Achieving long-term conservation gains through conservation incentive programs on agricultural lands requires a deep understanding of landowner needs and interests. However, social science research related to private lands conservation programs authorized by the United State farm bill lags behind biological research, limiting our knowledge about how to best design these programs to ensure they are effective. Given this need to better understand the human dimensions of habitat conservation on agricultural lands, we used two research projects to investigate landowner considerations related to land management decisions as well as how to effectively engage landowners in the conservation process. First, using two landowner-led workshops, we looked at what factors ranchers in the Intermountain West consider in deciding to continue or discontinue flood irrigation, an irrigation practice that sustains historically flooded wet meadows across the region. We also evaluated these landowner-led workshops as a form of participatory research. Our second project included three focus groups of landowners currently enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, the largest private lands conservation program in the United States, and a survey of landowners with fields currently enrolled or no longer enrolled with expiration dates from 2011 to 2017. Our results highlight the role of agricultural landowners in habitat conservation and the complex social-ecological considerations that they face in making management decisions. Many landowners are interested in conservation programs that meet the context of their specific operation. Our findings suggest the need to better incorporate landowner needs into conservation program design and implementation that promote both operation and habitat sustainability. / MS / Agricultural lands across the American West play a critical role in conserving both agricultural operations and wildlife habitat. Conservation programs that provide incentives to landowners for various conservation efforts are available to aid in the protection of these lands and communities. Gaining a deeper understanding of the considerations of agricultural landowners for their land management decisions can help inform conservation programs and policy to more effectively meet the needs of landowners. We used two research projects to investigate landowner considerations related to land management decisions as well as how to effectively engage landowners in the conservation process. First, we looked at what factors ranchers in the Intermountain West consider in deciding to continue or discontinue flood irrigation, an irrigation practice that sustains historically flooded wet meadows across the region. We also evaluated these landowner-led workshops as a form of participatory research. Our second project included three focus groups of landowners currently enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, the largest private lands conservation program in the United States, and a survey of landowners with fields currently enrolled or no longer enrolled with expiration dates from 2011 to 2017. Our results highlight the role of agricultural landowners in habitat conservation and the complex environmental and social considerations that they face in making management decisions. Many landowners are interested in conservation programs that meet the needs of their specific operation. Our findings suggest the need to better incorporate landowner needs into conservation program design and implementation that promote both agricultural and environmental conservation.

