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This article explores the false consensus effect (FCE) in private landowner perceptions of hunting. The decisions made by private landowners regarding hunting on their properties can have a significant impact on landscape-level conservation strategies. The study conducted a mail survey of non-industrial landowners in North Carolina to examine their perceptions of hunting on neighboring properties. The results showed that both hunting and non-hunting landowners had inaccurate perceptions of the prevalence of hunting in their communities. These findings have implications for conservation efforts and suggest the need for improved communication and education regarding hunting among landowners. [Extracted from the article]

Environmental education research often emphasizes the importance of community context, but conceptualization and measurement of environmental literacy has mostly occurred at the individual level, often focusing on individual behaviors. The environmental problems facing the world today require collective action—communities coming together to address large-scale problems. Accordingly, understanding and encouraging collective action requires a shift in focus from individual to community-level environmental literacy (CLEL). Despite its importance, CLEL has been left largely undefined and unmentioned in environmental education literature. To understand the field's current conceptualizations and measurement strategies around CLEL, the authors held a convening of 24 researchers to discuss the topic. Here, we report the findings of this convening and present a series of tensions that emerged in conceptualizing and measuring CLEL. We see this area of research as rich with opportunity for innovation and offer considerations for researchers engaging in this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acquisition of public land is critical for wildlife conservation and can impact local tax bases and property values. Those impacts reflect the capitalized value of benefits (e.g., recreational opportunities) and costs (e.g., nuisance wildlife) of living near protected areas. We employed the hedonic price framework to determine how proximity and adjacency to public hunting land in North Carolina were capitalized into housing prices. We modeled sale price as the composite value of structural, neighborhood, and environmental characteristics. Proximity to public hunting land had positive effects on sale price in some locations, whereas adjacency had negative effects in some locations. These relationships were dependent on the sociocultural context of the public hunting land, including proximity to other forms of public land. This research may help facilitate negotiations among stakeholders impacted by protected areas, including land dedicated to wildlife-based recreation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Culture defines leisure-specific behaviors, relationships, institutions, identities, and understandings of reality, but culture's role in U.S. hunting and fishing is poorly understood among diverse groups. We measure the cultural fit of hunting and angling and examine statistical differences among five culturally diverse groups of North Carolina hunters and anglers (n = 1,048). Cultural fit scores for hunters were highest among White and Native American respondents. These hunters had long family traditions and role models. Fishing was a better fit than hunting among Hispanics and African Americans. Asians' scores were low for both activities. Our findings suggest a need to engage the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States (Asians and Hispanics) and to do so on their own terms, with forms of hunting and fishing tailored to unique subcultures. Specifically, sportsperson recruitment efforts with minority groups may benefit from less focus on heritage and more on building a community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hunter education classes are a compulsory education tool for all hunters in North America, Europe and some other regions. However, little research focuses on hunter education. We surveyed Swedish hunters, examining how they valued key aspects of hunter education, and identifying socio-demographic predictors for those preferences. Learning about dog handling and making friends in the hunting community were the least important aspects of hunter education. Information about firearms was most important followed by information about hunting ethics, hunting laws, and wildlife ecology. Agerelated positively to valuing most aspects of hunter education. Duration huntingrelated negatively to valuing those aspects. Hunters motivated by social interactions valued hunting ethics content more, and hunters motivated by obtaining trophies valued hunting ethics less than their counterparts. Hunter education in Sweden would benefit from changes aimed at highlighting aspects of hunting that students' value most. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pressing nature of climate change and its associated impacts requires a climate literate citizenry. Climate change education in K-12 settings may provide a unique opportunity to make inroads towards climate literacy. However, many K-12 teachers avoid teaching climate change because they are uncomfortable with the subject or do not see its relevance to their curriculum. Removing barriers to climate change professional development (CCPD) for teachers may help increase confidence in teaching about climate change. To understand the perceived barriers to participating in CCPD, a survey was conducted with 54 middle school science teachers who did not respond to a previous invitation to participate in a CCPD program. The most significant barrier was time to participate. The participants were also asked to rate their confidence about whether climate change is happening. The results were compared between teachers who were confident climate change was happening and those who were not to examine whether these beliefs influenced teachers' perceptions of barriers. Those who were confident climate change was happening were less likely to perceive administrative support, interest in the workshop, and knowledge of climate change content as barriers. However, both groups of teachers reported that time was the primary barrier rather than the topic. This suggests