INVESTIGATING THE CHANGING SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT FOR WILDLIFE CONSERVATION IN MICHIGAN.

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: NEW
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1014552
• Project No.: MICL02528
• Project Start Date: Dec 1, 2017
• Project End Date: Nov 30, 2022

Project Director
Riley, S.

Recipient Organization
MICHIGAN STATE UNIV
(N/A)
EAST LANSING,MI 48824

Performing Department
Fisheries & Wildlife

Non Technical Summary
Wildlife resources contribute greatly to the bio-economy of Michigan, the US and most of the remaining developed world. Several significant and on-going demographic changes are dramatically affecting the institution of wildlife conservation: the social landscape is becoming more diverse ethnically and racially, suburban sprawl continues to grow into rural environments, and values of stakeholders in wildlife conservation are changing commensurate with those physical changes.Insights - by state wildlife agencies particularly - are needed to make informed institutional as well as policy changes in anticipation of demographics changes. Additional knowledge about how people and wildlife interact, the consequences of those interactions, and to create better understand how to integrate interests of new stakeholders who will financially and politically support wildlife conservation.

Animal Health Component

0%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

100%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
136	0899	3080	100%

Knowledge Area
136 - Conservation of Biological Diversity;

Subject Of Investigation
0899 - Wildlife and natural fisheries, general/other;

Field Of Science
3080 - Sociology;

Keywords

conservation

social change

hunters

hunting

food

wild-harvested meat

Goals / Objectives
The goal of this research is to investigate the changing sociocultural context of wildlife conservation in Michigan. It will consider how changes in past, present and future hunting and nature-based recreation participation will affect wildlife management and conservation, develop management implications and trade-offs associated with various courses of action, and help guide strategies for building a more diverse community of conservation advocates and partners.Objective 1: Assess the underlying drivers of hunting and nature-based recreation participation in Michigan at micro, meso, and macro scales.Objective 2: Increase knowledge and understanding about the roles of social capital in communities and characteristics of social networks that contribute to participation in wildlife-related activities as well as political and financial support for wildlife conservation.Objective 3: To determine frequency, extent, and effects of hunter-non-hunter interactions such as sharing and receiving of wild-harvested meat affect people's beliefs about and relevancy of traditional uses of wildlife.Objective 4. Develop recommendations for how to increase recruitment and retention of financial and political support for wildlife conservation institutions, traditional uses of wildlife, and other wildlife-related recreation activities.Objective 5. Synthesize and disseminate study findings; develop recommendations for how to affect retention of hunters and other wildlife-related recreationists in Michigan, and develop predictions of overall support for wildlife conservation; and, disseminate these recommendations along with other study findings to state wildlife agencies, non-governmental organizations, and interested conservation groups.

