Public Values and Wildlife Management: Exploring the Social Context of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan

摘要

As a whole, findings from our 19-state study suggest that public thought regarding wildlife is changing in the western United States (i.e., a shift from utilitarian to mutualism value orientations) and this change is part of a broader value shift occurring due to modernization. Changes in economy, technology, and demography are producing a different set of lifestyle circumstances in America which are in turn impacting how people raised in this new environment think about and relate to the natural world. This shift is believed to be at the root of many of the challenges that increasingly define the context of wildlife management today, including heightened public controversy over wildlife-related issues, declines in hunting, and lack of trust in managing authorities. Our results offer support for this conclusion, showing how people with different wildlife value orientations respond differently to wildlife management issues, have different preferences for wildlife-related activities, and express different levels of trust in wildlife agencies.