Immediately following the 1971 upland game season a questionnaire booklet was mailed to 2076 Utah farmers and ranchers (landholders) in five southern and six northern counties. Approximately 50 percent were returned containing usable Information. Five categories of hunter access restriction were considered: 1) fee systems, 2) leases to private clubs, 3) pheasant hunting units, 4) posting ''Hunting by Permission Only," and 5) posting "No Hunting" or "No Trespassing. " Restriction of hunter access to private property occurred twice as frequently in northern counties as in southern counties. Nearly six of every ten northern landholders had an active hunter restriction program. Sixteen demographic and attitude variables were compared with landholder restriction practices. Ten variables were significantly related to landholder restriction practice at the 90 percent level or higher. These relationships suggest the landholder's prime motivation for restricting hunter access was his desire to protect his investment in buildings, equipment, livestock or crops. Restriction practices compared between northern and southern landholders showed that stringent hunter restrictions resulted from concentrated hunter activity characteristic of densely populated, industrialized areas. Landholders, invited to suggest alternate conditions under which bunters could gain access to restricted land, pointed out that the single most important condition was for the hunter to request permission from the landholder to hunt. Approximately 88 percent of northern and 91 percent of southern landholders favored the concept of hunting. A Likert five-point Attitude Index, used to· assess landholders' attitudes toward hunting, showed landholders in northern industrial counties (Salt Lake, Utah, Weber) scored 39. 9 of 55.0 possible points. Landholders in northern agricultural counties (Cache, Box Elder, Tooele) scored 40. 9 points . Southern landholders socred 41. 0 points. Students T-tests between landholder categories (HILl = u 2 and a= 0. 05) revealed no significant differences. There was no significant relationship between a landholder's attitude score and his hunter restriction policy. Attitude toward hunting was important in determining by what methods landholders restricted hunter access. Landholders with low attitude scores (unfavorable or undecided) tended to post "No Hunting" or "No Trespassing." Those with favorable attitudes tended to use the "Hunt by Permission Only" restriction.

Privately owned lands provide a number of benefits to humans, including food, clean air and water, and building materials. Private lands are also home to a host of wildlife species and the habitats that they rely upon for survival. As such, balancing human and ecological needs on private lands is of critical importance. Stewardship is a term popularly used to refer to this balanced approach of managing land for a host of benefits. When landowners lack the interest, ability, or willingness to incorporate stewardship into their management strategies, incentives are often provided to spur greater conservation outcomes. This two-part case study is focused on private land stewardship. Using qualitative data analysis, I first examined the behaviors that a sample of production-oriented ranchers defined as stewardship. I then explored the environmental values underlying their behaviors. Utilitarian values dominated the four broad themes that emerged from respondents' operationalization of stewardship, including: maintaining economically productive rangelands, protecting water resources, maintaining an aesthetically pleasing property, and providing for wildlife. Next, I sought to better understand the impact of incentives on durable conservation behaviors. As incentives can reduce intrinsic motivation, I used Self-Determination Theory as a framework for surveying participants in an existing conservation incentive program. The results suggest that landowners maintained their willingness to continue protecting a threatened bird species following the removal of an incentive. Each paper concludes with an analysis of findings within the context of the empirical literature, and present potential practical implications for future conservation efforts. / Master of Science

The Landowner Incentive Program (LIP) was developed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in 1997 in response to controversy and conflict between wildlife conservation agencies and landowners. The incentive was meant to encourage voluntary enhancement or establishment of habitat for rare species in the state, by providing technical assistance and a 75% cost-share. To evaluate the program in its first decade of existence, I gathered feedback from stakeholders via interviews, a mail survey, and case studies of LIP projects that focused on the black-capped vireo. The stakeholders I identified as administrators of the program, field personnel who acted as liaisons between administrators and landowners, and the landowners themselves. I used a qualitative theme analysis for interviews and open-ended survey responses to capture salient topics from the various perspectives. I analyzed closed-ended mail survey responses with descriptive statistics and ANOVA. For the case studies, I conducted vireo and habitat surveys and report the results with descriptive statistics or anecdotes. Stakeholders were generally pleased with the program in its first decade regarding rare species habitat improvements. Most of the 126 projects were completed and resulted in an increase of habitat for a variety of species across the state. The funding sources changed over the decade, bringing with them new directives, but in general LIP investments benefitted rare and declining species, whether listed under the ESA or not. Relations between landowners and conservation agencies also seemed to be improved in some cases and to be created in others. Every program has its difficulties to work through as it evolves, and LIP is no exception. The first 7 years of the program were state-administered and encountered a variety of modifications due to personnel changes and differing opinions on program priorities. In 2002, LIP became a national program, requiring Texas to compete for funds, and also federal clearance requirements that caused many administrative delays. My recommendations for program improvement included improved monitoring of project outcome, immediate evaluation of participants, increased communication and cooperation among various agencies who work with landowners, and dedicated staff to assist all other stakeholders in the LIP process.