Project Methods
Objective 1 and 2. I will examine correlations between Michigan hunter participation and 1) macro, meso, and micro social factors (e.g., economic wellbeing, demographics, occupational trends, membership or license-buying activities), and 2) geographic patterns of these social factors. The former analyses will identify socio-demographic population segments to focus on for data collection, and the latter will point to geographic areas to target management efforts. Throughout the study, the research team will collaborate with Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) staff and colleagues around the country who have been conducting analyses of hunter retention to make findings as germane as possible to management needs and optimize comparisons between states dealing with similar trends in hunter participation.Mixed methods approach of qualitative and quantitative social science techniques (Bickman and Rog 1998) including: 1) geographical analyses of macro and meso social forces thought to affect hunter recruitment and retention and sociocultural through time; 2) personal interviews and focus group with hunters and other recreationists, and, 3) quantitative surveys of individual hunters. A combination of personal interviews and focus groups will qualitatively explore reasons for hunter drop off and dropout rates of specializations (Bryan 2000) in hunting (e.g., small game, waterfowl, deer, etc), and to identify possible causes of retention in the activities. Sampling of non-hunting outdoor recreationists will be conducted through personal interviews and questionnaires to gain insights into their characteristics and their role in wildlife conservation activities in comparison with hunters (Cooper et al. 2015). A questionnaire will be administered statewide, but weighted to specific areas identified in Objective 1, to test generalizability of all findings from interviews. Questions also will be developed to assess hunter support for conservation broadly, to address the hunting-related portion of Objective 4.A multilevel sampling frame is necessary because factors beyond the individual can affect individual choices. Moreover, there is evidence that relying on single-level measurements in a hierarchical, nested environment violates the independence assumption in statistical modeling and increases the chance for measurement error and biased estimates of standard errors and coefficients (Goldstein 2011). Based on prior research, I expect both community-level and individual characteristics will be important indicators of nature-based recreation participation and conservation support.A segment of this research will be conducted collaboratively with researchers from more than 10 university throughout the US (coordinated by North Carolina State University), and focused on college-aged students. The college-aged segment of the population (i.e., 18-25 years) have the greatest rate of change in participation of outdoor activities.Objective 3. This objective will be achieved through the interviews (n=60) and questionnaires described in Objectives 1-2, but a portion of this research also will focus on the extent of harvest, sharing, and receiving of wild-harvested meat in Michigan, and an exploration into the effects of these phenomena on relevancy of hunters and hunting to society. Comparative research by the principle investigator is occurring in Sweden collaboratively with the Agricultural University of Sweden. Some of the research in Sweden (Ljung et al. 2012, 2015), where wild-harvest meat can be exchanged in formal monetary markets, led to investigations in the US where wild-harvested meats cannot be sold legally. The effects of this wild-harvested food system - an ecosystem service from hunting - are unknown but speculated to link non-hunters with the hunting population (Ljung et al. 2012). Preliminary findings in Michigan support further research into that hypothesis (Goguen 2015).Objective 4. Research findings that result from achieving objectives 1-3 will be synthesized to developed recommendations. Collaborations with Swedish colleagues will continue that will enlighten both the Swedish and US situations, which are comparative. Both regions are experience nearly identical trends in traditional uses as well as in new uses of wildlife and nature.Objective 5. This objective will be accomplished through development of written materials that summarize specific findings and possible management actions. Outreach will occur in the form of publications and presentations to key conservation stakeholders in Michigan as well as the MDNR through their management teams, in-service training, and Natural Resource Commission meetings. A special session at the International Conference on Deer Ecology and Management, and a symposium at The Wildlife Society Annual Meeting or other venue will be proposed - this study subject is of interest broadly in North America and Europe and a symposium focused on retention is likely to draw diverse and influential audiences. The interactions and collaborations with other states and researchers will help Michigan better plan for future scenarios while disseminating information critical to current models of wildlife management across the country.

Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20

Outputs
Target Audience:State wildlife agencies, such as the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Division, and other organizations at the local and federal levels who are engaged in public wildlife management. Changes/Problems:No major changes, yet an additional project on how values of wildlife professionals are changing was added during the reporting period. The results are being analyzed and reported during the next reporting period. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Four workshops were developed and conducted in Florida, New York, Montana, and Michigan to state wildlife professionals on habits and practices of highly effective professionals. The opportunities and knowledge to conduct these workshops were obtained through previous research on the subject. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Final reports have been submitted to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Division, and to the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. Presentations were given at the North American Wildlife & Natural Resources Conference (March 2020), The Annual Conference of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (September 2020) and The Annual Conference of The Wilidlife Society (September 2020). Publications are being prepared during the reporting period. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Completion of data analyses, report preparation, and publication. No further data are required at this time.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: 30 face-to-face interviews were conducted with nature-based recreationalists in Michigan. Based on those interviews, an extensive questionnare was administered to19,143 known recreaionalists in Michigan. Data were analyzed and reports presented to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Division. Objective 2: this objective was achieved simulataneously with objective 1 above. Objective 3: data collected in previous year was analyzed, a manuscript submitted and accepted for publiction in 2020. Collaborations continued with Swedish colleagues on similar studies in Sweden and reports were drafted on comparitive studies of attributes of wild-harvested meat movement through two societies with vastly different governance regimes. Objective 4: this objective was achieved simulataneously with objective 1 above. Objective 5:this objective was achieved simulataneously with objective 1 above.