<p>The future success of agriculture in arid and semi-arid areas globally will be highly dependent on the ability of farmers and agricultural systems to adapt to climate change. Most of these areas, though tremendously productive, suffer from the same limiting resource: water. As that resource becomes more scarce and availability more difficult to predict, water managers and farmers will be forced to implement new, creative solutions to water supply challenges. This anticipated exposure suggests that an improved understanding of agricultural adaptation to water stress in such areas is critical to successful outcomes in these regions under a changing climate. This work focuses specifically on the adaptation strategies employed by farmers, strategies which are determined by farmers’ assessment of their exposure and sensitivity to a stressor as well as their capacity to implement changes. This process of implementing change to limit vulnerability is broadly referred to as adaptation. </p> <p> This project focuses on the Eastern Snake Plain of southeastern Idaho as a case study in agricultural adaptation to increased water stress. The Eastern Snake Plain (ESP) is a diverse and productive agricultural basin in the inter-mountain region of the American West. The region’s primary products are potatoes, sugar beets, barley, and alfalfa, as well as a significant volume of livestock dominated by dairy cattle, and each of these products forms a significant share of the total US market for that crop. More than 74% of this agricultural land is irrigated, inextricably tying both the future of agriculture and the future of the Idaho economy to water in the state. In the mid-2000’s, legislators and water managers from across the plain came together to negotiate a new water rights settlement, now known as the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer Comprehensive Aquifer Management Plan (CAMP). The negotiations came in response to years of litigation involving groundwater and surface water conjunctive management in the region, and the resulting plan was designed to accomplish three goals: stabilize reach gains in the lower Eastern Snake Plain, replenish Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer (ESPA) levels, and ensure sustainable water resources for agricultural, industrial, and domestic users across the basin. Though the water settlement was not directly caused by climate change, it is likely that water shortages will become more frequent under climate change, and this settlement represents a simulation of just such a shortage.</p> <p>Broadly, this work and the work of collaborators hope to understand adaptation and decision-making of groundwater farmers throughout the Eastern Snake Plain as they adapt to the on-average 12.9% reduction in water availability. This thesis is divided into three primary sections (Chapters 2, 3, and 4). </p> <p>Chapter 2 investigates tradeoffs in adaptation decision making, employing semi-structured interviews to learn more about tradeoffs as a framework for understanding adaptation more broadly. In particular, the work seeks to understand the types of tradeoffs present in ESP adaptation and when and how tradeoffs are implicitly or explicitly acknowledged. Findings indicate that tradeoffs occur both at the individual and regional scale and that shifts in crop patterns and irrigation water sourcing may have important implications for adaptation policy moving forward. </p> <p>Chapter 3 employs a household survey and statistical analysis to investigate the iterative and complex relationships between exposure, adaptive capacity, sensitivity, and vulnerability. As an early attempt to examine these relationships quantitatively in the context of US agriculture and water stress, the works focuses on laying out a clear theoretical and methodological framework for continued exploration of adaptation and vulnerability in this context. Findings indicate that under-theorized components of adaptive capacity like linking capacity and exposure to simultaneous stressors may play important roles in determining farmer vulnerability in the context of policy-induced water scarcity. </p> <p>Chapter 4 is designed to investigate and develop a novel tool for exploratory work in adaptation, examining the feasibility and predictive accuracy of an agent-based model of agricultural adaptation driven by social-psychological decision-making theories and parameterized using both secondary data sources and primary fieldwork. Findings indicate that such models may have the potential to produce well-informed macro-level patterns based on theoretically-informed micro-level inputs. This has important implications for the broader agent-base modeling community, and the work concludes with a call for further collaboration between agent-based modelers and social science theorists. </p> <p>Collectively, this work seeks to inform theory on agricultural adaptation and vulnerability, as well as explore the potential role of theoretically-informed agent-based modeling in investigating such dynamics. In doing so, it lays the groundwork for future exploration of these ideas in the Eastern Snake Plain and throughout the arid American West. </p>

The black bear (Ursus americanus) has returned to Kentucky and is now part of a reproducing population in the southeastern Cumberland Mountain region. The broad objective of this project was to examine the interactions between people and bears, with the ultimate goal of improving bear management in a way that addresses stakeholder concerns. Using interviews of regional stakeholders, participant observation, and media reports collected between summer 2003 and fall 2006, I investigated how the presence of black bears in Harlan and Letcher counties in Kentucky has had an impact on area residents. I complemented this information with observations of bear behavior and an analysis of bear capture and handling data collected within the study period. Artificial provisioning of bears was widespread and >60% of black bears captured were confirmed to use anthropogenic foods at least some of the time. I found a significant difference (P<0.0001) in the apparent physical condition of confirmed anthropogenic feeding bears and bears whose feeding behavior was unknown, and similar differences in physical condition between bears captured along traplines in Harlan and Letcher counties when compared to bears captured along traplines in Bell County (P<0.01). Mean litter size was 3.25 ± 0.11 (SE), significantly above average for eastern North America (P<0.05) although cub survival remains unknown. All documented mortality of adult bears was human-caused. Anthropogenic food sources may affect bear behavior, survival, reproduction, and physiology, as well as bring bears into close contact with humans. Artificial provisioning is currently an important part of bear-human interaction in eastern Kentucky, both facilitating bear tourism as well as precipitating nuisance problems. Cessation of provisioning could have important consequences for the developing tourism industry in the region and for the bears themselves. Both the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and many local people have an interest in conserving bears, but problems have arisen due to differing conceptions of appropriate or desirable management. A better understanding of the human dynamics and cooperation taking place in this situation could provide much-needed information both in Kentucky and in other localities where stakeholders are debating how to co-exist with wildlife.