that, rather than developing unique strategies, existing best practices in teacher professional development can be used to support CCPD opportunities. Additional recommendations include thinking creatively about how to create time for teachers to attend and making the professional development directly relevant to teacher's local contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although gender gaps associated with K-12 science achievement have narrowed significantly, gaps in science engagement and efficacy in childhood likely explain why women remain underrepresented in science careers. Early intervention programs may address root causes of gender gaps in science careers. Outdoor science education (OSE) is one understudied but promising strategy, that provides ample opportunity for reform-based instructional practices that may benefit girls, including girls of colour. Using a pre–post, treatment-control quasi-experimental design, we evaluated how an OSE program differentially impacted the science grades, science knowledge, and science self-efficacy of fifth grade girls versus boys (n = 640). We found the OSE treatment increased knowledge and maintained science grades for girls while grades fell for girls in the control group. We also found that science self-efficacy decreased for both boys and girls in the treatment group. We did not detect direct or interaction effects of race on science outcomes. Research suggests OSE may help students associate science learning with challenge, which may help explain the decrease in self-efficacy coupled with the increase in achievement for girls. We suggest future research continue to investigate how OSE can benefit all students, including those who may become disengaged with learning in traditional classroom settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The internet serves as a dominant source of information and may shape tolerance of wildlife species. Our experimental study examined how respondents' tolerance for wolves (i.e., attitudes, acceptance, and behavior) changed after viewing wolf related YouTube videos. Respondents were randomly assigned to one of three video treatments where wolves were framed positively, neutrally (reference), or negatively. Video treatments affected people's tolerance of wolves: negative videos promoted declines in wolf tolerance and positive videos promoted increases in wolf tolerance. Political identification impacted change in tolerance independent of treatment. We observed an interaction between age and political identification, wherein older individuals at both ends of the political spectrum exhibited larger attitudinal responses than younger individuals, with older liberals becoming more positive and older conservatives more negative regardless of treatment. Our findings suggest the creation and dissemination of positive social media content may improve public tolerance toward controversial wildlife species like wolves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding adolescent climate change concern (CCC) may be a key strategy for building a citizenry that supports climate change action, as adolescents are likely less influenced by ideological polarization than adults. Prior research shows that climate education may build concern among adolescents, but other factors such as peer pressure may also be important. We investigated the relationships between CCC, acceptance of anthropogenic global warming (AGW), perceived level of acceptance among friends and family, and frequency of discussion of the issue among 426 middle school students in North Carolina, USA, and developed a novel instrument to measure each of these constructs. Acceptance of AGW had the strongest association with CCC. Frequency of discussion with friends and family was the second strongest predictor. Perceived level of acceptance among family and friends was the third strongest predictor. Model selection results suggest family had more influence than friends in this study. Girls perceived climate change as a higher risk than boys. In addition to building acceptance of AGW, leveraging discussions with peers and especially family may help build concern for climate change among future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although research suggests that family dynamics likely play a role in shaping children's behaviors, few studies focus on environmental behaviors, and none to our knowledge investigate how parents shape climate change mitigation behaviors among their children. We begin to fill this gap through a quantitative case study using matched household-level survey data from 182 coastal North Carolina families (n = 241 parents aged 29–77; n = 182 students aged 11–14) associated with 15 middle school science teachers. Family climate change discussions, parent behaviors, and children's climate change concern levels predicted the degree to which children will participate in individual-level climate mitigation behaviors. These results provide evidence that promoting climate-related conversations within households may promote climate action even when parents are apathetic about climate change. Similarly, parental behaviors, but not their concern levels, were important predictors of adolescent behaviors. This study highlights novel ways that family dynamics may promote climate change mitigating behaviors and a new pathway to promoting climate mitigation at familial, and ultimately, societal levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization and shifting landowner demographics are changing how and where hunting occurs. We surveyed nonindustrial private landowners (N = 1,843) in North Carolina, USA to examine how demographics and land-use predict whether hunting occurred and hunter density. The optimal logistic regression model correctly predicted whether hunting occurred on 96% of properties. Larger properties, male property ownership, longer ownership tenure, income generation from a property, and landowners originating from rural environments were positively related to whether a property was hunted. Properties with older landowners and properties surrounded by greater housing and road density were less likely to be hunted. Hunter density declined with property size, longer ownership tenure, and the presence of a landowner or family member(s) hunting the property. In the future, increases in hunter density on