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Given that many wildlife management agencies consider hunting to be central to wildlife conservation, a growing body of research describes ethical hunting using characterization framing (created by outsiders). This article describes an identity frame (created by insiders) of ethical hunting in the United States, based on analysis of hunter education manuals and official statements of hunting nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Similar themes permeated texts from both sources (e.g., obeying law, fair chase). NGOs, however, placed significantly more emphasis on being skilled (15% vs. 6%) and being motivated by experiencing nature (10% vs. 2%), whereas government agencies placed significantly more emphasis on respecting landowners (28% vs. 15%). Agencies may frame ethical hunting as more socially interdependent and rule abiding because they perceive a need to prioritize government authority (law) and property owner interests. These findings highlight a need for identity frames focusing on how hunting impacts biodiversity and humane treatment of animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

North American wildlife is treated as a public trust resource (PTR), managed for the benefit of all people by government. Wildlife managers historically used restrictive regulations and enforced compliance to recover many species. Present-day societal needs include reducing some abundant game populations. Hunters often oppose this objective, creating tension between managing PTRs and gaining trust of hunters upon whose cooperation management depends. We assessed effects of normative and personal gains on cooperation of hunters through their purchase of antlerless deer licenses and their trust in the agency regarding bovine tuberculosis eradication from Michigan white-tailed deer. Logit modeling of hunter survey data indicated trust was influenced by procedural justice and personal gains. Only a single procedural justice variable was a statistically significant cooperation predictor. Findings suggest agencies may gain trust more readily than cooperation through procedurally just exercise of authority. Additional research is needed to identify meaningful gains associated with trust. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Public Trust Doctrine (PTD) vests states with a fiduciary responsibility to manage wildlife for the benefit of current and future generations. States have varied approaches to applying the PTD for wildlife management ranging from a traditional focus on hunters, anglers, and trappers to a progressive approach of broad inclusion of all potential stakeholders in their decision-making processes. We argue that states need to gather and incorporate more and better human dimensions (HD) information to fulfill their PTD responsibilities. We describe some of the barriers to increased use of HD and the changes in agency culture, staffing, data gathering, and decision-making processes necessary to integrate HD effectively and comport with the PTD. We conclude that in addition to increasing fulfillment of PTD responsibilities, increased use of HD information will help maintain agency relevance, increase political support, and secure broader agency funding. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

