Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources

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https://hdl.handle.net/10217/100457

These digital collections include theses, dissertations, faculty publications, and datasets from the Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources.

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Open Access
Applying social science to inform conservation solutions regarding owned outdoor cats in urbanizing landscapes
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) Gramza, Ashley, author; Teel, Tara, advisor; Crooks, Kevin, advisor; VandeWoude, Susan, committee member; Bright, Alan, committee member
Free-ranging domestic cats (Felis catus) incur and impose risks on ecosystems and represent a complex issue of critical importance to wildlife conservation and domestic cat and human health. There is an inherent social dimension to the issue of owned free-ranging cats, as humans are their caregivers and can contribute to the cause as well as the solution to this issue. To address this social component, we examined public risk perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs towards owned free-ranging cats along a gradient of urbanization via a survey of residents in two study areas in Colorado. Residents did not view all types of risks uniformly; they viewed the risks of cat predation on wildlife and carnivore predation on cats as more likely than the risks of disease transmission to and from wildlife. Additionally, risk perceptions were related to such factors as attitudes and general beliefs about cats, prior experiences with cats and their interactions with wildlife, and cat owner behavior. These findings provide support for the notion that changes in risk perceptions can result in behavior change, and they offer insight for development of communication campaigns aimed at promoting risk aversive behaviors and cat management strategies that are both acceptable to the public and have direct conservation implications. Our study can also be used as a model for further research focused on integrating social and biological information to promote conservation of wildlife and habitats.
Open Access
Integrative complexity and attitudes toward prescribed fire in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012) Czaja, Michael R., author; Cottrell, Stuart, advisor; Bright, Alan, advisor; Doe, William, committee member; Goldstein, Joshua, committee member
This research examined whether the relationship between basic beliefs about wildland fire management and attitudes toward prescribed fire are moderated by the level of integrative complexity. Households in counties adjacent to three study areas in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming were the target of this social science research. The primary goal was to further validate a recently-developed measurement tool for integrative complexity and apply it to a new research scenario. The second goal was to identify respondents' level of complexity when they think about the issue of prescribed fire. Results suggest that integrative complexity moderated the relationship between basic beliefs and attitudes toward prescribed fire. Consistent with theory and previous studies, results suggested no relationship between integrative complexity and attitude direction. However, as expected, results suggested a significant relationship between integrative complexity and attitude extremity. A conceptual model was developed which incorporates assessing public and stakeholder integrative complexity into the development of forest management plans. Findings should assist forest managers with the development of collaboration, education, and outreach strategies.
Open Access
Message frames and wildlife values influence public acceptance of wild horse management strategies
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) Rodriguez, Jeffrey, author; Bright, Alan, advisor; Niemiec, Rebecca, advisor; King, Sarah, committee member
Wild horses are a symbol of the American West that evoke emotional responses from people, and the management of these populations has become a contentious issue. We examined the influence of messaging and wildlife value orientations on public acceptance of potential wild horse management actions in the Western United States. We used an online questionnaire that began with one of three randomly assigned messages about wild horse management: the control message provided information about wild horse populations and management options, the rational appeal added on information about the negative impacts of growing wild horse populations and the limitations of current management approaches, and the emotional appeal added a photograph of emaciated wild horses to the rational appeal. The questionnaire then asked participants about their acceptance of wild horse management options and their values of and experiences with domestic horses. Our survey experiment showed that messaging can influence overall acceptance of wild horse management techniques. Participants who received the emotional or rational appeal were more accepting of the use of contraception, sterilization, euthanasia, and the sale of horses to be used for consumption compared to those who received the control. Adding an emotional component to the rational appeal increased acceptance of wild horses living out their lives in government holding pens over all other message conditions. We also found that participants in general were more accepting of contraception and sterilization than any of the other management techniques. Participants with traditionalist values were more likely to accept euthanasia. Overall, we suggest that messaging may influence public acceptance of many of the proposed management actions for wild horses in the Western United States.
Open Access
Messaging and national park visitor attitudes
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012) Taff, Brendan Derrick, author; Newman, Peter, advisor; Bright, Alan, committee member; Timpson, William, committee member; Vagias, Wade, committee member
National Park Service annual visitation is approaching 300 million, and managers must balance internal stress, such as visitor use, and external stress, such as noise from aircraft overflights, while protecting resource and social conditions. Attitudes affect visitor perceptions of these influences, and largely determine behaviors via behavioral intentions. The purpose of this dissertation is to evaluate national park visitor attitudes, specifically in regard to Leave No Trace minimum impact practices, alternative transportation, and soundscapes, and to increase understanding of effective strategies, such as educational messaging, which can alter visitor attitudes, perceptions and behaviors. This dissertation summarizes three studies and is presented as three journal articles suitable for submission to tier one or two journals. It begins by describing the origins of visitor capacity in national parks, and the associated frameworks and theoretical models that assess visitor perceptions and assist with the creation of effective messaging. The Theory of Planned Behavior and the Elaboration Likelihood Model are introduced as pertinent frameworks to the development of effective messaging which can alter visitor attitudes and perceptions. Chapters two and three present studies which evaluated visitor attitudes in NPS units, and chapter four builds upon this understanding by testing theoretically-based messaging with park visitors to determine if messaging can alter perceptions. Chapter five connects these studies by discussing how messaging can be applied in parks to alter visitor attitudes, perceptions and behaviors, while suggesting implications of the results and recommendations for future research. Study one investigates day-user and backcountry-overnight visitor attitudes concerning Leave No Trace at Rocky Mountain and Olympic National Parks. Leave No Trace is the most prominent educational message used to influence behaviors of protected-areas visitors with the end-goal of sustaining or improving resource conditions. The majority of previous research regarding Leave No Trace has focused on backcountry-overnight visitors. However, day-users are by far the largest user group of protected areas, and yet, research focused on this large and growing segment of users has been neglected. The purpose of this study was to enhance understanding of day-user knowledge, awareness and perceptions, and attitudes regarding Leave No Trace and compare them with those of overnight users. Greater understanding of the similarities and differences between these two user-groups is essential so that management can improve efficacy and create effective messaging strategies that alter behaviors and curb depreciative actions. Study two examines visitor attitudes toward alternative transportation systems in Rocky Mountain and Yosemite National Parks. The National Park Service is increasingly using alternative transportation to accommodate escalating visitation, while reducing the reliance upon personal vehicles that have attributed to resource and social condition impacts. Understanding of visitor perceptions of alternative transportation is vital for managers so that they may develop effective management strategies, frameworks, and messaging concerning alternative transportation use, yet little is known about visitor attitudes toward these systems. The purpose of this study was to examine visitor attitudes toward the alternative transportation experience and to determine salient variables that can be applied to user capacity frameworks, communication strategies, and park planning. Study three explores the role of educational messaging on visitor perceptions of military aircraft sounds in Sequoia National Park. Mandates require that the National Park Service protect natural soundscape, and research suggests that opportunities to experience natural sounds are among the most important reasons for visiting parks. Aircraft overflights are a significant source of anthropogenic noise intrusion in parks, and studies suggest that visitors frequently find these events annoying and unacceptable. The National Park Service must integrate methods to mitigate these impacts, and the purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of educational messaging and to determine if this information can significantly affect visitor acceptability of military aircraft sounds by altering visitor expectations.

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Browsing Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources by Subject "attitudes"

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