small properties may facilitate wildlife management through hunting as landscapes become more urbanized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental education (EE) practitioners struggle to consistently and rigorously evaluate their programs, particularly when little time is available for evaluation. Since environmental literacy (EL) is the goal of environmental education, a very short EL instrument – amenable to use when longer tests are not practical for practitioners – would address an important EE need. We describe the development and validation of the Environmental Literacy Instrument for Adolescents (ELI-A) that is short enough for use in field applications (i.e. 5–15 min) and measures four domains of environmental literacy (ecological knowledge, hope, cognitive skills, behaviour). Factor analysis, item response theory, and concurrent validity tests were used in the validation process. Structural equation modelling supported the fit between the ELI-A and prevailing EL frameworks. The results support a valid and reliable instrument that is short enough for practical use but comprehensive in measuring four primary components of EL. This instrument could help fulfil the call to evaluate EE programming in both formal and informal settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate communication research suggests strategic message framing may help build public consensus on climate change causes, risks and solutions. However, few have investigated how framing applies to adolescents. Similarly, little research has focused on agricultural audiences, who are among the most vulnerable to and least accepting of climate change. Among 950 high school agriculture students in North Carolina, we found agriculture and environment framing of climate change, but not community and health frames, elicited feelings of worry, and these together with community frames elicited hope. Further, students feeling more worry were more supportive of individual and collective action. Those accepting climate change and females had more emotive responses and higher support for all action measures, and acceptance of human causes predicted more worry and support for collective action. We find these results encouraging as agriculture teachers likely employ agriculture and environment frames when following best teaching practices. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Private protected areas (PPAs) are expanding rapidly in less-industrialized nations. This paper explores cases in Los Ríos, Chile, to understand how local people living in and near three PPAs viewed impacts of tourism development on human well-being and local governance asking: (1) Why and how do governing PPA actors engage local people in conservation and ecotourism? (2) How do local people perceive the impacts of PPAs? (3) How do perceived impacts differ between PPA ownership types and contexts? We used an Opportunities, Security and Empowerment research framework derived from local definitions of well-being. Results suggest that governing PPA actors (PPA administrations and Chilean government officials) viewed local people as threats to forest conservation goals, embraced exclusion from reserve governance, but encouraged self-governance among local people through educational campaigns promoting environmental stewardship and ecotourism entrepreneurship. PPA administrations avoided emerging participatory democracy approaches to ensure local resistance did not threaten their authority. Despite asymmetrical power relations, PPA–community partnerships were viewed locally as both improving and damaging well-being. Our findings suggest that the social impacts and consequences of PPAs facilitating ecotourism development should be subjected to the same level of scrutiny that has been given to public protected areas. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Wildlife value orientations (WVOs) shape attitudes and behavior toward wildlife. Although demographic correlates of WVOs are well established, these relationships are largely unknown among children and within family units. The only previous study addressing these topics used fathers’ perceptions as proxies for family member WVOs. We surveyed North Carolina households (n = 136) to test hypotheses regarding whether individuals can assess household WVOs and what variables shape WVOs within households. Fathers and mothers accurately assessed WVOs of their children. Membership in a household was the most important predictor of an individual’s WVOs (accounting for 37% [ρ = .37] of the variance predicted by the model). Younger age, being female, and lack of participation in hunting were associated with more protectionist WVOs. These results provide the first household level support for divergence between generations from utilitarian toward protectionist WVOs. Our results suggest that household unit may be a critical element to consider in WVO research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation (NAM) is a slippery construct, used both to explain how North American wildlife conservation developed and as a prescriptive framework. We argue both applications of the NAM are problematic. The roots of wildlife conservation in North America are more complex than those associated with the NAM, and minimizing contributions from diverse sources makes building a diverse wildlife conservation community more difficult than it would otherwise be. The NAM is not inclusive enough of diversity among wildlife species or stakeholders. Principles labeled the bedrock foundation of the NAM exist in flux and at the whim of political systems. Belief that the NAM reflects a foundation of laws more stable than the milieu of governance structures shaping wildlife management can encourage complacency among wildlife conservation advocates. Wildlife management exists in systems too complex to be beneficially defined by a terse list of principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infrastructure intended to serve the public good frequently has implications for environmental justice and social sustainability. Drinking water supplies for sub/urban areas in North Carolina, USA, have regularly been secured by constructing dams to impound reservoirs. We used high-resolution, publicly available US Census data to explore whether 66 such reservoirs in North Carolina have induced demographic shifts