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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]

Information about how bird species respond to increasing density conditions through either space‐use sharing or increased territoriality, and how those changes affect fitness, is essential for effective conservation planning. We used a case study of endangered Red‐cockaded Woodpeckers Leuconotopicus borealis (RCW) to address these questions. We documented over 36 000 locations from 44 RCW groups in three density conditions on two sites in South Carolina, USA, between April 2013 and March 2015. The frequency of neighbouring group interactions differed among density conditions and was highest for high‐density groups. RCW home‐ranges and core‐areas were larger under low‐density conditions (x¯Home‐range = 88.4 ha, x¯Core‐area = 21.0 ha) than under medium (x¯Home‐range = 68.29 ha, x¯Core‐area = 16.6 ha) and high‐density (x¯Home‐range = 76.3 ha, x¯Core‐area = 18.6 ha) conditions. Neighbouring RCWs maintained overlapping home‐ranges with nearly exclusive core‐areas across density conditions, but overlap tended to increase as neighbouring group density increased. Under high‐density conditions, home‐range overlap correlated inversely with clutch size (β ± se = −0.19 ± 0.09), nestling production (β ± se = −0.37 ± 0.09) and fledgling production (β ± se = −0.34 ± 0.08). Our results indicate that RCWs dedicate more effort to territorial defence under high‐density conditions, potentially at the expense of greater foraging efficiency and time allocated to reproduction, as evidenced by reduced fitness. Large home‐range overlap indicated limited territoriality farther away from cavity trees, but the existence of exclusive core‐areas suggests that RCW groups defend habitat closer to cavity trees. Thiessen partitions used to allocate critical foraging habitat offered comprehensive habitat protection for RCW but appear flawed for spatially explicit habitat assessments because they do not accurately delineate space used by individual RCW groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: Wildlife‐related tourism represents an important and growing economic sector for many rural communities and may be inadequately considered during regional planning. Providing robust estimates of wildlife values can help address this challenge. We used both market and nonmarket valuation methods to estimate the value of tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus) in North Carolina, USA, and compared tundra swan values among hunters, wildlife watchers, and general public. Wildlife watchers reported the greatest willingness‐to‐pay (US$35.2/wildlife watcher/yr), followed by hunters (US$30.53/hunter/yr), and residents (US$16.27/resident/yr). We used the Impact Analysis for Planning system software to estimate market values or economic activity associated with tundra swans. Tundra swan hunters spent an average of US$408.34/hunter/year. Depending on assumptions over the substitutability of tundra swan hunting, we estimate that it generates value added of between US$306,155/year and US$920,161/year for the state economy. Wildlife watchers spent an average of US$171.25/wildlife watcher/year. We estimate that this generates value added of between US$14 million/year and US$42.9 million/year for the state economy, again depending on assumptions about whether watching tundra swans would be substituted with other leisure activities in eastern North Carolina or out‐of‐state. Compared with studies of international nature tourism, we found relatively low leakage rates (i.e., loss of economic benefits outside the study region), suggesting that enhancing opportunities for hunting and wildlife‐viewing may be an effective economic development strategy for rural areas in the United States. Presenting both market and nonmarket values provides a more complete picture of the value of wildlife and may facilitate more effective management decisions; therefore, we recommend that both market and nonmarket values be considered to optimize tradeoffs between development and wildlife recreation. © 2018 The Wildlife Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Illegal hunting is a widespread problem, with motivations varying across regions. We investigated the patterns and reasons for hunting in Afghanistan, where it is generally illegal but pervasive in the wake of decades of civil war. To assess motivations for hunting, firstly we conducted a systematic review of the literature, extracting information from 32 studies that discuss the relative importance of various reasons for hunting in Afghanistan; we analysed findings from these studies using the meta-analytic method of vote-counting. Secondly, using face-to-face interviews or a web-based questionnaire, we surveyed key informants in Afghanistan about the motivations identified in the literature. We obtained responses from 57 people familiar with hunting, including government officials, vendors in wildlife markets, and hunters. Findings from the meta-analysis and the survey were broadly consistent, both identifying the market for fur and other by-products as one of the most important motivations for hunting. However, much of the published literature focuses on hunting of carnivores, and emphasizes retaliation as a motivation for hunting. Key informants were more likely to cite subsistence consumption and to suggest that providing education and livelihood alternatives would reduce hunting. Our results highlight the importance of a multi-pronged policy response that recognizes variation in motivations for hunting different species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Engaging adolescents is critical to encouraging future climate change adaptation and mitigation behaviours. Adolescents are typically more receptive to climate change messages than adults, but educators and communicators need research-based strategies for optimizing engagement, including information about what factors are most influential in changing behaviours. To better understand how communication with teachers, friends and family, climate change knowledge and climate change concern predict climate change behaviour, we administered a survey to a random sample of middle school students in North Carolina, USA (n = 1371). We measured climate change behaviour with a multi-item scale asking respondents about energy conservation, alternative transportation and engagement with environmental issues. We found that climate change concern and discussing climate change with family and friends predicted climate change behaviour. We also found that students from urban, high socioeconomic