Publications

• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Organ, J. F., D. J. Decker, S. J. Riley, J. E. McDonald, and S. P. Mahoney. 2020. Adaptive management in conservation. Pages 93-106 in Silvy, N., editor. Wildlife Techniques Manual, 8th Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Ford., J. K., T. Lauricella, J. A. Van Fossen, and S. J. Riley. 2020. Creating energy for change: the role of perceived leadership support on commitment to an organizational change initiative. Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences p.0021886320907423.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2020 Citation: Goguen, A. D., and S. J. Riley. 2020. Characteristics and extent of receiving wild-harvested meat in Michigan. Wildlife Society Bulletin.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Ford, J. K., S. J. Riley, T. Lauricella, and J. Van Fossen. 2020. Factors affecting trust among natural resources stakeholders, partners, and strategic alliance members: A meta-analytic investigation. Invited paper to special issue. Frontiers in Communication 5: 9 doi: 10.3389/fcomm.
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Gillotti, L., T. Teel, and S. J. Riley. 2020. Human dimensions of cougar management: public attitudes and values. Chapter 6 in Jenks, J. A., editor. Managing cougars in North America. Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and Berryman Institute Press, 2nd edition.
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2020 Citation: Riley, S. J. 2020. Trust me on this one. Pages xx-xx in Taylor, W. W., A. K. Carlson, A. Lynch and C. P. Ferreri, editors. Lessons in Leadership: Integrating Courage, Vision, and Innovation for the Future of Sustainable Fisheries. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Riley, S. J., J. Van Fossen, J. K. Ford, and T. Lauricella. 2020. A matter of trust: as stakeholder values change, how do wildlife professionals stay relevant? The Wildlife Professional. January/February: 39-42. The Wildlife Society, Washington, D. C.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Decker, D. J., W. F. Siemer, E. F. Pomeranz, A. F. Forstchen, M. V. Schiavone, M. S. Baumer, C. A. Smith, S. J. Riley, and P. E. Lederle. 2019. Identifying habits and practices of effective fish and wildlife management professionals. Center for Conservation Social Sciences Publ. Series 19-3. Dept. of Nat. Resources., Coll. Agric. and Life Sci., Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY. 37pp.

Progress 10/01/18 to 09/30/19

Outputs
Target Audience:State wildlife agencies, such as the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Division, and other organizations at the local and federal levels who are engaged in public wildlife management. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project on habits and practices of highly performing wildlife conservation professionals forms the basis for professional development workshops that will be piloted during 2019-2020 in four states distributed in SE, NE, Midwest, and Western US regions. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?A report was published and disseminated via email, listserves, and posting on a permanent web site at Cornell University. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Surveys will be administered to assess 1) changing beliefs among wildlife conservation professionals, 2) capacity for partnering with state wildlife agencies, and 3) support for wildilfe conservation by non-hunting outdoor recreationalists. Data on the ecosystem goods and services of sharing wild-harvested meat in Michigan and Sweden will be completed and submitted for publication. Piloting of workshops on habits and practives of highly perfomring wildife conservation professionals will be completed and final workshop structure will be developed.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Chief accomplishments toward achieving the goals were recruitment of research assistants; myriad qualitative interviews; and development of quantitiative questionnaires to be administered in year 2. Data analyses and submission of a journal manuscript about the effects of sharing wild-harvested meat was also accomplished. Coolaboration with researchers at the Swedish Agricultural University resulted in a comparative study on sharing wild-harvested meat under different governance systems, and submission of another journal manuscript. Two collaborative research proposals were submitted and funded by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies to 1) assess habits and practices of wildlife conservation professionals recognized as highly effective, and 2) assess the beliefs and attitudes of wildlife conservation professionals towards various uses of wildlife in comparison with a study conducted in 1998.

Publications

• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Daniel J Decker, W. F. Siemer, E. F. Pomeranz, A. F. Forstchen, M. V. Schiavone, M. S. Baumer, C. A. Smith, S. J. Riley, and P. E. Lederle. 2019. Identifying habits and practices of effective fish and wildlife management professionals. Center for Conservation Social Sciences Publication Series 19-3. Department of Natural Resources, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. 37 pages.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2020 Citation: Lauricella, T., J. K. Ford, J. A. Van Fossen, and S. J. Riley. Submitted. Creating energy for change: the role of perceived leadership support through time. Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Lauricella, T., J. K. Ford, and S. J. Riley. Submitted. Insights from research on inter-organizational trust to natural resource management. Frontiers in Communications.
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Accepted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Gillotti, L., T. Teel, and S. J. Riley. 2020. Human dimensions of cougar management: public attitudes and values. In Jenks, J. A., editor. Managing cougars in North America. Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and Berryman Institute Press, 2nd edition.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2020 Citation: Ericsson, G., P. Ljung, A. Kagervall, C. Sandstr?m, and S. J. Riley. Submitted. Wild-harvested meat and public attitudes towards hunting in Sweden. Wildlife Society Bulletin.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2020 Citation: Goguen, A. D., and S. J. Riley. Submitted. Characteristics and extent of receiving wild-harvest meat in Michigan. Wildlife Society Bulletin.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2020 Citation: Mudumba, T., R. J. Moll, S. Jingo, S. J. Riley, D. W. Macdonald, C. Astaras, and R. A. Montgomery. Submitted. Acceptance of poaching is predicated upon a number of socio-economic characteristics. Biological Conservation.
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2019 Citation: Organ, J. F., D. J. Decker, S. J. Riley, J. E. McDonald, and S. P. Mahoney. 2019. Adaptive management in conservation. Pages xx-xx in Silvy, N., editor. Wildlife Techniques Manual, 8th Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Ericsson, G., C. Sandstr�m, and S. J. Riley. 2018. Rural-urban heterogeneity in stakeholder attitudes towards large carnivores in Sweden, 1976-2014. Chapter 10 (pages 190-205) in Hovardas, T., Editor, Large carnivore conservation and management in Europe: human dimensions and governance. Routledge Press.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Riley, S. J., J. K. Ford, H. A. Triezenberg, and P. E. Lederle. 2018. Stakeholder trust in a state wildlife agency. Journal of Wildlife Management. 82:15281535.

