse colleagues from the Adirondack Park at the Wildlife Conservation Society's annual meeting focusing on exurban development, the Oswegatchie Round Table. (2) Based on a project to design, implement, and evaluate a black bear-related education intervention program to reduce human-bear conflict, we produced a dissertation
distributed to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), created a web site with links to publications and partners, made presentations to undergraduate-level courses at Michigan State University, and used materials developed from this research to teach a graduate-level research methods course at Michigan State University. In addition, the New York NeighBEARhood Watch program was featured on Animal Planet's "Backyard Habitat" television show. (3) Based on over two decades of experience in human dimensions' application to resource management, we conducted a training workshop for ten mid-career professionals in a state wildlife conservation commission to develop the capacity of these wildlife management professionals to integrate human dimensions considerations into management programs. (4) We conducted inquiries about coyote-related concerns, risk perceptions, and norms in Westchester and Saratoga Counties. We discussed results with wildlife managers,
Cooperative Extension, and local parks department staff. Results were presented at the Northeast Fish and Wildlife Conference, Mystic, CT, April 2007; to the staff of the National Park Service Biological Resource Management Division (Fort Collins, CO, May 2007); Urban Wildlife Management Conference (Portland, OR, June 2007); International Union of Game Biologists Congress (Uppsala, Sweden, August 2007); The Wildlife Society (Tucson, AZ, Sept. 2007). (5) Results of studies of community-based natural resource management were presented at the Northeast Fish and Wildlife Conference and in seminar series at the Institute of Ecosystem Studies and the Department of Natural Resources at Cornell University. Results also informed teaching in an undergraduate course on Natural Resources Planning and Management, and in a guest lecture for a communications course. (6) The research team facilitated a waterfowl management citizen task force meeting.
PARTICIPANTS: Individuals: Barbara Knuth, PI, provided intellectual and administrative oversight, supervised graduate students and staff. Dan Decker, PI, provided intellectual and administrative oversight, supervised graduate students and staff. Tommy Brown, PI, provided intellectual and administrative oversight. Bruce Lauber, research staff, designed and implemented activities on the project. William Siemer, research staff, designed and implemented activities on the project. Partner Organizations and Collaborators: Institute of Ecosystem Studies New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Northeast Wildlife Damage Management Cooperative St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Environment Divisoin Wildlife Conservation Society Woodstock Conservation Association National Park Service Keith Tidball and Marianne Krasny, Cornell University Paul Curtis, Cornell University Peter Otto, Cornell University Patrick Sullivan, Cornell University Training or Professional Development: Meredith Gore,
Ph.D. candidate Heidi Kretser, Ph.D. candidate Kirsten Leong, Ph.D. candidate Heather Van Den Berg, Ph.D. student Heather Wieczorek Hudenko, M.S. student Cornell Cooperative Extension Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Conservation
TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences include: State-level wildlife managers and other professionals. Federal-level wildlife managers and other professionals. Tribal environmental managers (St. Regis Mohawk Tribe). Undergraduate students at Cornell University and Michigan State University. Local and regional natural resource managers and land-use planners in New York State.
Impacts
(1) We have produced new knowledge using spatial analyses, showing that human-wildlife interactions tend to cluster in exurban land uses and to some extent in suburban areas, and that perceptions of interactions with wildlife in general are positive but tend to be more indifferent or negative when respondents are asked to consider specific species around their property or home. (2) The New York NeighBEARhood Watch program is being used by a current Ph.D. candidate as an example of an environmental outreach intervention in her dissertation research. The NYSDEC adapted their state-wide black bear-related outreach efforts based on insights from our research; the Woodstock Environmental Association adapated community-wise black bear-relaed outreach efforts. (3) The skills developed during training described above and through ongoing consultations with our research team will enable commission staff to better work with local communities on contentious wildlife management
issues. (4) Findings from the coyote inquiry have been used by the DEC as they consider revisions to their coyote management protocol. Cooperative Extension and the local parks department may use the results to assist with their communication with the public. (5) Our work influenced the way in which the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Environmental Division approached community involvement as they developed an Integrated Resource Management Plan, and the establishment of priorites by the Wildlife Conservation Society's Adirondack Communities and Conservation Program. (6) Our research and consultation services were used by Cornell University to design an impacts-management approach to deer management on Cornell lands. This approach enabled the university to proceed with deer management actions and may have improved university-community relationships.