status schools were more likely to engage in climate change behaviour than students in urban, low socioeconomic status schools or rural schools. These results suggest that education efforts should leverage communication with family and friends in programming designed to encourage climate change behaviour. Further, efforts to promote climate change behaviour among low socioeconomic status urban and rural adolescents may be warranted, but would benefit from further investigation into the ideological, physical and knowledge-based drivers of behaviour differences documented in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used a qualitative case study on Andros Island, The Bahamas, to explore illegal harvest of marine resources as it relates to colonialism. Data collection included interviews with local informants who participated in harvest of marine resources (n = 62), observations and field notes. Residents considered illegal harvest of marine resources ubiquitous, and viewed using marine resources when and where they choose as an appropriate continuation of traditional livelihoods. Residents also perceived both overharvest and regulations constraining harvest as issues pertaining to outside colonial influences. These findings suggest an increased focus on colonial governance may provide insight and more sustainable solutions for marine resource management where traditional harvesting activities are designated as illegal by outside regulators. [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]

Conservation agencies routinely evaluate the costs and benefits of land management and land acquisition options for wildlife management areas (WMAs). Non-market values, for example visitors' consumer surplus, are often absent from these comparisons. Better estimates of willingness to pay (WTP) for WMAs will allow managers to quantify consumer surpluses for different user groups, identify opportunities to generate additional conservation funding, and improve communication with users. We used the contingent valuation method to estimate the WTP for conservation of WMAs by different user groups. We used interval censored regression to estimate WTP for each user group and modeled how WTP varied with visitation frequency, demographics, and type of use. Dual users, those who participated in both licensed (hunting, angling, or trapping) and non-licensed (all other) activities, had greater WTP ($200.07, 95% CI [$161.18, $238.95]) than users who exclusively participated in either a single non-licensed ($74.74, 95% CI [$50.45, $99.02]) or a single licensed activity ($68.21, 95% CI [$48.41, $88.00]). Willingness-to-pay increased with the number of visits to WMAs per year, college education, and income. The most popular donation motivations were that respondents cared about WMA conservation (72%), wanted WMAs to be around for future generations (70%) and personally benefited from the conservation of WMAs (64%). Similar to a scope test, this study demonstrated greater WTP by users who participate in more diverse recreation types on WMAs. Additionally, our findings show that WMA users, particularly users who engage in multiple activities including at least one that does not require a license, enjoy large consumer surpluses and thus could be drawn on for additional financial support for WMA conservation. • Wildlife management areas (WMA) are a primary tool for conserving wildlife habitat. • We estimated willingness-to-pay (WTP) for WMA conservation using contingent valuation. • Users who participated in both licensed (hunting/angling) and non-licensed activities, had greatest WTP. • WTP increased as frequency of WMA recreation increased. • All users derive benefits (both use and non-use value) from WMA conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism has been recognized as an important economic sector, requiring a high degree of involvement from the entrepreneurial sector to diversify tourism products and services to meet increasing demand. Tourism is often considered a tool for economic development and a strategy to improve the livelihoods of rural citizens. Specifically, nature-based tourism, such as wildlife tourism, is growing faster than tourism in general, providing a myriad of opportunities for small-scale entrepreneurial engagement. However, several obstacles exist for these small-scale tourism enterprises, such as a lack of social capital. This study examined a network of wildlife tourism microentrepreneurs for bonding and bridging forms of social capital using a social network analysis approach, where bonding and bridging social capital have their own interpretation. Thirty-seven in-person interviews were conducted with wildlife tourism microentrepreneurs from North Carolina’s Pamlico Sound Region. The study revealed that microentrepreneurs interacted with each other in a bridging network structure. The ability to reciprocate with other members of the network was essential for business success. The results identified four key bridging ties connecting potential sub-groups in the network, connected to each other in a redundant fashion. We concluded that the formation of a bridging network structure was a function of entrepreneurial phenomena that may not promote a highly trusted, well-connected network. The findings and implications are further discussed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of private land is a significant conservation concern globally. To conserve the ecosystem services associated with private lands, conservationists must understand landowner conceptions of stewardship and its role in decisions about land and natural resources. We began addressing this need with a survey of North Carolina Farm Bureau county advisory board members in North Carolina (n = 735). Nearly all respondents self-identified as stewards of the land (97%). More respondents indicated their stewardship responsibility was owed to future generations (87%) and family (77%), rather than to the community (41%) or society (26%). Respondents associated stewardship more with using natural resources wisely (78%) than leaving natural resources untouched (31%). Plans to bequeath land to relatives, the importance of soil conservation, and past participation in conservation programs were the most consistent predictors of how respondents viewed stewardship. Our results suggest that stewardship may be more effective when framed more as a benefit to family and future generations than to society and the community. Similarly, stewardship may be more effective for achieving conservation as opposed to the preservation of natural resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]