Matching Items (77)
Description
The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) is a collection of more than 800 areas designated as wilderness under the Wilderness Act of 1964. The Act defines wilderness as an “area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” Wilderness lands are supposed to be pristine examples of nature where the overseeing agency has not allowed any post-designation development. The language of the act describes land designated as wilderness as “untrammeled” by people, discounting thousands of years of human influence. It also discounts the potential effect of surrounding lands and visitors on the wilderness. The management of these lands falls to all four federal land management agencies, and they each had – and still have – their own organizational perspectives on the Wilderness Act and their agency’s role in its implementation. Although the Act provided criteria for designating and managing wilderness, concrete guidance is lacking. This ambiguity has allowed a rift to emerge between those who believe that wilderness should be actively managed and those who believe that wilderness should be preserved and left alone as much as possible. The diversity of views and agency approaches have created administrative divides between wilderness lands and other land types. In parallel, the introduction of subsequent environmental laws have placed additional legal boundaries on the land, creating parcels next to and within wilderness that are subject to different uses and requirements. This study, which marshals dozens of expert interviews and explores a series of wilderness cases across the United States, focuses on several unanticipated challenges of stewarding the NWPS in the 21st Century. These include: the impacts of public land parceling due to legal obligations; how statuary ossification affects current interpretations of the various laws bearing on wilderness lands; and ultimately how land managers and agencies – who are looking toward a future of increased anthropogenic impacts on wildlife biodiversity and endangered/threatened species on wilderness lands – approach these challenges.
ContributorsFacemire, Challie Renee (Author) / Minteer, Ben A (Thesis advisor) / Ellison, Karin (Thesis advisor) / Bradshaw, Karen (Committee member) / Hahn, Beth (Committee member) / Budruk, Megha (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Contrary to common thought at the end of the 20th century, the forces of globalization over the last several decades have contributed to more rigid rather than more permeable international borders as countries have enacted strict immigration and travel policies. This growing rigidity of international borders has paradoxically occurred as international tourism steadily grew up until the COVID-19 pandemic and conservationists adopted a landscape-scale approach to conserving and restoring ecosystems, often across international borders. Considering this paradox, this dissertation research examined the interactions between tourism development, ecological restoration, and bordering processes by utilizing bordering and stakeholder theories; core-periphery, cross-border tourism, and border frameworks; political ecology; and polycentric governance and cross-border collaboration literature. Together, these conceptualizations were used to assess stakeholder attitudes towards tourism development and ecological restoration, compare resource governance characteristics of private protected areas, and analyze shared appreciation for natural and cultural heritage at the U.S.-Mexico border. To collect data, the researcher utilized in-depth interviews, photo-elicitation interviews, focus groups, secondary data analysis, and observations to engage key tourism and conservation stakeholders from the region, such as tourism businesses, tourists, state and federal agencies, conservation nonprofits, ranchers, and residents The findings of this research revealed a political ecology of a border landscape that included social and environmental injustices and unequal stakeholder partnerships in tourism and ecological restoration initiatives. Unequal partnerships were also found in cross-border resource governance systems, largely due to the U.S. government’s border wall construction actions, and the necessity for government leadership in establishing vertical and horizontal linkages in polycentric governance structures was evident. The results also demonstrated how a shared appreciation for natural and cultural heritage contributes to debordering despite the rebordering actions of border security and strict travel policies. This study contributes to tourism literature by highlighting the need for tourism and ecological restoration initiatives to consider social and environmental justice issues, develop stronger cross-border linkages with governments and resource users, and foster cross-border collaboration and integration. This consideration of social and environmental justice issues involves sharing benefits of tourism and restoration, restoring and preserving resources that stakeholders value, and facilitating access to resources.
ContributorsClark, Connor (Author) / Nyaupane, Gyan P (Thesis advisor) / Timothy, Dallen (Committee member) / Budruk, Megha (Committee member) / Coronado, Irasema (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Environmental ethics is often described on a continuum of anthropocentrism to biocentrism. Pet ownership has been shown to correlate with biocentrism. This study aims to answer how strong the correlation is between pet ownership and biocentrism and how pet owners react when pets' needs conflict with the environment. Findings from the study confirm previous research that pet owners lean biocentric, but their biocentric beliefs end when their pet's well-being misaligns with environmental concerns.