Publications
- Gore, M.L., B.A. Knuth, P.D. Curtis, and J.E. Shanahan. 2007. Campground manager and user perceptions of risk associated with human-black bear conflict: Implications for communication. Human Dimensions of Wildlife. 12(1):31-43.
- Kretser, H.E., P.J. Sullivan, and B.A. Knuth. 2007. Housing density as an indicator of spatial patterns of reported human-wildlife interactions in Northern New York. Landscape and Urban Planning. October 17, 2007. doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2007.08.007
- Siemer, W.F., D.J. Decker, P. Otto, and M.L. Gore. 2007. Working through black bear management issues: A practitioners guide. Northeast Wildlife Damage Management Research and Outreach Cooperative. Ithaca, New York. 48 pp.
- Siemer, W.F., K. Leong, and D.J. Decker. 2007. Cornell lands, deer, and East Hill communities: Results from a 2006 survey of community residents. Human Dimensions Research Unit Series Publication 07-5. Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. 37 pp.
- Siemer, W.F., D.J. Decker, and H. Wieczorek Hudenko. 2007. Coyote management in residential areas: Human dimensions research needs. Proceedings of the 12th Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings, April 9-12, 2007, Corpus Christi, Texas. Wildlife Damage Management Working Group, The Wildlife Society.
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Progress 01/01/06 to 12/31/06
Outputs
Natural resources managers are grappling with new, more-inclusive approaches to decision making, shifting from expert-based decision and management protocols toward a management philosophy emphasizing the consideration of stakeholder-generated concerns within planning and decision-making processes. These approaches may include sharing to varying degrees management authority or responsibility with local communities. The focus of our work includes five main areas of emphasis: (1) identifying factors that prompt communities and/or natural resource management agencies to seek to engage in, and engage others in, community-based natural resource management; (2) identifying factors and processes that contribute to the capacity of communities and agencies to engage in community-based natural resource management; (3) identifying challenges (e.g., recognition of scale and capacity considerations; influence of wildlife-related risk perceptions; differences in wildlife-value
orientation) to achieving stakeholder agreement on identifying wildlife impacts of sufficient importance to their community to warrant management; (4) evaluating the success of community-based natural resource management efforts; and (5) identifying the extent to which ancillary benefits are realized as a result of engagement in community-based natural resource management. We explore these areas through a series of related projects funded in part by other sources, maximizing the impact of USDA funding. Specific projects associated with this overall umbrella study include: (a) design and evaluation of a community-based education and communication campaign intended to reduce human-black bear conflict at the community level, including systematic social observation and pre- and post-intervention mail surveys of residents to gather data on attitudes, experiences, and risk perceptions related to human-black bear conflict; (b) analysis of relationships between exurban development,
human-wildlife interactions, and conservation attitudes using a spatially-predictive model that incorporates landscape and social-psychological variables, focusing on human communities within a New York State protected area, the Adirondack Park; (c) identification and analysis of the role that 'social framework' plays in influencing deer management success at the local level; (d) analysis of the implications of recent National Park Service policies to encourage public participation in wildlife management; (e) articulation of the 'impacts management' approach to wildlife management processes; (f) synthesis of public input for a NYS black bear management plan, including collaboration with Cornell Cooperative Extension staff; (g) comparison of public perception of risks associated with wildlife (e.g., coyotes) with objective measures of risk; and (h) development of community participation strategies and capacity-building in support of a Tribal integrated resource management planning
effort.
Impacts
Results from these related projects have been and will be applied extensively in the design and implementation of communication and education programs by state and federal agencies involved in partnering with local communities to address wildlife and natural resource management issues of concern. The Human Dimensions Research Unit provides ongoing advice to NYSDEC and other agencies (e.g., NPS) and local communities that are engaged in natural resources decision-making processes to help design appropriate cooperative management components. Results provide a basis for development and have helped leverage funding for several major external grant proposals, including projects supported by the NYSDEC, the NPS, the Northeast Wildlife Damage Cooperative, and the Wildlife Conservation Society. Findings provide case study examples in two undergraduate courses at Cornell. Specific outcomes include the development of a group model-building tool to inform wildlife management
decision processes; use of materials from a book associated with this project at The National Conservatoin Training Center in WV and several other regional workshops; guidance to several state wildlife management agencies and non-government organizations on resources available to reduce human-black bear conflicts; citations of this work in decision-making processes by land management agencies and by the new state government transition team; direct use in a NPS general management plan and species-specific management plan; and community involvement process capacity-building for Tribal environmental managers.