in the communities that find themselves adjacent to the newly created lakeshores. Our principal findings include: (1) The ratio of white people to non-white people was significantly higher in communities within 0.5 miles of reservoir shorelines than in more distant communities; (2) even as North Carolina overall became less white from 1990 to 2010, the ratio of white people to non-white people within the 0.5 miles of the shoreline increased relative to the overall ratio in the State; and (3) similar, but less distinct, shifts in per capita income occurred during the period. Our results are consistent with the proposition that reservoirs have induced demographic shifts in communities adjacent to newly created lakeshores similar to the shifts associated with environmental gentrification and amenity migration, and may now be associated with perpetuating those shifts. These findings raise concerns about environmental justice and social sustainability that should be considered when planning and building infrastructure that creates environmental amenities. Where reservoirs are being planned, social costs, including the costs of demographic shifts associated with environmental gentrification or amenity migration, and disproportionate regulatory burdens, should be mitigated through innovative policy if possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental and conservation education programs are commonly offered in the rapidly expanding network of protected areas in developing countries. There have been few evaluations of these programs and their impacts on participants. At Serra Malagueta Natural Park in Cape Verde, we assessed changes in environmental knowledge, opinions, and behaviors among visiting school children and a comparison group that did not visit the park. Participation in the park’s conservation education program has a positive impact on environmental knowledge after the visit. The program may also contribute to student knowledge by influencing classroom teaching in anticipation of the park visit. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Despite scientific support for the reality of climate change, public opinion remains polarized. Continued skepticism may be partially explained by lack of understanding of climate change science, and worldview and ideology, but factors contributing to risk perceptions also may differ depending on the subject of risk. This article compared how wildlife students in the eastern United States perceive climate change risk to wildlife versus humans. Left-leaning political ideology and acceptance of anthropogenic global warming predicted perceptions of climate change risks to humans. Contrastingly, scientific understanding was the most important predictor of wildlife-related risk perceptions. Students may have used an affective heuristic (i.e., emotions) in assessing climate change risks to society and a cognitive reasoning (i.e., logic and data) when considering climate change risks to wildlife, which suggests that climate change communicators should appeal to these different modes of thinking when considering risks to humans versus wildlife. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental management decisions on United States military lands are becoming increasingly important. We used qualitative methods to explore military perceptions on building and maintaining relationships with their local communities related to environmental issues. Informants believed that 2-way public relations (PR) were effective ways to build, improve, and manage relationships, but practiced 1-way PR. Perceived barriers to 2-way PR included lack of public interest, leadership turnover, and security concerns, which were considered unique to military contexts. We highlight how these findings contribute to scholarship on environmental public participation and relational models of PR, and offer recommendations for improving military conservation efforts and the relationships between installations and communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conflicts over wildlife conservation in protected areas can occur because stakeholders hold divergent values and value orientations. In this exploratory study, differences in value orientations among visitors to Chile’s Tamango National Reserve (TNR) were examined. Questionnaires were completed by visitors (n= 97) during the Chilean summer of 2012. Respondents were grouped into strong protection (63%) and mixed protection–use (37%) value orientation groups using cluster analysis. Mixed protection–use group members were more likely to be local residents, less formally educated, less likely to pay the reserve entry fee, and less supportive of huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) conservation policies compared to the strong protection group. Most TNR visitors would support policies that protect wildlife in the reserve, and development with deleterious effects on the huemul would be viewed less favorably. It is suggested that a post-material shift and place relations moderate relationships between value orientations and Chilean wildlife conservation policy preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Biomass harvesting guidelines (BHGs) have been developed to address concerns about the sustainability of harvesting woody biomass. Assessing preferences among BHG stakeholders is important for designing operationally feasible and socially acceptable standards in different contexts. We used choice modeling to determine how foresters, loggers, and landowners perceived the relative importance of stumpage price, wildlife habitat quality, percentage of coarse woody debris (CWD) remaining, and distribution of CWD in their choices of BHG scenarios. Responses (N= 718) indicated stumpage price was nearly double the importance of wildlife habitat quality, and three times more important than debris distribution and debris remaining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hunting deer with dogs (dog hunting) has a long tradition in the United States but has created conflict among deer hunters. Our objectives were to determine factors predicting support for dog hunting in North Carolina. Using a 2006 survey of North Carolina deer hunters, we evaluated factors that potentially influenced support for dog hunting (e.g., geographic region, hunting method, perceptions about deer populations and hunter participation, leasing practices). Nearly half (46%) of the deer hunters (n= 5,005) believed dog hunting should be illegal. Most deer hunters who opposed dog hunting neither dog hunted nor hunted in regions where dog hunting had a strong history. Concerns among non–dog hunters mostly focused on competition for deer hunting opportunities. Our results indicate a need to promote greater awareness among the diverse hunting groups and suggest dog hunters may be important allies in efforts to acquire large contiguous tracts of hunting land. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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]