Progress 12/01/17 to 09/30/18

Outputs
Target Audience:The primary target audience is the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and similar state wildlife agencies across the US. Changes/Problems:The principle investigator on this project (Riley) was on formal medical leave January - June, which limited progress on project activities. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A session, focused on changing social attributes of Michigan and factors affecting trust and confidence in state wildlife agencies was presented at a joint meeting of Michigan Department of Natural Resources' Divisions of Wildlife and Forest Management in Traverse City. Two presentations were given at regional DNR staff focused on project status and initial findings related to strategic planning in Michigan. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Disseminations occurred through formal presentations, reports, professional papers, conferences, and numerous consultations with personnel from throughout the Wildlife Division. A complete report of the data was distributed by email to all DNR wildlife staff. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Create a webinar for dissemination through the Organization of Wildlife Planners. Initial data collection on conservation attitudes and willingness to contribute to conservation among non-hunting outdoor recreationalists in Michigan will commence in fall 2018. Training modules will be developed for agency training with appropriate collaborators across the US. A student will be recruited to be a research assistant on a national survey of value orientations of wildlife professionals.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? A change in knowledge and practice occurred in regards to management of white-tailed deer in suburban environments. Initial research results suggested localized approaches to conflict management would be more effective than broad-brushed approaches previous used by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR). Maps, depicting isoclines of tolerance for deer were produced and reported to stakeholders. Insights into the characteristics of human communities with conflicts were described quantitatively and qualitatively in terms of landscape features, demographics, affluence, as well as the extent and quality of interactions with white-tailed deer. Initial research efforts with non-hunter outdoor recreationalists included developing interview guides and questionnaire, contact lists and meetings to collect empirical data in fall 2018. Knowledge transfer occurred through presentations to the MDNR Wildlife Division at their annual division meeting, two separate regional meetings and extensive consultation with local area managers. A webinar was offered through the Organization of Wildlife Planners. Progress reports were produced, and preparation of a 2016 final report was completed and submitted to the sponsoring agencies. Two proposals were submitted to the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies: 1) develop training modules for integration of social science insights into structured decision making processes, and 2) survey existing wildlife professionals across the US to assess changing value orientations of wildlife agency professionals.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Riley, S. J., J. K. Ford, H. A. Triezenberg, and P. E. Lederle. 2018. Stakeholder trust in a state wildlife agency. Journal of Wildlife Management. DOI:10.1002/jwmg.21501.
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Ericsson, G., C. Sandstr�m, and S. J. Riley. 2018. Rural-urban heterogeneity in stakeholder attitudes towards large carnivores in Sweden, 1976-2014. Chapter 10 (pages 190-205) in Hovardas, T., Editor, Large carnivore conservation and management in Europe: human dimensions and governance. Routledge Press.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Goguen, A. D., S. J. Riley, J. F. Organ, and B. A. Rudolph. 2018. Wild-harvested venison yields and sharing by Michigan deer hunters. Human Dimension of Wildlife 23:197212.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2018 Citation: Mawdsley, J., J. F. Organ, D. J. Decker, A. Forstchen, R. Regan, S. J. Riley, M. S. Boyce, and J. E. McDonald, Jr. 2018. Artelle et al. (2018) miss the science underlying North American wildlife management. Science Advances. In press.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Montgomery, R. A., K. Elliott, M. Hayward, S. Gray, J. J. Millspaugh, S. J. Riley, B. Kissui, D. B. Kramer, R. Moll, T. Mudumba, E. Tans, A. Muneza, L. Abade, J. Beck, C. Hoffmann, C. Booher, and D. Macdonald. 2018. Examining evident interdisciplinarity among prides of lion researchers. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 27: https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2018.00049.
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2019 Citation: Organ, J.F., D.J. Decker, S. J. Riley, J.E. McDonald, and S.P. Mahoney. 2019. Adaptive management in conservation. Pages xx-xx in Silvy, N., editor. Wildlife Techniques Manual, 8th Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.