The behavior of humans and animals is an important component of conservation. The way people behave can cause environmental harm, but it also can be a solution to conservation challenges. Similarly, wildlife can respond to changing environments in ways that are detrimental to their survival, but they can also in some cases adapt or even thrive in human-impacted environments. In this dissertation, I discuss the ways in which human and hellbender behaviors relate to conservation. First, using survey and interview data, I explore the reasons why private landowners allow access to their property for research. I find that landowners are more likely to allow research on their property if they have previously allowed research, if they are interested in learning about the research taking place, if they have larger properties, and if they had positive attitudes towards conservation. Conversely, they are less likely to allow access to their property if they are concerned that doing so might restrict free use of their property. Other possible predictors that I investigate, such as landowner demographics, landowner trust in science, and landowner attitudes towards hellbenders are not significant predictors of allowing research. I next explore the effects of engaging landowners in research either via citizen science or "traditional" private lands research where scientists work on the landowner's property, but the landowner is not involved in data collection. I assess the effects of these types of engagement on landowner conservation knowledge, attitudes, awareness, and behavioral intentions and compare the effects across these two treatment groups and a control. I find similar changes in both the traditional and citizen science treatment groups, with involvement in the research leading to greater conservation knowledge, increased awareness of conservation concerns, more positive attitudes towards conservation, and/or more conservation behavioral intentions. However, I observe limited behavior change in any treatment group, and I identify a lack of efficacy and a hesitancy to accept responsibility for water quality degradation as possible barriers to behavior change. My investigations of animal behavior utilize custom-built underwater infrared camera technology to study hellbender reproductive behavior. I first add to current understanding of hellbender breeding behavior by describing the basic hellbender mating sequence, identifying the presence of potential alternative mating tactics, and describing two novel behaviors, including possible signal production via wave-based communication and a unique egg laying behavior by female hellbenders. I then measure the extent to which hellbender males (which provide the parental care) may help protect their offspring from low oxygen and high siltation, and I assess the possibility of trade-offs between parental care behaviors that benefit the eggs and self-maintenance behaviors that benefit the parent. I find that guarding male hellbenders increase both their parental care behaviors and their self-maintenance behaviors in response to low dissolved oxygen, but that they also show evidence of a trade-off between the two, with males ceasing parental care in favor of self-maintenance at sufficiently low levels of dissolved oxygen. Males show no parental response to high levels of silt. My findings add to our understanding of human and animal behavior and highlight the importance of behavioral flexibility to conservation. I find that hellbenders can to some extent modify their behaviors to compensate for the impacts of poor stream management on their own and their offspring's health, and I find that engaging landowners in research can encourage changes in awareness, attitudes, and behavioral intentions regarding conservation. / Doctor of Philosophy / The behavior of humans and animals is an important component of conservation. The way people behave can cause environmental harm, but it also can be a solution to conservation challenges. Similarly, wildlife can respond to changing environments in ways that are detrimental to their survival, but they can also in some cases change to survive or even thrive in human-impacted environments. In this dissertation, I discuss the ways in which human and hellbender behaviors relate to conservation. First, using survey and interview data, I explore the reasons why private landowners allow access to their property for research. I find that landowners are more likely to allow research on their property if they have previously allowed research, if they are interested in learning about the research taking place, if they have larger properties, and if they had positive attitudes towards conservation. Conversely, they are less likely to allow access to their property if they are concerned that doing so might restrict free use of their property. Other possible predictors that I investigate, such as landowner age and sex, landowner trust in science, and landowner attitudes towards hellbenders are not significant predictors of allowing research. I next explore the effects of engaging landowners in research either via citizen science, where landowners help collect data, or "traditional" private lands research where scientists work on the landowner's property, but the landowner is not involved in data collection. I assess the effects of these types of engagement on landowner conservation knowledge, attitudes, awareness, and planned actions and compare the effects across these two treatment groups and a control. I find similar changes in both the traditional and citizen science treatment groups, with involvement in the research leading to greater conservation knowledge, increased awareness of conservation concerns, more positive attitudes towards conservation, and/or more conservation planned actions. However, I observe limited behavior change in any treatment group, and I identify a lack of perceived ability to make a difference among landowners and a hesitancy to accept responsibility for water quality decline as possible barriers to behavior change. My investigations of animal behavior use custom-built underwater night-vision cameras to study hellbender baby-making. I first add to current understanding of hellbender breeding behavior by describing basic hellbender mating activities, identifying the possibility that some males sneak into other male's nests to mate, and describing two new behaviors, including possible signal production via sound or vibration and a unique egg laying behavior by female hellbenders. I then measure how much hellbender males (which provide the parental care) may help protect their eggs from low oxygen and high dissolved dirt, and I assess the possibility of trade-offs between parental care behaviors that benefit the eggs and self-maintenance behaviors that benefit the parent. I find that guarding male hellbenders increase both their parental care behaviors and their self-maintenance behaviors in response to low dissolved oxygen, but that they also show evidence of a trade-off between the two, with males stopping parental care in favor of self-maintenance at low levels of dissolved oxygen. Males show no parental response to high levels of dissolved dirt. My findings add to our understanding of human and animal behavior and highlight the importance of behavioral flexibility to conservation. I find that hellbenders can to some extent change their behaviors to compensate for the impacts of poor stream management on their own and their children's health, and I find that engaging landowners in research can encourage changes in awareness, attitudes, and planned behaviors regarding conservation.

