Alexander L. Metcalf

Conserving the Greater Sage-grouse: A social-ecological systems case study from the California-Nevada region

ABSTRACT The Endangered Species Act (ESA) continues to serve as one of the most powerful and contested federal legislative mandates for conservation. In the midst of heated debates, researchers, policy makers, and conservation practitioners champion the importance of cooperative conservation and social-ecological systems approaches, which forge partnerships at multiple levels and scales to address complex ecosystem challenges. However, few real-world examples exist to demonstrate how multifaceted collaborations among stakeholders who share a common goal of conserving at-risk species may be nestedwithin a systems framework to achieve social and ecological goals. Here, we present a case study of Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) conservation efforts in the “Bi-State” region of California and Nevada, United States. Using key-informant interviews, we explored dimensions and drivers of this landscape-scale conservation effort. Three themes emerged fromthe interviews, including 1) ESA action was transformed into opportunity for system-wide conservation; 2) a diverse, locally based partnership anchored collaboration and engagement acrossmultiple levels and scales; and 3) bestavailable science combined with local knowledge led to “certainty of effectiveness and implementation”—the criteria used by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to evaluate conservation efforts when making listing decisions. Ultimately, collaborative conservation through multistakeholder engagement at various levels and scales led to proactive planning and implementation of conservation measures and precluded the need for an ESA listing of the Bi-State population of Greater Sage-grouse. This article presents a potent example of howa systems approach integrating policy, management, and learning can be used to successfully overcome the conflict-laden and “wicked” challenges that surround at-risk species conservation.

Public Engagement in Social-Ecological Systems Management: An Application of Social Justice Theory

ABSTRACT Public engagement is important for improving outcomes of social-ecological systems management. We used a social justice theoretical framework to measure residents’ attitudes toward public engagement processes and satisfaction with outcomes of a restoration project in Western Montana. We predicted process control and decision control domains of procedural justice would significantly predict stakeholder satisfaction, with decision control partially mediating the relationship between process control and satisfaction. We tested these predictions using a path analysis of intercept survey data collected from residents within the project area. We found process control had a significant and positive effect on satisfaction but was fully mediated by decision control, suggesting that successful engagement requires opportunities for stakeholders not only to participate but to clearly shape decisions and outcomes. We discuss implications for public engagement, human dimensions research, and social monitoring of social-ecological systems.

Making Decisions About Forestland Succession: Perspectives from Pennsylvania's Private Forest Landowners

ABSTRACT Decision-making processes that private forest landowners (PFLs) engage when planning for their forestland’s future are not well understood. The forest ecosystem and the people who depend on its services face several critical challenges, including how to sustainably manage an increasingly parcelized forest. The Theory of Planned Behavior has been used to illuminate connections among constructs informing PFL behavior, but fails to adequately capture the complexities of forest owners’ lived experiences and how those inform behaviors. In-depth interviews provide a deeper understanding of how Pennsylvania PFLs make decisions concerning ownership succession. We approached those who recently subdivided, sold/donated conservation easements, or had not committed to any plan and asked them to tell us about their planning experiences. Relationships among family members and the quality of their communication about the land and succession emerged as important factors in the planning process. Implications for theory, forest planning, education and outreach, and further study are advanced.

Public Wildlife Management on Private Lands: Reciprocity, Population Status, and Stakeholders’ Normative Beliefs

ABSTRACT Wildlife agencies balance the effectiveness of management with public acceptability. Past research has demonstrated stakeholders’ normative beliefs regarding management are influenced by the severity of the human-wildlife interaction, and the harshness of human response. Such beliefs may be more complex when public and private interests intertwine. In Montana, concerns about Brucellosis spreading from wild elk to domestic livestock prompted agencies to consider new management actions on private lands. We investigated how normative beliefs within stakeholder groups related to reciprocity between landowners and the public, and elk population status, using a linear mixed-effects analysis of mail survey responses. Proposed actions were considerably more acceptable in scenarios where landowners reciprocated with public hunting access, and where elk populations were abundant. Acceptability of lethal actions varied substantially across scenarios, indicating a need for a nuanced understanding of how stakeholders perceive different wildlife control measures, especially in private land contexts.