Publications
- Enck, J.W., Decker, D.J., Riley, S.J., Organ, J.F., Carpenter, L.H. and Siemer, W.F. 2006. Integrating ecological and human dimensions inadaptive management of wildlife-related impacts. Wildlife Society Bulletin 34(3):698-705.
- Gore, M.L., Knuth, B.A., Curtis, P.D., Scherer, C.W., and Shanahan, J.E. 2007. Factors influencing risk perception associated with human-black bear conflict. Human Dimensions of Wildlife 12(2):000-000.
- Gore, M.L., Knuth, B.A., Curtis, P.D. and Shanahan, J.E. 2007. Campground manager and user perceptions of risk associated with human─black bear conflict: implications for communication. Human Dimensions of Wildlife 12(1): 000-000.
- Lauber, T.B., Knuth, B.A. and Brown, T.L. 2006. Natural Resource-Related Activities and Concerns on the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation. HDRU Series Publication No. 06-8. Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
- Lauber, T.B., Tantillo, J.A., Knuth, B.A. and Curtis. P.D. 2007. The role of ethical judgments related to wildlife fertility control. Society and Natural Resources. 20(2).
- Leong, K.M., Decker, D.J., Wild, M.A. and Karish, J. 2006. Application of an issue-evolution model to wildlife issues in National Parks. George Wright Forum 23(1):62-71.
- Organ, J.F., Carpenter, L.H., Decker, D.J., Siemer, W.F. and Riley, S.J. 2006. Thinking like a manager: reflections on wildlife management. The Wildlife Management Institute. Washington, D. C. 106pp.
- Raik, D.B., Decker, D.J., and Siemer, W.F. 2006. Capacity building: A new focus for collaborative approaches to community-based suburban deer management? Wildlife Society Bulletin 34(2):525-530.
- Siemer, W.F. and Decker, D.J.. 2006. An assessment of black bear impacts in New York. Human Dimensions Research Unit Series Publication 06-6. Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. 62pp.
- Gore, M.L. 2006. Risk perception and outreach intervention evaluation associated with human-black bear interactions. Ph.D. Dissertation. Cornell University.
- Gore, M.L., Knuth, B.A., Curtis, P.D. and Shanahan, J.E. 2006. Education programs for reducing human-bear conflict: indicators of success? Ursus 17(1):75-80.
- Gore, M.L., Knuth, B.A., Curtis, P.D. and Shanahan, J.E. 2006. Stakeholder perceptions of risk associated with human-black bear conflicts in New York Adirondack Park campgrounds: implications for theory and practice. Wildlife Society Bulletin 34 (1): 36-43.
- Gore, M.L. and Knuth, B.A. 2006. Attitude and behavior change associated with the New York NeighBEARhood Watch Program. HDRU Series Report 06-14. Department of Natural Resources. N.Y.S. College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Ithaca, New York.
- Lauber, T.B. 2006. The Wildlife Conservation Society: Building capacity for conservation in the Adirondacks. HDRU Series No. 06-13. HDRU Series Publication No. 06-13. Department of Natural Resources. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
- Lauber, T.B. and Brown, T.L. 2006. Learning by doing: policy learning in community-based deer management. Society and Natural Resources. 19(5):411-428.
