Shawn J. Riley

Adaptive Impact Management: An Integrative Approach to Wildlife Management

Wildlife professionals need better ways to integrate ecological and human dimensions of wildlife management. A focus on impacts, guided by a structured decision process, will orient wildlife management toward rigorous, integrative decision making. Impacts are important socially defined effects of events and interactions related to wildlife that merit management. To manage impacts we propose adaptive impact management (AIM). This approach has seven primary components: situational analysis, objective setting, development of system model(s), identification and selection of management alternatives, actual management interventions, monitoring, and refinement of models and eventually interventions. Adaptive impact management builds upon strengths of systems thinking and conventional adaptive management, yet differs in that fundamental objectives of management are impacts on society, rather than conditions of a wildlife population or habitat. Emphasis is placed on stakeholder involvement in management and shared learning among scientists, managers, and stakeholders. We describe and assess adaptive impact management with respect to black bear management in New York.

Risk perception as a factor in Wildlife Stakeholder Acceptance Capacity for cougars in montana

Abstract The increased frequency of cougar attacks on humans throughout western North America has created a daunting challenge for wildlife managers concerned about sustainable coexistence of humans and large carnivores. A mail back questionnaire (n = 805) measured wildlife stakeholder acceptance capacity (WSAC) for cougars in Montana and improved understanding of how cognitive and affective risk perceptions affect WSAC. Respondents who reported a lower WSAC, inferred by a preference for a decrease in cougar populations, perceived significantly greater risks and a higher proportion worried about problems from cougars than respondents who preferred stable or increasing populations. Cognitive risk perception greatly exceeded estimates of actual risks indicated by objective analysis. These results present the possibility that WSAC can be modified for cougars, and presumably other large carnivores, through management actions and communication that affect perceptions of risk to humans.

Deer populations up, hunter populations down: implications of interdependence of deer and hunter population dynamics on management.

Abstract White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are managed to yield diverse impacts, including effects to ecosystems. Many conventional hunting systems manage deer abundance through rules that strive to produce recreation opportunities and an equitable distribution of antlered bucks among hunters. To protect against excessive harvests, antlerless deer harvests often are regulated through quotas. This approach is effective when deer productivity does not outstrip capacity of the hunter population to harvest required numbers of antlerless deer. In many areas of North America, abundance of white-tailed deer has increased dramatically in the past two decades, which has caused many wildlife managers to ask whether deer populations can be controlled with conventional harvest strategies. We used population reconstruction modeling to simulate deer populations from mixed hardwood forests in southern New York, determined antlerless deer harvests needed to stabilize or reduce populations, and evaluated whether current hunting systems can effectively achieve potential ecosystem objectives. Current hunter willingness to seek or use antlerless deer permits likely is inadequate to stabilize or reduce deer densities. This situation may be exacerbated in the future with occurrence of diseases in deer or other factors that diminish hunter participation. We discuss implications for effectiveness of ecosystem management.

Relationships among mule deer fawn mortality, coyotes, and alternate prey species during summer.