This thesis explores how people in mountainous regions of Albania interrelate with large carnivores. For the research, I used a combination of questionnaire survey and ethnographic fieldwork to generate insights into how rural dwellers perceive and interact with bears, wolves and lynx. Research and conservation efforts relating to large carnivores in areas where they live near humans often have a strong focus on human-wildlife conflicts; with the presumption that conflicts are a central part of people’s relationships with predators. I argue that, although conflicts between people and predators do occur, human-predator relationships in highland Albania are complex and diverse, beyond a simple engagement with conflict-causing animals. Large carnivores have rich local cultural profiles; each species being differently perceived, and responded to, by local groups in terms of their beliefs about the behaviours and characteristics of the animals. I argue that large carnivores are constructed, and responded to, as social actors and, as such, they are integrated into the moral community of humans. Customary codes that regulate the social life of people in highland Albania seem to extend into relationships with carnivores. Damages from predators are largely interpreted and evaluated on principles of belonging and moral integrity with little considerations of their financial aspects. Lack of conservation efforts from Albanian institutions for prolonged periods of time, and the remoteness of mountain communities, has brought about a situation in which locals have been largely left uninfluenced in shaping their relationships with large carnivores. I contend that such a situation, albeit seemingly problematic from an outside perspective, is particularly beneficial in maintaining low conflicts with, or over, predators. Recent increases in conservation efforts in Albania may influence relationships between people and predators in the future. Conservation actors will be faced with the challenge of avoiding possible conflict escalation to the detriment of large carnivores and to rural livelihoods.

No description available.

In 1998, a tanker truck overturned on U.S. Route 460 in Tazewell County, Virginia, releasing approximately 5110 L of Octocure 554-revised, a rubber accelerant, into an unnamed tributary approximately 162 m from its confluence with the Clinch River. The spill killed nearly all aquatic life in the river, including three species of federally endangered mussels, for 11 km downstream. The restoration plan developed after the spill included community outreach to complement the physical, on-site restoration effort. Although numerous studies have been made of the aquatic resources in the upper Clinch River, Tazewell County, Virginia, there had been no prior assessment of the local residents' knowledge, attitudes, and opinions about the natural resources in this biodiversity hotspot. I surveyed residents of Tazewell County, Virginia to assess their baseline knowledge about the upper Clinch River watershed, endangered mussels, aquatic conservation, and water quality issues. The survey response rate was 42%. Survey respondents were aware that mussels are present in the Clinch River watershed, but were not aware of their imperiled status or the ecosystem services that mussels perform. On average, respondents expressed stronger moralistic, naturalistic, and ecologistic than negativistic and utilitarian attitude orientations toward endangered freshwater mussels. Respondents considered water quality important and expressed support for mussel restoration. However, respondents indicated that the presence of mussel populations might negatively impact economic development of the county. Local community leaders and conservation educators, when interviewed to explore their opinions on conservation of aquatic resources, placed high value upon the Clinch River's water quality. They also have sought information regarding water quality and the Clinch River from local organizations and agencies and/or have developed a relationship with them as a result of their long-term presence in the community. The majority of respondents believed that human impacts contribute to species decline, but human impacts may not be the primary contributor to such decline. Respondents indicated that governmental and nongovernmental conservation agencies and organizations can assist localities by providing additional funding opportunities, seminars, and training sessions. Tazewell County conservation educators focus broadly on water resources of the county. Conservation educators wised that adults and teenagers displayed greater interest in conservation issues and that local governments were involved more actively in conservation. Overwhelmingly, educators believed that forming and fostering partnerships is the most effective way to inform audiences about conservation. Barriers to conservation education faced by educators include lack of funding, audience apathy, and/or audience negativity. Nearly all respondents indicated that balance between conservation and development currently exists or that achieving such a balance should be a goal of the local government. Survey and interview results were used to develop specific outreach recommendations to generate community support for mussel restoration and aquatic conservation in Tazewell County. Recommendations for the Certus Spill Outreach Plan include: frame mussel outreach messages in a broader aquatic ecosystem context in order to emphasize the human connection to aquatic ecosystems, communicate positive messages about conservation with decision-makers, regularly communicate positive messages about conservation in the local press, and partner with the local school system and agencies that have established positive images in the towns and county. / Master of Science