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) plays a vital role in restoring grasslands by removing highly erodible land from production; however, landscape-scale conservation success depends on participation. Fluctuating trends in participation suggest a need to better understand landowners' motivations for enrolling. Since participation hinges on agricultural producers' perceptions of programs, there is utility in understanding programs through their lens to ensure program design accounts for their needs. To understand what drives enrollment, I conducted immersive ethnographic fieldwork in farming and ranching communities of southwest Kansas and southeast Colorado. Through interviews and participant observation, I examined producers' reasons for participating, program perceptions, and the degree to which CRP fits with their lived experiences. I also explored challenges faced by field staff of the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in working within the program structure. I used open coding to identify common themes and quotes to capture producers' and field staff's points of view. I identified several frames through which producers think about CRP and themes related to how CRP fit well or poorly with producers' and field staff's lives. Frames characterized producer perceptions of CRP as a financial savior, a way to maintain financial solvency, and to gain leverage for their operation. Additionally, CRP was framed as a retirement fund and a conservation program that provides a solution for erodible land. Lived experiences related to wind erosion and the Dust Bowl, perceived community impacts of CRP, and the cultural and economic history of the region, also influenced how producers make sense of and 'frame' the program. Guaranteed payments to maintain cover incentivize participation, especially for land which some producers believe should have never been farmed, or 'broke out', in the first place. Even so, the economic and cultural aspiration to farm may prompt program avoidance or re-cultivation of prior CRP land. In identifying program fit, many felt the program serves a noble purpose but is complicated by rules which lack 'common sense'. While producers valued the program's role in soil stabilization and increased wildlife habitat, CRP requirements during the grass establishment phase and mid-contract management do not always align with producer and field staff visions. Mixed opinions existed around suitable grass species and management practices such as disking, interseeding, and grazing. A dominant theme emerged from producers, echoed by field staff, in the benefits of grazing and need for CRP to increase flexibility to maximize grazing compatibility. Broader program concerns included a shifting program focus, inconsistent enforcement of rules, and one-size-fits-all management. Personal relationships between FSA, NRCS, and producers were generally regarded as positive, and staff members value their role in working with producers to harmonize program requirements with producer needs, within the bounds of the program. Juggling various programs with limited time and other procedural issues leave many field staff feeling overwhelmed and understaffed. Field staff expressed a desire for greater one-on-one time with producers to better communicate program requirements or amend management plans. Both producers and field staff felt CRP could be enhanced to achieve a greater conservation benefit, alleviate staff burdens, and improve overall satisfaction if program rules had both greater flexibility and regional tailoring to correlate with the variable climate and local conditions. In exploring CRP 'frames' and 'fit', this case study provides a window into the interplay of producers' lived experiences in the shadow of the Dust Bowl, and a ubiquitous conservation program's impact on the way land is used. / Master of Science