ContributorsCrawford-Paz Soldan, Esme (Author) / Wynne, Clive (Thesis director) / Minteer, Ben (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Sports facilities are constructed across the United States using public subsidies and there is limited research about how the community benefits from these investments. Broader community benefits need to be established to justify public funding of sports facilities, including how social capital and sense of community are developed in a sport context. This research was composed of three studies that explored the benefit of providing access to sports events as a generator of social capital, the importance of developing social spaces at sports facilities to provide opportunities for attendees to nurture a sense of community and the value of virtual spaces in maintaining sense of community when isolated. The first study was a case study of Arizona State University (ASU) football season ticket holders to understand whether ticket donations to games can facilitate social capital by providing fans an opportunity to meet new people and develop long-term relationships. Findings indicated that donating tickets to sports events facilitate social relationships among fans that can build social capital, which advances existing research that focused primarily on the economic impact, and provides practical applications by encouraging sport managers to donate unused tickets. The second study examined sense of community by evaluating how fans use social spaces at a Denver Broncos National Football League (NFL) game and the Ironman World Championships (IWC). This study demonstrated that sense of community can originate in social spaces because attending a sport event and interacting in social spaces facilitates positive feelings about the community for the attendees. The third study focused on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sport participants’ sense of community. This study examined the impact the pandemic had on sense of community among members of USA Triathlon, the Olympic and Paralympic National Governing Body for the sport in the United States. The research showed that USA Triathlon members adopted alternative virtual engagement opportunities that replaced in-person activities and were not materially impacted by the pandemic. Overall, these three studies advanced the understanding of how sports events, whether in-person or virtual, can facilitate social capital and enhance sense of community.
ContributorsHarris, Rocky (Author) / Legg, Eric (Thesis advisor) / Budruk, Megha (Thesis advisor) / Andereck, Kathleen (Committee member) / Webb, Stephen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024
Description
This project analyzes the efforts of Seoul Grand Park Zoo (the largest and most important zoo on the Korean peninsula) to develop and achieve the highest standards in conservation, education, animal welfare, and research over the last three decades. Founded primarily as an entertainment venue in 1984, the zoo has struggled to become a scientific center that adequately provides for the animals under its care and promotes the advancement and dissemination of knowledge. Drawing on interviews from zoo officials, academics, conservationists, and animal-rights activists, I explore the animal welfare management and conservation priorities of a prominent Asian institution. Although the zoo has made significant improvements in animal welfare, it remains constrained by limited resources and government indifference. These constraints have also restricted the zoo’s ambition to become a major center for conservation; it currently concentrates on a handful of projects with broad popular appeal. Based on my interviews, greater collaboration, better communication with other researchers, and more systematic sharing of data would be especially beneficial for expanding the zoo’s conservation agenda. As research and conservation become a more prominent part of the zoo’s portfolio, potential conflicts may arise with zoo’s current emphasis on the welfare of the individual animals under its care.
ContributorsClay, Anne Safiya (Author) / Minteer, Ben (Thesis advisor) / Collins, James (Committee member) / Broglio, Ronald (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Food production and consumption directly impacts the environment and human health. Protein in particular has significant cultural and health implications, and how people make decisions about what type of protein they eat has not been studied directly. Many decision tools exist to offer recommendations for seafood, but neglect livestock or plant protein. This study attempts to address these shortcomings in food decision science and tools by asking the questions: 1) What qualities of a dietary protein-based decision tool make it effective? 2) What do people consider when making decisions about what type of protein to consume? Using literature review, meta-analysis, and surveys, this study attempts to determine how the knowledge gained from answering these questions can be used to develop an electronic tool to engage consumers in making sustainable and healthy decisions about protein consumption. The data show that, given environmental and health information about the protein types, people in the sample of farmers market shoppers are more likely to purchase wild salmon and organically grown soybeans, and less likely to purchase grain-fed beef. However, the order of preference among the six types of protein did not change. Additional results suggest that there is a disconnect between consumers and sources of dietary protein, indicating a need for improved education. Inconsistency in labeling and information regarding protein types is a large source of confusion for consumers who participated in the survey, highlighting the need for transparency. Results of this study suggest that decisions tools may help improve decision making, but new ways of using them need to be considered to achieve this.