State wildlife agencies (SWAs) manage natural resources for the benefit of the common good. However, effective management in today’s complex world requires institutional capacity that can address specific challenges. Nongovernmental organizations can enhance SWAs’ ability to manage wildlife as a public resource for which competing demands exist. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) led a participatory process to identify a suite of landscape species representative of habitats and human-caused threats in the Adirondack Park of northern New York. This effort benefitted the management of resources under the public trust doctrine. WCS brought additional capacity, specifically personnel, resources, programming, and credibility with partners, to conservation initiatives focused on boreal birds, moose, and black bears over a 15-year period in the Adirondack Park, NY. This investment resulted in several long-term projects that enhanced the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation’s ability to provide improved management and multiple benefits from these resources to the public. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The public trust doctrine (PTD) is the common law basis for governments to hold wildlife in trust for the benefit of current and future generations of Americans. Wildlife as a public trust resource is the foundation of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. We examine principles that underlie a trustee’s role in the context of the PTD and governmental responsibility. We evaluate purposes of and needs for human dimensions inquiry in execution of a trustee’s wildlife stewardship responsibility. We conclude human dimensions research is essential for government to fulfill its responsibilities as trustee, particularly considering the breadth and often conflicting interests of stakeholders. Human dimensions research can serve an important function in identifying and affirming core societal values toward wildlife that underpin the PTD and in monitoring shifts in society’s values to ensure resiliency of the trustee role and relevance and legitimacy of institutional norms of wildlife resource governance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The trend in wildlife management over the last two decades has been to develop locally based approaches for responsiveness to local conditions, but some state wildlife agencies are finding the amount of staff time required to service this approach prohibitive. Although local engagement strategies have been lauded as assuring that public trust obligations of state government to citizens are met, we can expect that states with a local focus as their operational level of stakeholder engagement may opt to change their approach to reflect their resource limitations. We argue for comprehensive regional level effort to understand stakeholders augmented with local engagement processes where needed to deal with special circumstances in smaller areas within a region. Such an approach can be anticipated to have implications for stakeholder engagement and human dimensions research needs, which we discuss in the context of public trust resource administration and good governance of wildlife resources. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Decades of decline in the number of hunters in the United States have made hunter recruitment and retention (HRR) a high priority within the North American wildlife management community. Sociodemographic changes (e.g., urbanization, shifting racial/ethnic composition, parcelization of rural properties) suggest a need to re-examine conventional knowledge of HRR processes and develop insight that reflects contemporary contexts. In this article, we emphasize the “social habitat” for hunting and adopt a social–ecological model of hunting behavior to explore the myriad factors that interact to influence HRR at multiple scales. We examine the dynamic, hierarchical social structures that influence HRR, including forces that operate at the individual, micro (e.g., family), meso (e.g., community), and macro (e.g., society) levels. The review suggests that future research addressing HRR could expand to account for a broader, more diverse social habitat for hunting that includes these multiple scales. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Our research explored patterns in the development of social networks serving as the foundation for collaborative conservation. We conducted four case studies of conservation efforts associated with State Wildlife Action Plans in the United States. Data were collected on conservation objectives, key players, and their roles and interactions. Networks evolved through identifiable phases, which we labeled: organizational loyalty, reconsideration, partnership formation, and partnership utilization. During the partnership formation phase, networks had well-defined memberships, relied on structured opportunities for interaction and dialogue, and devoted attention to rules for dialogue. This phase was particularly important in contexts with multiple actors with diverse interests. In the partnership utilization phase, network memberships became more open, relied less on structured opportunities for interaction, and dialogue and decision-making became less formal. Our results can inform efforts to foster collaborative conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Japanese hunter numbers have been declining from a peak of 532,265 in 1970 to 166,386 in 2005. We analyzed demographic changes in hunter numbers from 1965 to 2005 using data from all 47 Prefectures. Most hunters were licensed for guns in 1965, but hunter numbers have declined in every Prefecture after 1975. The number of hunters who were licensed to trap increased in most Prefectures after 1985. A Hunter Recruitment Index (HRI) of younger age classes was positive in most Prefectures between 1965 and 1975. HRI of all age classes was negative in most Prefectures during the1980s, but those of older age classes mostly turned positive drastically after 1995. Trends in the number of gun hunters and recruitment of younger hunters affected hunter population dynamics until the 1980s. The increase in the number of those who desire to catch nuisance animals using a trap would have affected it since 1990. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2007, the Solicitor for the Department of Interior advocated for an interpretation of the phrase, “a significant portion of its range,” that would effectively narrow the definition of endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. We review the controversy concerning the government's interpretation of the “significant portion of its range” phrase, focusing on recent case law, the Solicitor's Memorandum, and relevant listing actions. We concentrate our discussion on two key conclusions reached by the Solicitor: (a) the term “range” in the phrase refers only to a species' current range, not its historical range and (b) the government is entitled to adapt its definition of the term “significant” on a case by case basis. We find that implementation of the Solicitor's interpretation could significantly reduce the number of species that qualify for protections and ultimately, result in a diminished capacity to provide for the conservation of threatened and endangered species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main question addressed in this research is whether the Forest Service has been able to maintain control over its wildlife conservation program in the face of increased interest and policymaking activity from the president and Congress. Determining who has influence over wildlife management decisions is assessed by examining the development of national forest policies over the past 30 years along with more recent shifts in rulemaking and the allocation of staff and budgetary resources. I conclude that political institutions have been increasingly successful in their efforts to shape wildlife program decisions through both policy and regulatory initiatives. This includes the willingness of public officials to make greater use of positive incentives to obtain agency cooperation as well as the threat of sanctions for agency noncompliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the stakeholder approach, a new approach to the wildlife management in the United States in view of bias in the funding structure. This new approach facilitates the expert managers to accommodate voice of people in the wildlife management funding in the light of growing interest among a diverse group of stakeholders. Discussing the traditional funding sources, the article also focuses on reliable alternative funding sources for state wildlife agencies. The article critically analyzes the outcomes of various wildlife programs and the related state Acts.