In Texas, landowner associations for the management of common-pool resources such as wildlife and groundwater have become increasingly popular. Successful management of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) depends upon the collective decision-making of landowners. Likewise, aquifer reserves are a trans-boundary resource subject to the "rule of capture." Numerous factors may affect the success of common-pool associations, including property ownership and habitat characteristics, landowner demographics, and social capital. I used a mail questionnaire to explore the relationship between these factors and their effect on association activities and management practices for eight Wildlife Management Associations (WMAs) occurring within the Lower Post Oak Savannah (LPOS) and the Central Post Oak Savannah (CPOS). In addition, I compared responses of members of WMAs in CPOS to members of the Brazos Valley Water Alliance (BVWA), a groundwater association situated in the region. Compared to CPOS, members of WMAs within the LPOS belonged to much larger groups, were generally more recent landowners that met more often, raised more money using more funding methods, and tended to have longer association membership than CPOS landowners, yet they had lower social capital. CPOS landowners owned significantly more land and considered relaxation/leisure and hunting more important land uses than LPOS landowners. The smaller group size in CPOS may be the most important factor in building social capital. Intra-association trust was positively influenced by the longevity of property ownership, the number of association meetings, the percentage of males in the association, and other factors. Negative influences on trust included absentee ownership and Habitat Cover Index, which was a measure of the amount of wooded habitat present. In CPOS, members of the BVWA were part of a much larger, more heterogeneous, and more recently formed group than members of WMAs. They also placed greater importance on utilitarian aspects of their properties, as opposed to land stewardship for conservation as practiced by members of WMAs. If associations are kept small ( < 50) with more frequent meetings, greater social capital and information sharing may be achieved, which may lead to increased land stewardship practices. However, landowners may be motivated more by their shared values independent of any benefit from their association.

Pollinator conservation has recently become a topic of greater interest and research around the world as native insect pollinator species increasingly face population declines. In the United States, growing concerns regarding food security and decreased biodiversity have led to the creation of programmatic and best management practices (BMPs) promotional efforts among governmental and non-governmental organizations. These efforts seek to support pollinators on public and private lands by addressing the primary causes of decline (e.g., habitat loss and increased chemical use). Although these organizations have worked diligently to increase awareness and applicability of programs to private landholders, there is still a gap in pollinator BMP adoption. The purpose of my dissertation was to address the pollinator BMP adoption gap through empirical research with two primary goals: 1) develop and test a measurement instrument to investigate the current state of adoption in Mississippi, landholder attributes, and attribute influence on adoption intentions, and 2) conduct segmentation analyses to develop preliminary recommendations for future educational and outreach efforts to increase adoption of pollinator BMPs. I used two sociological theories to develop a questionnaire consisting of constructs measuring landholder attributes, including Attitudes, Injunctive Norms, Perceived Behavioral Control, Intentions, Knowledge, and Communication Channel Use. I conducted a selfministered mail survey during summer 2018 and received a 38.5% effective response rate. Relative to the first goal, major findings from the research included evidence of reliability and validity for the measurement constructs, landholders having more favorable than unfavorable Attitudes regarding the use of pollinator BMPs on their properties, and Perceived Behavioral Control as the strongest influence on adoption intentions compared to additional landholder attributes. Relative to the second goal, major findings included the generation of four distinct clusters and three land use type segments that allowed for group comparisons and development of a recommended two-step targeted educational and outreach approach. My dissertation provided theoretical and substantive advances to the fields of adoption research and pollinator conservation from which future research and outreach efforts can grow.