Significant life experience research suggests that the presence of role models, time outdoors, and nature-related media foster pro-environmental behavior, but most research is qualitative. Based on a random sample of middle school students in North Carolina, USA, we found limited positive associations between presence of a role model and time outdoors with behavior and a negative association between watching nature television and environmental knowledge. The strongest predictors of environmental knowledge and behavior were student/teacher ratio and county income levels, respectively. We also found that Native Americans engaged in environmental behaviors more than Caucasians, and that African American and Hispanic students had lower levels of environmental knowledge. Accordingly, life experiences appear less important than promoting small class sizes and addressing challenges associated with lower incomes in schools. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Public attitudes toward wildlife ownership represent an important and poorly studied component of biodiversity conservation. We began addressing this knowledge gap by interviewing residents along 140 km of the United States side of the farthest southeastern border with Mexico (n = 402). After controlling for demographic variables, urban background (β = 0.13) and land ownership (β = −0.19) predicted attitudes regarding wildlife ownership (p < .05). Most exurban respondents considered wildlife public property (72%), and rural respondents were divided (48% considered wildlife public property). Non-Latino whites demonstrated a stronger positive correlation between land ownership and considering wildlife private property (r p  = 0.81) than Latinos (r p  = 0.23). These results suggest exurban immigrants will strengthen support for public ownership of wildlife in borderland contexts. The positive relationship between agricultural land ownership and thinking wildlife should be private property may weaken in borderland areas if Latinos regain agricultural land ownership. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As wildlife managers grapple with restrictions or bans on pursuing white-tailed deer and black bear with dogs (i.e., dog hunting), it is crucial that researchers and managers understand how dog hunting contributes to identity in rural communities. We addressed this need with a case study in coastal North Carolina. We conducted 78 informant-directed, open-ended interviews and analyzed data using the theory of narrated identity. Dog hunting defined relationships with family, friends, and nature, was used to integrate others into the community, to cope with major life events, and to distinguish between the dog hunting community and others. Our results indicate dog hunting helps define identity for some rural communities. The vulnerability expressed within dog hunter identity suggests an opportunity to regulate dog hunting in ways that promote broad-based social legitimacy for the activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge about wildlife represents a critical component of conservation. Although several variables (e.g., gender, education, length of residency) predict components of wildlife knowledge, previous research on the topic has rarely included multivariate analysis and has not focused on Latinos, the largest ethnic minority in the United States. We addressed this gap with a survey assessing the ability of residents on the Texas-Tamaulipas border to identify an ocelot. Few residents (13%, n = 402) could identify an ocelot. Males, those with higher education and income levels, longer-term residents, and residents owning rural and agricultural properties were most likely to identify ocelots correctly. These results suggest wildlife education and extension activities in borderland communities should target females, new residents, and residential property owners. Future research should address the extent these findings apply for Latino populations outside borderland contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental worldviews are rooted in culture, and religion defines many cultures. While several studies have addressed the relationship between religion and environmental worldviews, few studies controlled for nonreligious regional culture and political affiliation. We addressed this gap with a case study in the Teton Valley of Idaho and Wyoming, USA. After controlling for demographic factors, environmental worldviews significantly related to being Mormon (member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), being Christian, not being affiliated with organized religion, political affiliation, and regional culture (n = 401, F = 22.71, R2 = .41). Environmental worldviews, however, were not related to religiosity. Those not affiliated with organized religion were most environmentally oriented, Mormon respondents were the least environmentally oriented, and Roman Catholics and other Christians fell in the middle. Longer term residents scored significantly lower than newcomers, and Republicans scored significantly lower than Independents, who scored significantly lower than Democrats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the highlights of the Nordic Hunting in Society Symposium in Uppsala, Sweden in February 2010. Representatives of national level hunters associations, agricultural landowners associations and researchers were among the participants. The topics tackled included the role of human within ecosystems and wildlife management, the role of hunting in rural socioeconomic development and hunting ethics. The results of the symposium is said to suggest that Nordic wildlife management shareholders should place more emphasis on social science.