This research note examines hunters' and non-hunters' information sources and knowledge about chronic wasting disease (CWD). Data were obtained from surveys of Colorado (n = 1,315) and Wisconsin (n = 360) resident hunters, and resident non-hunters in Wisconsin (n = 253). In response to true/false knowledge statements about CWD, 32% of Wisconsin hunters, 40% of Wisconsin non-hunters, and 44% of Colorado hunters failed to answer at least half of the statements correctly. The most effective sources at improving Wisconsin hunters' CWD knowledge were the Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) website, WDNR secretary column, and local newspapers. The WDNR newsletter was the only source that improved Wisconsin non-hunters' CWD knowledge. In Colorado, effective sources included newspapers and the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) website and hunting regulations brochure. Understanding relationships among commonly used and effective sources of CWD information may allow wildlife agencies to better inform and educate their publics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines: (a) the extent to which chronic wasting disease (CWD) may influence individuals to hunt in other states or quit hunting permanently; (b) hunters' acceptance of strategies for managing the disease; and (c) whether hunters' responses differ by residency, species hunted, and state where they hunted. Data were obtained from mail surveys (n = 9,567) of resident and nonresident deer hunters in eight states and elk hunters in three states. Hunters were shown hypothetical scenarios depicting CWD prevalence levels and human death from the disease. At current prevalence levels in some states, few hunters would change their behavior. If conditions worsen (e.g., 50% prevalence across state, human death), up to 18% of hunters would hunt deer or elk in other states and 37% would quit hunting these species. Arizona and North Dakota hunters were most likely to alter their behavior. Given that CWD is not in these states, it may pose a new risk. In Wisconsin, where hunting is a tradition, hunters were least likely to change their behavior. Across most scenarios: (a) hunters were more likely to quit than switch states; (b) residents were more likely to quit and nonresidents would switch states; and (c) CWD testing and herd reduction were acceptable, whereas taking no action was unacceptable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife managers in the United States are devoting greater attention to wildlife in suburban areas, where wildlife in close proximity to people pose problems. Local community leaders and residents often demand to be involved with management decision-making. Wildlife managers attempt to facilitate development of community-derived management objectives and implement management actions tailored to local needs and circumstances. Promoting collaborative solutions in such a complex decision-making environment has several challenges: (1) individuals and groups involved in wildlife issues have markedly different attitudes and values regarding wildlife and its management, (2) participants in decision-making approach the process with differing expectations as to how they will be involved, and (3) the technical and social complexity of these issues demand the knowledge, experience, and skills of multiple players. These challenges for community-based wildlife management in suburban areas need not be viewed as insurmountable obstacles. The authors conducted 12 case studies of community-based collaborative deer management in the eastern United States to examine these challenges more fully. The results suggest that learning and capacity are two important components of effective collaborative, community-based deer management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impacts of chronic wasting disease (CWD) on hunters’ behavior and beliefs about acceptable management actions are not clearly understood. This article presents findings from an initial phase of a multi-stage, multi-state effort to address these knowledge gaps. Data were obtained from mail surveys (n = 659) of resident and nonresident deer hunters in eight states and elk hunters in three states. Hunters were presented with hypothetical situations of increasing: (1) CWD prevalence (all eight states), and (2) human health risks (two states). Logistic regression equations estimated that at current prevalence levels in some states, 3% (residents) to 5% (nonresidents) of hunters would stop hunting deer/elk in their state. If 50% of the deer or elk across the state were infected, approximately 42% (residents) and 54% (nonresidents) would stop hunting deer/elk in their state. In hypothetical situations where a hunter died from CWD at this prevalence level, the percentage was 68%. Potential for conflict indices (PCI) showed that as prevalence and human health risks increased, acceptability of testing and lethal management increased and acceptability of allowing CWD to take its natural course decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article documents the magnitude of and factors associated with declining hunting license sales in Alabama. Respondents were classified as active hunters, former hunters, or nonhunters. Active hunters were relatively satisfied with their recent hunting experiences and the wildlife management programs conducted by the state. In addition, they were supportive of a modest increase of hunting fees. Reasons given by former hunters for quitting the activity were lack of time, lack of public hunting areas, aging, and loss of interest. Nonhunters either did not have an interest in hunting or considered the killing of animals as cruel. Reasons for lack of participation by nonhunters do not indicate a high probability of recruiting hunters from the ranks of nonhunters. These results suggest that agencies and organizations that depend on hunters should put resources into keeping active hunters from becoming former hunters. Based on the results and comments from active and former hunters, it would seem that the best mechanisms for hunter retention are to provide opportunities for active hunters to participate in hunting and to keep hunting woven into the social fabric of community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife professionals need better ways to integrate ecological and human dimensions of wildlife management. A focus on impacts, guided by a structured decision process, will orient wildlife management toward rigorous, integrative decision making. Impacts are important socially defined effects of events and interactions related to wildlife that merit management. To manage impacts we propose adaptive impact management (AIM). This approach has seven primary components: situational analysis, objective setting, development of system model(s), identification and selection of management alternatives, actual management interventions, monitoring, and refinement of models and eventually interventions. Adaptive impact management builds upon strengths of systems thinking and conventional adaptive management, yet differs in that fundamental objectives of management are impacts on society, rather than conditions of a wildlife population or habitat. Emphasis is placed on stakeholder involvement in management and shared learning among scientists, managers, and stakeholders. We describe and assess adaptive impact management with respect to black bear management in New York. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife managers are finding that agencies using public opinion to form policy decisions often enjoy high public support. Whereas numerous studies have looked at either the public's knowledge of or the public's satisfaction with management activities, no one study has looked at these considerations collectively. Here we investigate the public's knowledge and opinions regarding wildlife management in Maine. We found that respondent knowledge of who actively manages wildlife in Maine exceeds that of Maryland, South Carolina, and Alabama. High agency recognition does not necessarily translate into equally high ratings of satisfaction with agency management activities. In addition, more than 25% of respondents answered "don't know" to factual questions, yet most were willing to give opinions on how management should be conducted. Low satisfaction ratings and more than 25% respondents answering "don't know" emphasizes the need for increased public education regarding management efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study empirically examined the theories of totemization: those who totemize wildlife (i.e., who not only oppose killing of wildlife, but also become antipathetic toward those who support the killing) and NIMBY (notin-my-backyard syndrome)—those who are negatively affected by wildlife would support killing of and oppose protection of the wildlife—as probable explanations for controversies over killing (e.g., culling, hunting, harvesting) of wildlife. As a case study to examine the validity of the theories, a survey was conducted among U.S. college students in 14 institutions on their attitudes about whaling and whales. Consistent with the theories, the participants who totemized whales not only disapproved of whaling, but also were antipathetic toward whaling and whalers. Further, those who had more acquaintances in fisheries (and thus were more likely to be negatively affected by the protection of whales) disapproved of protection of whales rather than of fisheries. These findings confirm the validity of the theories of totemization and NIMBY. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human dimensions is a general term used to describe the application of the social sciences to natural resource-related problems and issues and is one of the newest areas of emphasis in wildlife management circles. The main objectives of this study were to complete an inventory of university courses in human dimensions of fish and wildlife management in the United States, to collect descriptive information on the institutions and faculty offering these courses, and to document the educational format and focus of courses offered. The inventory identified approximately 25 natural resource-related programs in U.S. universities that offer courses focused solely on human dimensions; the majority of these have been instated within the last 15 years, demonstrating the increased attention and emphasis in this area. This inventory was conducted to provide a preliminary assessment of the capacity of U.S. institutions of higher learning to provide training in human dimensions for current and future wildlife managers and to identify any strengths or deficiencies in providing this critical instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an abstract of the study "Evaluation of the North Dakota Game and Fish Department Using a Communications Model."