State and federal agencies spend considerable time and resources to enhance and create habitat for wildlife. Understanding how target and non-target species respond to these efforts can help direct the allocation of limited conservation resources. However, monitoring species response to habitat management comes with several logistical challenges that are exacerbated as the area of geographic focus increases. I used autonomous recording units (ARUs) to mitigate these challenges when assessing Eastern Whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus) response to forest management. I deployed 1,265 ARUs across managed and unmanaged public and private forests from western North Carolina to southern Maine. I then applied a machine learned classifier to all recordings to create whip-poor-will daily detection histories for each survey location. I used detection data and generalized linear models to examine regional, landscape, and site factors that influenced whip-poor-will occurrence. Whip-poor-wills were detected at 399 (35%) survey locations. At the regional scale, occupancy decreased with latitude and elevation. At the landscape scale, occupancy was negatively associated with the amount of impervious cover within 500m, and was positively associated with the amount of oak forest and evergreen forest cover within 1,750m. Additionally, whip-poor-will occupancy exhibited a quadratic relationship with the amount of shrub/scrub cover within 1,500m. At the site-level, occupancy was negatively associated with increased basal area and exhibited a quadratic relationship with woody stem density. Whip-poor-will populations can benefit from the implementation of forestry practices that create and sustain early successional forests within forested landscapes, especially those dominated by oak forest types. The use of ARUs helped overcome several challenges associated with intensive broad-scale monitoring efforts for a species with a limited survey window, but also presented new challenges associated with data management, storage, and analyses.

No description available.

A compensação extrapropriedade é uma das alternativas legais para regularização de imóveis rurais com déficit de reserva legal. Com a recente revogação do Código Florestal, as compensações podem envolver imóveis localizados até em distintos Estados, considerando apenas a correspondência entre biomas. Do ponto de vista ambiental, no entanto, as compensações só fazem sentido se ocorrer entre áreas com equivalência ecológica (composição, estrutura e função) e o mais próximas possível entre si. Este estudo buscou contribuir para o aprimoramento do mecanismo de compensação, considerando aspectos da equivalência ecológica (composição), tendo o Estado de São Paulo como área de estudo. Para tanto foram analisadas: (i) se as compensações ocorrem entre áreas com equivalência da vegetação, (ii) e qual seria a distância máxima para que as trocas ocorram entre áreas com maior equivalência. Foram consultados 104 processos de compensação de reserva legal para a coleta de informações sobre os imóveis, como localização. As fitofisionomias de cada área foram identificadas segundo o mapa da vegetação remanescente do Estado. A distância máxima a ser permitida foi estimada comparando-se a similaridade florística de remanescentes de Cerrado e Floresta em relação à distância geográfica por meio do teste de Mantel. Verificou-se que dos 117 casos analisados, 72 não apresentam equivalência no âmbito do bioma (13) ou das fitofisionomias (59). A conservação de florestas ombrófilas próximas ao litoral é priorizada em detrimento das áreas de floresta estacional, de cerrado e ecótono do interior paulista. Estas reservas estão distantes da origem do passivo (200-400 km), reforçando os contrastes na paisagem em termos de vegetação. Não houve correlação entre similaridade florística e distância geográfica, o que não permitiu precisar um limite (em km) para as compensações. Contudo, recomenda-se que estas ocorram entre áreas de grupos de municípios limítrofes, onde é provável que haja maior uniformidade ambiental e, consequentemente, maior similaridade em termos de composição florística. / The mechanism of compensation is one of the legal alternatives to regulate rural properties with deficit of legal reserve. After the recent repeal of the Forest Code, compensation can involve areas of different states, considering only the correspondence of biomes. From the environmental standpoint, however, compensation makes sense only if it occurs between areas with ecological equivalence (in composition, structure and function) and as near as possible to each other. This study aimed at contributing to the improvement of the mechanism of compensation, taking into account aspects of ecological equivalence (composition), considering the state of São Paulo (BRA) as study area. It was analyzed: (i) if compensations occur between areas with equivalence of vegetation and (ii) which would be the maximum distance to allow exchanges between areas of higher equivalence. 104 processes of compensation of legal reserve were consulted to collected information about the properties, such as localization. The phytophysiognomies of each area were identified according to the map of remnant vegetation of the state. The maximum distance to be allowed was estimated by comparing the floristic similarity of the remnants of Cerrado and Forest in relation to the geographical distance by using the Mantel test. 72 of the 117 studied cases have no equivalence considering the biome (13) or the phytophysiognomies (59). Conservation of ombrophylous forests near the coast is prioritized in detriment of seasonal semideciduous forests, cerrado and ecotone of the paulist interior. These reserves are very distant from the origin of the passive (200-400 km), reinforcing contrasts in the landscape. There was no correlation between floristic similarity and geographical distance, which did not allow to determinate a limit (in km) for compensation. However, it is recommended that the compensations occur between neighboring municipalities, which are likely to be more environmentally uniform and, consequently, more similar in terms of floristic composition.