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Developing a Social Science Research Agenda to Guide Managers in Sagebrush Ecosystems

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Developing a Social Science Research Agenda to Guide Managers in Sagebrush Ecosystems Developing a social science research agenda to guide managers in sagebrush ecosystems SEPTEMBER 2019 Principal Investigators: Jessica Western and Drew Bennett Contributing Researchers: Claire Barnwell, Kit Freedman, Steve Smutko, and Tessa Wittman. Supporting Partners: Adam Beh (Bird Conservancy of the Rockeis) and Dave Pellatz (Thunder Basin Grasslands Prairie Ecosystem Association) Developing a social science research agenda to guide managers in sagebrush ecosystems SEPTEMBER 2019 Suggested Citation: Bennett, D., C. Barnwell, K. Freedman, S. Smutko, T. Wittman, and J. Western. 2019. Developing a social science research agenda to guide managers in sagebrush ecosystems. University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY: Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources. Table of Introduction 4 Contents Overview of the project 7 Perceptions on why social science matters 8 An emphasis on behavioral change 9 Priority research topics 10 Economics 11 Stakeholder values, attitudes, and perceptions 12 Conservation practice adoption 12 Collaboration 13 Communication, message, marketing 13 Applying social science 14 Barriers to using social science 14 Closing the application gap 14 Recommendations 15 1. Prioritize decision-making needs, rather than research topics 15 2. Develop templates for integrating social science into agency and organizational plans 16 3. Support collaboration among social scientists and practitioners 16 4. Raise the profile of social science by illustrating impact 16 5. Invest in social science communication strategy 17 6. Develop integrated social-ecological systems or coupled human and natural systems approaches 18 7. Build social science capacity within agencies and organizations 18 Acknowledgements 19 References 20 Additional Resources 21 Appendices 22 Appendix A – Q-study 22 Appendix B – Survey 25 Appendix C – Focus Groups 34 Appendix D – Literature Synthesis 40 Introduction Sagebrush dominates much of the western United States, but invasive plants, altered fire regimes, exurban development, and other disturbances threaten the health of sagebrush ecosystems and “The social the species that depend on them. Resource managers and other stakeholders face significant sciences can inform challenges in balancing healthy, functioning ecosystems while supporting human uses and addressing environmental changes. conservation efforts in multiple Over the last several decades, scientists have significantly advanced our understanding of ecological processes and biophysical components within sagebrush ecosystems. These advances ways, yet the provide a strong scientific basis for informing management and conservation efforts. Much of human dimensions these advances have been made in response to concerns about population declines of Greater of sagebrush sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and its potential listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). The strong ecological and biophysical focus of these previous research management and efforts, however, have left significant gaps in other topics relevant to managing and conserving conservation are not sagebrush landscapes. There is now a growing appreciation that people play a fundamental role in the health of sagebrush ecosystems through the decisions they make. The social sciences can well understood.” inform conservation efforts in multiple ways (Table 1), yet the human dimensions of sagebrush management and conservation are not well understood. These insights motivated the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ (WAFWA) Sagebrush Science Initiative to release a request for proposals (RFP) to “facilitate the integration of social science and associated data into sagebrush conservation” (WAFWA 2017). Subsequently, WAFWA funded the Ruckelshaus Institute at the University of Wyoming to conduct research on the social science research needs and priorities to help natural resource managers integrate social and ecological perspectives into more comprehensive sagebrush management strategies. Table 1. How social science can contribute to management and conservation.* Documenting and increasing understanding of the diversity of ways in which conservation occurs in 1. different contexts. Facilitating learning about and knowledge of conservation challenges, practices and processes as well as 2. successes or failures. Improving conservation management practices and governance processes, including understanding how 3. to better engage different stakeholders. Enabling planning and design of conservation initiatives that match different social, economic, cultural 4. and governance contexts and that are socially acceptable. 5. Facilitating more socially equitable and just conservation processes and outcomes. *From Bennett et al. 2017b, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.10.006, used under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND license. 4 | DEVELOPING A SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH AGENDA TO GUIDE MANAGERS IN SAGEBRUSH ECOSYSTEMS Throughout the project we defined “social science” broadly to include disciplines such as political science, sociology, economics, governance, social psychology and anthropology – or the myriad of disciplines that study human society, behavior, and relationships. Bennett et al. (2017b) identify 18 classic and applied disciplines that comprise social science relevant to conservation issues (Figure 1). Each of these disciplines has its own traditions and theoretical perspectives while many methods (e.g., interviews, surveys, participant observation) are shared across the social sciences. Although a full description of each of the disciplines is beyond the scope of this report, Bennett et al. (2017b), Decker et al. (2012), Manfredo et al. (2014), Newing et al. (2011), and Vaccaro et al. (2010) provide in-depth discussion of the methods, theories, and approaches in the conservation social sciences. Markets Governance Politics & Power Sociology Culture & Worldview Anthropology Policy & Law Social Political Science Classic Phenomena Norms Social Geography Sciences Ideas & Narratives Economics Demographics History Application of Socio-Economics Psychology theories, methods Social Organization Law and analysis to Applied understand... Decision Making Education Social Social Educating Sciences Communication Processes Communicating & Marketing Development Development Philosophy Arts & Management Humanities Humanities Values & Beliefs Arts Knowledge Individual Attributes Perceptions & Preferences Behaviors Ethics Figure 1. The social sciences, humanities and related topics of study. *From Bennett et al. 2017b, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.10.006, used under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND license. 5 | DEVELOPING A SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH AGENDA TO GUIDE MANAGERS IN SAGEBRUSH ECOSYSTEMS “We hope this project promotes the delivery of information necessary for managers to better integrate social science insights into their work” This report focuses on a mixed-method social science study that engaged stakeholders closely involved with management and conservation efforts across the sagebrush range in order to address the following research objectives: 1. Assess the current state of knowledge in peer-reviewed literature regarding the human dimensions of sagebrush management and conservation. 2. Understand and prioritize on-the-ground social science needs to inform management decisions and conservation actions. 3. Compare our research findings with the realities stakeholders face in their work and discuss the integration of research priorities into decision-making contexts and processes through focus groups with resource managers and other practitioners working in sagebrush ecosystems. In the following report, we summarize the collective findings from the research project while the data and results for individual components of the project are presented in Appendices A-D. We begin by providing an overview of the research methods. We then discuss the implications of the findings by describing: Perceptions of the social sciences among research participants Identified priority research topics Barriers and opportunities in applying insights from social science. We conclude with seven recommendations for advancing the application of social science to inform sagebrush management and conservation. We hope this project promotes the delivery of information necessary for managers to better integrate social science insights into their work through the design of applied social science research projects, development of RFPs, better communication of research to stakeholders, and other activities. 6 | DEVELOPING A SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH AGENDA TO GUIDE MANAGERS IN SAGEBRUSH ECOSYSTEMS Overview of the Project “[Research We conducted this research from April 2018 to September 2019. As an initial step, we participants] completed a Q-study to understand the current discourse around sagebrush issues and how included a wide social science can contribute to management and conservation. For the Q-study, we examined range of individuals a wide variety of secondary sources (e.g., newspaper articles, grey literature) to understand how resource issues and conservation challenges are discussed among stakeholders. We involved with extracted statements relating to social science research needs from these secondary sources. management, Thirty-eight research participants in Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, and Wyoming then ranked these statements according to the priority they would assign to the research topics. We research, and then interviewed the participants to understand their rationale
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