The article deals with a study that examined the Defenders of Wildlife Bailey Wildlife Foundation Wolf Compensation Trust, which provides livestock compensation for Mexican gray wolf depredations in the Southwestern U.S. A 41% response rate was received by a survey of livestock producers. Results of the study showed that the compensation program is inadequate in meeting the needs of participants. The study also found that majority of respondents viewed compensation as a publicity stunt by environmental organizations.

This article presents a findings abstract of a study on the preparedness and capacity of wildlife agencies to manage chronic wasting disease (CWD) in the U.S. The authors sent questionnaires during 2004-2005 to 24 state wildlife and agriculture agencies to examine organizational capacity for prevention and control of CWD in relation to standard disease management protocols. They also investigated factors which were hypothesized to affect a state's preparedness for management of the disease. The findings suggest that states appear to take a mostly wait and see approach to preparedness.

Describes the use of Legal-Institutional Analysis Model (LIAM) to help facilitate citizen involvement in the management of grizzly bears in Wyoming. Information on LIAM; Information on the LIAM workshops conducted in Wyoming.

The article analyzes the responses of respondents to a public opinion poll about the implications of attitudes about children learning to hunt for game management. The poll reveals that the changing deer population dynamics combined with changing patterns of human hunting may create conditions that make management of deer populations in the U.S. by the traditional means of public sector licensing of citizen hunters increasingly ineffective in a number of states. Factors that contribute to the decline population of hunters in the country are mentioned.