The extent, timing, and causes of summer mortality of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) fawns were studied in relation to coyote (Canis latrans) population level, alternate prey population levels, and coyote food habits. Additionally, fawn mortality rates were related to supplementary information on vegetation production and fawn hiding cover. A minimum of 90% of summer mortality of fawns was the result of predation by coyotes. Fawn mortality was lowest when microtine rodent populations were high. Mortality rate of fawns was not directly related to population levels of coyotes, deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), white-tailed jack rabbits (Lepus townsendii), or Nuttalls cottontails (Sylvilagus nuttallii). Vegetation production and winter snow cover may have been factors regulating microtine populations and thereby fawn mortality rates. Coyote predation can reduce fawn survival in nutritionally healthy deer populations, but alternate prey population levels and cycle phase should be determined by managers prior to decisions about predator control to increase deer populations. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 48(2):489-499 Mule deer populations associated with timbered breaks-badlands habitats in north-central Montana declined sharply during the early 1970s, apparently as a result of extensive overwinter mortality in 1971-72 followed by low fawn production or survival (R. J. Mackie, unpubl. rep., Mont. Dep. Fish and Game, Fed. Aid Proj. W-120-R-7, 1976). Recruitment remained low into the mid-1970s despite apparently favorable habitat conditions. A similar population decline associated with overwinter mortality during 1964-65 was followed by increased fawn production/survival and population recovery within 2 years (Fig. 1). Concomitant with the decline in deer populations, increases in coyote populations were reported in north-central Montana and elsewhere following the 1972 ban on the use of toxicants, especially compound 1080, in predator control. Although quantitative data on coyote population trends in north-central Montana were lacking, studies by C. J. Knowles (unpubl. rep., Mont. Dep. Fish and Game, Fed. Aid Proj. W-120-R-7, 1976) indicated that predation by coyotes on mule deer was occurring in breaks habitat along the Miss uri River and may have been a major factor affecting fawn recruitment. The fact that fawn: doe ratios were low in early winter further indicated that, if predation was the cause of low recruitment, it was especially important during the summer-fall periods. This study was established during the summer of 1976 to quantify the extent, timing, and causes of summer mortality among mule deer fawns; specifically, the role and importance of coyote predation in fawn recruitment to early winter. Intensive studies were conducted annually from early June through mid-September from 1976 through 1981 as one segment of broader studies on the population ecology and habitat relationships of mule deer I Send reprint requests to senior author at Box 5, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717. J. Wildl. Manage. 48(2):1984 489 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.124 on Fri, 13 Jan 2017 18:13:03 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 490 MULE DEER, COYOTES, AND ALTERNATE PREY * Hamlin et al.

Summer movements, home range, habitat use, and behavior of mule deer fawns.

Etude radiotelemetrique sur 77 jeunes Odocoileus hemionus dans les Missouri River Breaks, Montana

Effects of Impact Perception on Acceptance Capacity for White-Tailed Deer

Abstract Wildlife professionals require conceptually sound methods to integrate biological and social insights for management of wildlife. The concept of acceptance capacity has been suggested to stimulate integration, although methods to link measures of acceptance capacity with measures of wildlife populations are not fully developed. To clarify relationships between acceptance capacity, wildlife populations, and human values, we explored effects of stakeholder characteristics and impact perception (the recognized, important effects arising from interactions with wildlife) on acceptance capacity. We used a mail-back questionnaire (n = 2,190 responses) to rural residents of southern Michigan 1) to examine whether 3 commonly identified stakeholder groups (hunters, farmers, and nonhunting, nonfarming rural residents) that share a common landscape also perceive similar suites of impacts and hold comparable acceptance capacities for white-tailed deer, and 2) to develop an explanatory model of acceptance capacity for deer. Comparisons among stakeholder groups revealed differences in perception of impacts resulting from interactions with deer; however, participation in hunting and farming were poor predictors of acceptance capacity for deer. Model selection criteria indicate that total effect of impacts perceived explains a majority of variation in acceptance capacity. We conclude that impact perception is a meaningful concept for integration of human values into management of wildlife populations because impacts relate to effects of current wildlife populations and can lead to management actions that address needs and interests of multiple stakeholder groups in changing landscapes.

Utility of a psychological framework for carnivore conservation

Conserving threatened carnivore species increas- ingly depends on the capacity of local people to cohabit with those species. To examine such capacity we developed a novel psychological framework for conservation in regions of the world where there are human-carnivore conflicts, and used the Endangered tiger Panthera tigris to explore the utility of this framework. Specifically, we tested three hypotheses in Chitwan National Park, Nepal, where increasing human-tiger conflicts potentially jeopardize long-term coexistence. We administered a survey to 499 individuals living , 2 km from the Park and in nearby multiple-use forest, to record preferred future tiger population size and factors that may influence preferences, including past interactions with tigers (e.g. livestock predation) and beliefs and perceptions about tigers. Over 17% of respondents reported that a tiger had attacked their livestock or threatened them directly. Results from a structural equation model indicated that respondents who preferred fewer tigers in the future were less likely to associate tigers with beneficial attributes, more likely to associate tigers with undesirable attributes, and more likely to believe that government officials poorly manage tiger-related risks and that people are vulnerable to risks from tigers. Our framework can help address current and future conservation challenges because it (1) integrates an expansive and generalized set of psychological concepts, (2) enables the identification of conservation interventions that foster coexistence between people and carnivores, and (3) is suitable for broad application.