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Progress 01/01/05 to 12/31/05
Outputs
Natural resources managers are grappling with new, more-inclusive approaches to decision making, shifting from expert-based decision and management protocols toward a management philosophy emphasizing the consideration of stakeholder-generated concerns within planning and decision-making processes. These approaches may include sharing to varying degrees management authority or responsibility with local communities. The focus of our work includes five main areas of emphasis: (1) identifying factors that prompt communities and/or natural resource management agencies to seek to engage in, and engage others in, community-based natural resource management; (2) identifying factors and processes that contribute to the capacity of communities and agencies to engage in community-based natural resource management; (3) identifying challenges (e.g., recognition of scale and capacity considerations; influence of wildlife-related risk perceptions; differences in wildlife-value
orientation) to achieving stakeholder agreement on identifying wildlife impacts of sufficient importance to their community to warrant management; (4) evaluating the success of community-based natural resource management efforts; and (5) identifying the extent to which ancillary benefits are realized as a result of engagement in community-based natural resource management. We explore these areas through a series of related projects funded in part by other sources, maximizing the impact of USDA funding. Specific projects associated with this overall umbrella study include: (a) design and evaluation of a community-based education and communication campaign intended to reduce human-black bear conflict at the community level, including systematic social observation and pre- and post-intervention mail surveys of residents to gather data on attitudes, experiences, and risk perceptions related to human-black bear conflict; (b) analysis of relationships between exurban development,
human-wildlife interactions, and conservation attitudes using a spatially-predictive model that incorporates landscape and social-psychological variables, focusing on human communities within a New York State protected area, the Adirondack Park; (c) identification and analysis of the types of learning that occur in community-based management and the influence of each type of learning on management processes; (d) analysis of the implications of recent National Park Service policies to encourage public participation in wildlife management; (e) a comparative study of public attitudes and perceptions toward beaver and beaver management in New York and Massachusetts; (f) synthesis of public input for a NYS black bear management plan, including collaboration with Cornell Cooperative Extension staff; (g) comparative analysis of Massachusetts-New York suburban deer management processes involving collaboration with local communities, including interviews with managers and case study analysis;
and (h) development of community participation strategies and capacity-building in support of a Tribal integrated resource management planning effort.
Impacts
Results from these related projects will be applied extensively in the design and implementation of communication and education programs by state and federal agencies involved in partnering with local communities to address wildlife and natural resource management issues of concern through community-based approaches. The Human Dimensions Research Unit provides ongoing advice to NYSDEC and other agencies (e.g., the National Park Service) that are engaged in natural resources decision-making processes to help design appropriate cooperative management components. Results from this line of inquiry provides a basis for development and has helped leverage funding for several major external grant proposals, including projects supported by the NYSDEC, the National Park Service, the Northeast Wildlife Damage Cooperative, and the Wildlife Conservation Society. Findings also are used regularly to provide case study examples in two undergraduate courses at Cornell. Specific
outcomes this year have included eight presentations and one poster given at professional and scientific society meetings; public presentations to New York communities and distribution of over 11,440 education materials; systems-modelling workshops for wildlife managers; community involvement workshops for Tribal environmental managers; invited input to the Adirondack Park Agency on large subdivision projects undergoing review; and 10 management case studies as an addendum to a practitioners guide to community based deer management.
Publications
- Gore, M.L., Siemer, W.F., Shanahan, J.E., Schuefele, D., and Decker, D.J. 2005. Effects on risk perception of media coverage of a black bear-related human fatality. Wildlife Society Bulletin. 33(2):507-516.
- Kretser, H. 2005. Housing trends in Franklin and Brighton Townships (Franklin County, NY), 1990-2000. Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies. 12(2):25-36.
- Leong, K.M., and Decker, D.J. 2005. White-tailed deer issues in NPS Units: Insights from natural resource managers in the Northeastern U.S. HDRU Series Publication 05-5. Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
- Leong, K.M., Decker, D.J., and Wild, M.A. In press. Examining the role of community participation in biological resource management: Human dimensions of deer issues in Northeastern NPS Units. Proceedings of the George Wright Society Biennial Conference on Parks, Protected Areas, and Cultural Sites. March 14-18, 2005. Philadelphia, PA.
- Lauber, T.B., Knuth, B.A. and Brown, T.L. 2005. The community context for Integrated Resource Management Planning on the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation. HDRU Series Publication No. 05-9. Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
- Raik, D.B., Lauber, T.B., Decker, D.J., and Brown, T.L. 2005. Managing community controversy in suburban wildlife management: Adopting practices that address value differences. Human Dimensions of Wildlife. 10(2):109-122.
- Raik, D.B., Siemer, W.F., and Decker, D.J. 2005. Intervention and capacity considerations in community-based deer management: The stakeholders perspective. Human Dimensions of Wildlife. 10(4):259-272.
