Brian W. Eisenhauer

Attachments to Special Places on Public Lands: An Analysis of Activities, Reason for Attachments, and Community Connections

People develop a type of attachment to some places on public lands that constitutes a unique sense of place that involves emotional connections with and intense caring for these landscapes. These emotional attachments to places (locales regarded as special places) are important for ecosystem management strategies and other efforts to incorporate considerations of social factors into the management of public lands. Such connections with places can be a source of heightened levels of concern about management practices. This inductive analysis of open-ended survey responses (n = 434) explores the types of activities people do at special places and reveals the importance of recreational activities in peoples connections with special places in southern Utah. The primary reasons why places on public lands are regarded as special are because of the environmental features of a place or because of interactions with significant others at the locale. The reasons a place is con sidered special do not vary according to the activities done at special places. An analysis of four communities with di erent social/cultural orientations to public land use and management reveals that these orientations are related to the activities people engage in at places they consider special, but not the reasons places are regarded as special.People develop a type of attachment to some places on public lands that constitutes a unique sense of place that involves emotional connections with and intense caring for these landscapes. These emotional attachments to places (locales regarded as special places) are important for ecosystem management strategies and other efforts to incorporate considerations of social factors into the management of public lands. Such connections with places can be a source of heightened levels of concern about management practices. This inductive analysis of open-ended survey responses (n = 434) explores the types of activities people do at special places and reveals the importance of recreational activities in peoples connections with special places in southern Utah. The primary reasons why places on public lands are regarded as special are because of the environmental features of a place or because of interactions with significant others at the locale. The reasons a place is con sidered special do not vary according ...

Dimensions of Community Attachment and Their Relationship to Well‐Being in the Amenity‐Rich Rural West*

Abstract  This research had two primary objectives: 1) to broaden the sociological construct of community attachment to incorporate both social and natural environment dimensions of attachment, and 2) to examine how variations in attachment relate to two dimensions of well-being in natural amenity-rich rural communities. The specific dimensions of well-being measured are two important factors identified in previous research—collective action and perceptions of open communication. Factor analysis of fourteen measures of attachment indicated social attachment and attachment to the natural environment are distinct dimensions of the broader concept of community attachment. Participation in collective action and perceptions of open communication within a respondents community explained only a small portion of the variance in levels of both social and natural environment attachment. Religious affiliation and length of residence were strongly associated with social attachment, supporting findings from previous empirical work. However, length of residence and religious affiliation were not statistically associated with levels of attachment to the natural environment, further reinforcing the distinction between the two dimensions of attachment.

Community Attachments as Predictors of Local Environmental Concern: The Case for Multiple Dimensions of Attachment

This article conceptualizes two distinct dimensions of community attachment—socially based attachment and attachment to a community’s natural environment—and examines their connections with attitudes about local environmental issues. The findings indicate that the two dimensions of attachment are distinct and relate differently to environmental concern. In cases where the social attachment dimension is a statistically significant predictor of attitudes toward local environmental issues, the issues are representative of community culture and identity or health. In contrast, when natural environment attachment is a statistically significant predictor of local environmental concern, the topics reflect issues involving resource protection. Building on the previous work of Vorkinn and Riese, this study further clarifies that community-focused factors may be more useful variables for understanding attitudes toward environmental issues than sociodemographic ones.

Environmental Concern: Examining the Role of Place Meaning and Place Attachment

As landscapes change, it is important to understand how attachments and meanings attributed to place may affect environmental quality and social well-being. To understand and apply sociological insights to policy and management efforts it is not sufficient to simply demonstrate that individuals or groups have strong emotional connections with a particular geographical locale. Rather, it is imperative to understand the implications of attachments, and meanings related to them. We focus our attention in this area on watershed management. Quantitative data are used to conduct an analysis of the interactions between place attachment, place meanings, and environmental concerns in a high-natural-amenity watershed in New Hampshire. Results from quantitative analyses important for understanding the dynamics between place attachment, place meanings, and various dimensions environmental concerns are presented. We find a strong role for place meanings, rather than place attachment, in predicting environmental concern, as well as an independent effect of place-transcendent fundamental values.

Identifying Key Factors in Homeowner’s Adoption of Water Quality Best Management Practices

The recognition of the significance of the residential environment in contributing to non-point source (NPS) pollution and the inherently dispersed nature of NPS pollution itself that presents significant challenges to effective regulation has led to the creation and dissemination of best management practices (BMPs) that can reduce the impacts of NPS pollution (Environmental Protection Agency US, Protecting water quality from urban runoff, http://www.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/nps_urban-facts_final.pdf, 2003). However, very few studies have examined the factors that influence the adoption of BMPs by residential homeowners, despite the fact that residential environments have been identified as one of the most significant contributors to NPS pollution. Given this need, the purpose of this project was to explore how demographic and knowledge-based factors predict adoption of residential BMPs in an urbanizing watershed in Northern Illinois using statistical analyses of survey data collected as part of a watershed planning process. The findings indicate that broad knowledge of BMPs is the strongest predictor of use for a specific BMP. Knowledge of BMPs is strongly correlated with their use, which reinforces the need for educational programs, even among those assumed to be knowledgeable about BMPs.

Changing Homeowners’ Lawn Care Behavior to Reduce Nutrient Runoff

The American lawn receives more care, time, and attention from individuals and households than any other natural space (Robbins 2007). Given the ubiquity of turf grass across the American landscape and the importance of associated environmental impacts, a growing body of research exists that investigates lawn care behaviors or the factors that influence them. To extend that research tradition, the project reported here was designed to understand lawn care practices, attitudes, and values in urbanizing New England communities and to elucidate the correlates of environmentally friendly lawn care behavior. Findings can be used to inform the development of successful outreach and education to facilitate meaningful behavioral change. The results indicate that a high level of concern for environmental issues and water quality exists among homeowners, and identify important factors related to willingness to engage in alternative lawn care practices to protect water quality.

Making the high country: cannabis tourism in Colorado USA

ABSTRACT Tourism worldmaking theories explain how discourse, representation, and practice shape tourism and leisure spaces, yet can neglect the important roles of law, policy and the economic production of tourism. Law and policy changes can reframe discourses of deviance and economic opportunity and tourism promoters capitalize upon these changes. To illustrate this process of legal change and tourism response, we investigated cannabis tourism in the US state of Colorado where legalization has allowed tourism operators to commodify experiences with the plant. To understand this emerging market we qualitatively investigated cannabis tourism operations using participant observation and interviews with tourism operators. Cannabis tourism experiences revolve around instrumental needs, liberation, education, and sensual pleasure. Guides use cannabis tourism as a political platform upon which to destigmatize the plant and its industries, contest deviance, and challenge law. The legalized context and the associated economic boom are influential factors affecting the production of tourism.