Regulating Hunter Baiting for White-Tailed Deer in Michigan: Biological and Social Considerations

Abstract Eradication of bovine tuberculosis (TB) from free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) requires mortality rates of infected deer exceed the rate of new infection. Efforts to reduce TB transmission in Michigan, USA, are based on 2 assumptions: 1) deer mortality may be increased through recreational hunting, and 2) encounter rates between infected and noninfected deer may be reduced by prohibiting baiting and supplemental feeding. Spatial correlation of TB-infected deer and supplemental feeding sites detected using aerial surveys validated a ban on artificial feeding in Michigan. Similar analysis could not be used to evaluate the effects of a baiting ban because bait distribution was unknown. Furthermore, a ban on deer baiting could confound attempts to increase deer mortality through reduced hunter participation or efficacy. We reviewed the process used to evaluate a strategy for regulating bait use by hunters. This review included an assessment of 5 factors: statewide spatial analysis of apparent TB prevalence, deer intraspecific interactions at bait sites, effects of bait on hunter harvest rates, impacts of disease presence and practice of eradication efforts on hunting participation in the infected area, and input from law enforcement personnel. Our analysis suggested that restricting baiting to a limited, consistent region incurred less biological risk than allowing bait to be used statewide and less political risk than a statewide ban.

Integrating Ecological and Human Dimensions in Adaptive Management of Wildlife-Related Impacts

Abstract Adaptive wildlife management seeks to improve the integration of science and management by focusing decision-making on hypothesis-testing and structuring management actions as field experiments. Since the early 1990s, adaptive resource management (ARM) has advocated enhancing scientific rigor in evaluating management actions chosen to achieve “enabling objectives” typically directed at wildlife habitat or population characteristics. More recently, the concept of adaptive impact management (AIM) has emphasized a need to articulate “fundamental objectives” in terms of wildlife-related impacts to be managed. Adaptive impact management seeks to clarify why management is undertaken in a particular situation. Understanding the “why” question is viewed in AIM as a prerequisite for establishing enabling objectives, whether related to changes in wildlife habitats and populations or to human beliefs and behaviors. This article describes practical aspects of AIM by exploring relationships between AIM and ARM within a comprehensive model of decision-making for wildlife management. Adaptive impact management clarifies and differentiates fundamental objectives (i.e., wildlife-related impacts to be modified) and enabling objectives (i.e., conditions that affect levels of impacts), whereas ARM reduces uncertainty about how to achieve enabling objectives and seeks an optimal management alternative through hypothesis-testing. The 2 concepts make different contributions to development of management hypotheses about alternative actions and policies and should be nested for optimal application to comprehensive wildlife management. Considered in the context of the entire management process, AIM and ARM are complementary ideas contributing to adaptive wildlife management.

Wildlife Disease Management: A Manager's Model

Wildlife disease management (WDM) is one of the great challenges of contemporary wildlife management. Experience with chronic wasting disease (CWD) indicates the importance of human dimensions in WDM. Wildlife management and disease specialists created a concept map (managers model) of the WDM system that depicts the human dimensions considerations involved in WDM and how they may affect management objectives and actions. The WDM model includes risk perception, impact tolerance, and social acceptability of management actions that contribute to perceived impacts of wildlife disease and management responses. The managers model of WDM is an experience-grounded, normative framework for discussing management of CWD.