- Raik, D.B., Siemer, W.F., and Decker, D.J. 2005. Suburban deer management cases: An addendum to the practitioners guide. Web publication available from http://wildlifecontrol.info/NEWDMC/Publications.html.
- Siemer, W.F. and Otto, P. 2005. A group model building intervention designed to inform wildlife management decisions. In J.D. Sterman, N.P. Repenning, R.S. Langer, J.I. Rowe, and J.M. Yanni (eds.), Proceedings of the 23rd International Conference of the System Dynamics Society, July 17-21, 2005, Boston, MA. System Dynamics Society: Albany, New York.
- Tantillo, J.A. 2006. Killing cats and killing birds: philosophical issues pertaining to feral cats. pp. 701-707 in J.R. August, ed. Consultations in Feline Internal Medicine, 5th edition. Philadelphia: Saunders.
- Decker, D.J., Kretser, H., Gore, M., Leong, K., and Siemer, W. 2005. Wildlife management on rural-urban interfaces: cooperation and conflict between science and society. Proceedings of Emerging Issues Along Urban/Rural Interfaces: Linking Science and Society. Atlanta, GA. March 13-16, 2005.
- Decker, D.J., Raik, D.B., Carpenter, L.H., Organ, J.F., and Schusler, T.M. 2005. Collaboration for community-based wildlife management. Urban Ecosystems. 8(2):227-236.
- Glennon, M.J. and Kretser, H.E. 2005. Impacts to wildlife from low density, exurban development: Information and considerations for the Adirondack Park. Wildlife Conservation Society Adirondack Communities and Conservation Program Technical Paper No. 3.
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Progress 01/01/04 to 12/31/04
Outputs
Natural resources managers are grappling with relatively new approaches to decision-making processes. Chief among those is a shift away from solely expert-based decision and management protocols toward a management philosophy emphasizing the importance of including and considering seriously stakeholder-generated concerns within planning and decision-making processes and communication and education programs, and may include sharing natural resource management authority or responsibility with local communities. The focus of our work over the course of the project will include five main areas of emphasis: (1) identifying factors that prompt communities and/or natural resource management agencies to seek to engage in, and engage others in, community-based natural resource management; (2) identifying factors and processes that contribute to the capacity of communities and agencies to engage in community-based natural resource management; (3) identifying challenges (e.g.,
recognition of scale and capacity considerations; influence of wildlife-related risk perceptions; differences in wildlife-value orientation) to achieving stakeholder agreement on identifying wildlife impacts of sufficient importance to their community to warrant management; (4) evaluating the success of community-based natural resource management efforts, particularly with regard to addressing the original perceived problem(s), and the outcomes of interactions among stakeholders; and (5) identifying the extent to which ancillary benefits are realized as a result of engagement in community-based natural resource management. We explore these areas of emphasis through a series of related projects funded in part by other sources, to maximize the impact of this USDA funding. To date, specific projects associated with this overall umbrella study include: (a) design and analysis of a community-based pilot education and communication campaign intended to reduce human-black bear conflict at
the community level, including a mail survey (N=2800) of Southeastern New York residents in four communities to gather data on attitudes, experiences, and risk perceptions related to human-black bear conflict; (b) analysis of exurban development and human-wildlife interactions within human communities set within a state protected area, the Adirondack Park, including in-depth interviews with real estate agents, local government officials, and residents in a preliminary phase of this project; (c) identification and analysis of the types of learning that occur in community-based management and the influence of each type of learning on management processes, including site visits and in-depth interviews; (d) a comparative study of public attitudes and perceptions toward beaver and beaver management in New York and Massachusetts; (e) synthesis of public input for a NYS black bear management plan, including collaboration with Cornell Cooperative Extension staff; and (f) comparative analysis
of Massachusetts-New York suburban deer management processes involving collaboration with local communities, including interviews with managers and case study analysis.