ContributorsGeren, Sarah (Author) / Gerber, Leah (Thesis advisor) / Minteer, Ben (Committee member) / Wentz, Elizabeth (Committee member) / Arvai, Joseph (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
For more than 100 years, the Unite States National Park Service (NPS) has been guided by a mandate to preserve parks and their resources for the enjoyment of present and future generations. But all parks are subject to conditions that may frustrate preservation efforts. Climate change is melting the glaciers. Rising seas are sweeping away protected shorelines. Development projects, accompanied by air, water, light, and noise pollution, edge closer to parks and fragment habitats. The number of visitors and vested interests are swelling and diversifying. Resources for preservation, such as funds and staff, seem to be continuously shrinking, at least relative to demand.
Still, the NPS remains committed to the preservation of our natural and cultural heritage. Yet the practice of that promise is evolving, slowly and iteratively, but detectably. Through explorations of legal and scholarly literature, as well as interviews across the government, non-profit, and academic sectors, I’ve tracked the evolution of preservation in parks. How is preservation shifting to address socio-ecological change? How has preservation evolved before? How should the NPS preserve parks moving forward?
The practice of preservation has come to rely on science, including partnerships with academic researchers, as well as inventory and monitoring programs. That shift has in part been guided by goals that have also become more informed by science, like ecological integrity. While some interviewees see science as a solution to the NPS’s challenges, others wonder how applying science can get “gnarly,” due to uncertainty, lack of clear policies, and the diversity of parks and resources. “Gnarly” questions stem in part from the complexity of the NPS as a socio-ecological system, as well as from disputed, normative concepts that underpin the broader philosophy of preservation, including naturalness. What’s natural in the context of pervasive anthropogenic change? Further, I describe how parks hold deep, sometimes conflicting, cultural and symbolic significance for their local and historical communities and for our nation. Understanding and considering those values is part of the gnarly task park managers face in their mission to preserve parks. I explain why this type of conceptual and values-based uncertainty cannot be reduced through science.
Still, the NPS remains committed to the preservation of our natural and cultural heritage. Yet the practice of that promise is evolving, slowly and iteratively, but detectably. Through explorations of legal and scholarly literature, as well as interviews across the government, non-profit, and academic sectors, I’ve tracked the evolution of preservation in parks. How is preservation shifting to address socio-ecological change? How has preservation evolved before? How should the NPS preserve parks moving forward?
The practice of preservation has come to rely on science, including partnerships with academic researchers, as well as inventory and monitoring programs. That shift has in part been guided by goals that have also become more informed by science, like ecological integrity. While some interviewees see science as a solution to the NPS’s challenges, others wonder how applying science can get “gnarly,” due to uncertainty, lack of clear policies, and the diversity of parks and resources. “Gnarly” questions stem in part from the complexity of the NPS as a socio-ecological system, as well as from disputed, normative concepts that underpin the broader philosophy of preservation, including naturalness. What’s natural in the context of pervasive anthropogenic change? Further, I describe how parks hold deep, sometimes conflicting, cultural and symbolic significance for their local and historical communities and for our nation. Understanding and considering those values is part of the gnarly task park managers face in their mission to preserve parks. I explain why this type of conceptual and values-based uncertainty cannot be reduced through science.
ContributorsSullivan Govani, Michelle (Author) / Minteer, Ben A (Thesis advisor) / Budruk, Megha (Committee member) / Sarewitz, Daniel (Committee member) / Theuer, Jason (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Invasive plants harm the ecological properties of natural systems, human health,
and local economies. However, the negative impacts of invasive species are not always
immediately visible and may be disregarded by local communities if social benefits of
control efforts are not clear. In this dissertation, I use a mixed-methods approach to
investigate the drivers of invasive plant distribution, potential financially feasible
management techniques to control invasion, and community forest user perceptions of
those techniques. In this work, I aim to incorporate the diverse perspectives of local
people and increase the long-term success of invasive species control activities in socio
economically vulnerable populations.