Using a mail survey, I questioned 490 representatives of local government (i.e., elected officials, administrative officials, animal control officers, and county Cooperative Extension agents) about their understanding of human-wildlife conflicts in their communities, and their receptivity to participating in co-management partnerships with regulatory agencies. Response rates for the mail survey of these four populations ranged from 25.2% to 75.9%. Knowledge of and perceptions about human-wildlife conflicts varied among leader subpopulations, as did their assessment of risks associated with and prioritization of human-wildlife conflicts. Animal control and Extension personnel displayed greater knowledge about wildlife, expressed greater concern about potential risks, and assigned higher priority to human-wildlife conflicts in their community. Respondents indicated that wildlife complaints are being received from constituents in their community, but questions exist over who is responsible for managing these conflicts. Most respondents indicated a willingness to become involved in conflict resolution, but indicated less willingness for local government to take on a leadership role. Respondents could identify potential partners valuable to resolving human-wildlife conflicts, but they demonstrated uncertainty about the specific roles and responsibilities of these outside agencies (e.g., Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries). Respondents identified important potential impediments (i.e., financial and personnel resources, the need to provide additional training or equipment) that could preclude or reduce their ability to become involved in conflict resolution. Most respondents viewed community-based co-management approaches as realistic (74%) and attractive (63%) options for local governments to exercise in managing human-wildlife conflicts. Most respondents (74%) believed that co-management offered local governments a direct way to be involved in managing their own conflicts. Respondents believed that staffing and budget shortages would be significant impediments that would limit local government's participation in co-management agreements. This study clearly illustrates that human-wildlife conflicts are occurring in Virginia, but overall local governments are not at a point when they are willing or able to consider a proactive approach to managing these conflicts. Until some threshold is met or exceeded, leaders in these communities may not be willing to devote the time or resources necessary to enact proactive approaches. Before that threshold is met, the development and utilization of informational and educational resources can increase local government's capacity to develop and implement a comprehensive wildlife management plan for Virginia communities in the future. / Master of Science

No description available.

In aquaculture, biosecurity consists of policies, procedures and measures used to prevent or control the spread of fish disease. The focus of this research was the practice of biosecurity in the recirculation sector of finfish aquaculture in the United States and Canada. Specifically, this research: 1) identified and characterized finfish recirculation facilities in the United States and Canada; 2) assessed biosecurity utilization in these facilities; 3) examined the relationship between biosecurity utilization and fish culture variables; 4) examined the relationship between biosecurity utilization and socio-demographics of personnel operating these facilities; 5) described the attitudes, perceptions and beliefs about fish disease and biosecurity utilization of personnel, and 6) described the lived-experience of biosecurity practice of workers at these facilities. This research was comprised of two separate components using different methodologies. The first component was a self-administered, mail-back questionnaire sent to the managers of 152 finfish recirculation facilities in the United States and Canada in fall of 2001. The second component was a series of in-depth interviews conducted with 31 workers at 12 salmonid recirculation facilities in spring of 2002. Grounded theory methodology was used for the interview process and subsequent data analysis for the second component. An 86% response rate was achieved in the mail survey. Aquaculture activities using recirculation technologies were quite varied in purpose of operation, size of production, and life stages held. Four groups of fishes dominated the recirculation sector and constituted the primary production of over 45% of this sector of aquaculture. This sector was heavily reliant on ground water resources. Forty-one percent of finfish recirculation facilities did not have a secondary source of water supply. Biosecurity utilization is not homogenous within the recirculation sector. Frequency of biosecurity utilization was related to primary water source, type of fish grown, purpose of the operation and country of operation. Biosecurity was an important concern of facility operators, although among facility operators there were differences in perception of disease risk and benefits of biosecurity utilization. Analysis of results of this study resulted in formulation of the Practice of Biosecurity Theory (PBT). The theory describes a three-phase process in the practice of biosecurity: (1) orientation, when workers begin their initiation into the practice of biosecurity; (2) routine, when practice of biosecurity becomes a habitual behavior; and (3) thoughtful approach, where knowledge of fish health needs and biosecurity practices are integrated into a repertoire of biosecurity strategies that are situation- and site-specific. The practice of biosecurity was affected by three environmental conditions; personal biography, management's role, and peer pressure. This research gives educators, extension agents, researchers and government policy-makers a quantitative description of finfish recirculation aquaculture in the United States and Canada. It also provides baseline information on biosecurity utilization in recirculation aquaculture. This research provides insight into the human dimensions aspect of the practice of biosecurity and, therefore, may have application to other areas of agri-business. / Ph. D.