Impacts
Results from these related projects will be applied extensively in the design and implementation of communication and education programs by the Bureau of Wildlife, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), and in several contexts in which the NYSDEC is partnering with local communities to address wildlife and natural resource management issues of concern through community-based approaches. The Human Dimensions Research Unit provides ongoing advice to NYSDEC and other agencies engaged in natural resources decision-making processes to help design appropriate cooperative management components. Results from this line of inquiry provides a basis for development and has helped leverage funding for several major external grant proposals, including projects supported by the National Park Service, the Northeast Wildlife Damage Cooperative, and the Wildlife Conservation Society. Findings also are used regularly to provide case study examples in two
undergraduate courses at Cornell. Specific outcomes have included four presentations and two posters given at professional society meetings, addressing human-black bear conflict in New York State communities; providing solicited input to the Adirondack Park Agency on large subdivision projects undergoing review; developing and conducting a workshop for wildlife managers (NYSDEC) assisting communities with wildlife management; and producing a practitioners guide to community-based deer management directed toward the needs of wildlife managers.
Publications
- Decker, D.J., Raik, D.B., and Siemer, W.F. 2004. Community-based suburban deer management: A practitioners guide. Northeast Wildlife Damage Management Research and Outreach Cooperative. Ithaca, New York. 52pp.
- Gore, M.L. 2004. Comparison of intervention programs designed to reduce human-black bear conflict: a review of literature. Human Dimensions Research Unit Publication Series No. 04-4. Department of Natural Resources, New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
- Gore, M.L., Siemer, W.F., Shanahan, J.E., Schuefele,D., and Decker, D.J. 2005. Does media coverage of a wildlife-related human fatality affect risk perception? Wildlife Society Bulletin. In press.
- Jonker, S.A., Organ, J.F., Muth, R.M., Zwick, R.R., and Siemer, W.F. 2005. Stakeholder norms toward beaver management in Massachusetts. Journal of Wildlife Management. In press.
- Lauber, T.B., Brown, T.L., and Gore, M.L. 2004. Learning by doing: Deer management in urban and suburban communities. Human Dimensions Research Unit Publication Series No. 04-2. Department of Natural Resources. NYS College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Ithaca, NY. 47 pp.
- Lauber, T.B. and Knuth, B.A. 2004. Effects of information on attitudes toward suburban deer management. Wildlife Society Bulletin. 32(2):322-331.
- Raik, D.B., Decker, D.J., and Siemer, W.F. 2005. Capacity building: A new focus for collaborative approaches to community-based suburban deer management? Urban Ecosystems. In press.
- Raik, D.B., Lauber, T.B., Decker, D.J., and Brown, T.L. 2005. Managing community controversy in suburban wildlife management: Adopting practices that address value differences. Human Dimensions of Wildlife. In press.
- Anthony, M.L., Knuth, B.A., and Lauber, T.B. 2004. Gender and citizen participation in wildlife management decision making. Society and Natural Resources. 17(5):395-411.
- Chase, L.C., Decker, D.J., and Lauber, T.B. 2004. Public participation in wildlife management: What do stakeholders want? Society and Natural Resources. 17:629-639.
- Raik, D.B., Siemer, W.F., and Decker, D.J. 2004. Community-based suburban deer management in New York and Massachusetts: Insights from six case studies. Human Dimensions Research Unit Series Publications 04-1. Department of Natural Resources. NYS College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Ithaca, NY. 57 pp.
- Raik, D.B., Siemer, W.F., and Decker, D.J. 2005. Community-based deer management: Stakeholders perspectives. Human Dimensions of Wildlife. In press.
- Schusler, T. and Siemer, W.F. 2004. Report on stakeholder input groups for black bear impact management in the Lower Catskills, Upper Catskills, and Western New York. Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County. Ithaca, New York.
- Siemer, W.F., Jonker, S.A., and Brown, T.L. 2004. Attitudes toward beaver and beaver management: Results from a baseline study in New York. Human Dimensions Research Unit Series Publication 04-5. Department of Natural Resources, NYS College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Ithaca, NY. 74 pp.
- Siemer, W.F., Lauber, T.B., Chase, L., Decker, D.J., McPeake, R.J., and Jacobson, C.A. 2004. Deer/elk management actions in suburban environments: What will stakeholders accept? Pages 228-237 in Shaw, W.W., Harris, L.K., and VanDruff, L., eds. Proceedings of the Fourth International Symposium on Urban Wildlife Conservation. May 1-5, 1999, Tucson, Arizona. University of Arizona, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Office of Educational Communications and Technologies: Tucson.
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