Understanding how wildlife utilize habitat at varying scales is important for understanding and predicting potential impacts of landscape changes (e.g., habitat loss and fragmentation, restoration efforts, climate change, etc.) and in determining effective strategies for conservation and management. This research examines fine-scale and landscape-level habitat use of black bears in Canyon de Chelly National Monument (CACH), Arizona, USA in the context of large-scale landscape change. Currently, CACH is undergoing a large-scale restoration effort to remove all of the non-native Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) and tamarisk (Tamarix ramosissima and T. chinensis) within the monument. As black bears rely on the Russian olive as a primary food source, a major goal of this research was to evaluate how bears currently use this resource and how its removal might affect bear habitat use and bear-human interactions within the monument. I developed a model of 3rd order (fine-scale) black bear habitat use in CACH using an occupancy modeling approach. Model results indicated that fine-scale habitat selection by bears in CACH is being driven by the presence of non-native Russian olive as well as native food sources. Thus availability of native foods may be sufficient to maintain the bear population in CACH, and bears may quickly adapt to the loss of the non-native food source. Similarly, results showed that bears avoid human areas and farmsteads and prefer higher elevations, suggesting that once olive is removed in the lower canyons near human areas, bear-human interactions may become less of a problem over the long term. I also developed a model of 2nd order (landscape-level) habitat use and evaluated movement patterns of black bears in CACH using location data collected from GPS collars. Model results showed that bears selected areas with higher tree canopy cover and terrain ruggedness, indicating that forest cover and escape cover are primary factors driving black bear habitat selection at the landscape scale in this region. Movement patterns revealed large mean daily movements and low average turning angles, indicating long, linear movements designed to take advantage of the mosaic of available habitats and food resources available over larger areas. I extracted DNA from hair samples collected throughout the study area to examine genetic variability and population structure of black bears in the region. Analyses revealed a relatively healthy, panmictic population across the wider landscape. No substantial genetic structuring was observed in multiple analyses, though I did find evidence of a slight isolation-by-distance pattern within the population. Measures of both current (Nb = 24) and long-term (Ne = 579) effective population size indicated a relatively high number of breeders in the current population and a sufficient amount of gene flow within the larger "superpopulation" to maintain long-term genetic viability. I focused the final portion of my dissertation research on understanding the factors that influence stakeholder acceptance capacity for black bears, which plays a central role in contemporary wildlife management issues, including human-wildlife conflict. I used data from telephone interviews of 1,546 residents in Virginia to develop conceptual models of black bear acceptance capacity at both county and state levels. Model results suggested that more deep-seated and less easily influenced factors (e.g., values and risk perceptions) are at the heart of stakeholder attitudes and perceptions of wildlife, making influencing these perceptions more difficult. Agencies can indirectly affect these attitudes and perceptions, however, by targeting more potentially pliable factors related to wildlife acceptance capacity such as knowledge, personal experience with wildlife, and trust in management agencies. / Ph. D.