Integrating a spatially and temporally diverse data set, I explore the social and
ecological drivers of invasive plant abundance across 21 buffer zone community forests
in the Western Chitwan Valley of Nepal. I evaluate to what extent forest user and
collective manager activities, the legacies of historic activities, and ecological properties
influence present-day invasive plant abundance. I built upon this study to identify areas
with critically high levels of invasion then initiated a three-year, community-based
management intervention to evaluate traditional and adaptive land management
approaches to control invasive plants. I found that both approaches reduced invasive
plant abundance relative to the surrounding, untreated forest. I then interviewed focus
groups to investigate their perceived efficacy of the various treatment types and found
that almost all forest users and managers preferred the adaptive approach over the
traditional management approach. Notably, forest users cited the importance of the
availability of forest resources and lack of harmful plants in the plots that had undergone
this method. Understanding how forest users relate to and experience invasive plants has
been relatively understudied but can influence forest user engagement in different
management approaches. For this reason, I performed in-depth ethnoecological
interviews to explore how forest users perceive, how they utilize, and to what extent they
value invasive plants. This mixed-methods approach contributes to a more holistic
understanding of the role that local people play in invasive plant management and
restoration activities.
and local economies. However, the negative impacts of invasive species are not always
immediately visible and may be disregarded by local communities if social benefits of
control efforts are not clear. In this dissertation, I use a mixed-methods approach to
investigate the drivers of invasive plant distribution, potential financially feasible
management techniques to control invasion, and community forest user perceptions of
those techniques. In this work, I aim to incorporate the diverse perspectives of local
people and increase the long-term success of invasive species control activities in socio
economically vulnerable populations.
Integrating a spatially and temporally diverse data set, I explore the social and
ecological drivers of invasive plant abundance across 21 buffer zone community forests
in the Western Chitwan Valley of Nepal. I evaluate to what extent forest user and
collective manager activities, the legacies of historic activities, and ecological properties
influence present-day invasive plant abundance. I built upon this study to identify areas
with critically high levels of invasion then initiated a three-year, community-based
management intervention to evaluate traditional and adaptive land management
approaches to control invasive plants. I found that both approaches reduced invasive
plant abundance relative to the surrounding, untreated forest. I then interviewed focus
groups to investigate their perceived efficacy of the various treatment types and found
that almost all forest users and managers preferred the adaptive approach over the
traditional management approach. Notably, forest users cited the importance of the
availability of forest resources and lack of harmful plants in the plots that had undergone
this method. Understanding how forest users relate to and experience invasive plants has
been relatively understudied but can influence forest user engagement in different
management approaches. For this reason, I performed in-depth ethnoecological
interviews to explore how forest users perceive, how they utilize, and to what extent they
value invasive plants. This mixed-methods approach contributes to a more holistic
understanding of the role that local people play in invasive plant management and
restoration activities.
ContributorsClark, Michele Diane (Author) / Hall, Sharon J. (Thesis advisor) / Shrestha, Milan (Committee member) / Yabiku, Scott (Committee member) / Budruk, Megha (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Free-choice learning environments provide visitors with unique opportunities to observe and learn voluntarily and can serve as valuable educational opportunities. Incorporating interactive elements into displays have been shown to increase visitor dwell time and, ultimately, enhance the displays’ impacts on visitor knowledge and positive attitudes. This is especially important in free-choice learning environments where the visitor controls what display to visit and for how long. Visitors may not benefit from the display if they are not engaged with some attention-holding component. Interactive elements can greatly benefit a display’s potential to strengthen a visitor’s conservation attitudes and values of non-charismatic species that are traditionally less engaging due to their lack of activity or their appearance. This study examined the effect of a self-guided display with or without the incorporation of interactive elements on a visitors knowledge, attitude, and value of rattlesnakes. In Spring 2019, university biology students took surveys before (pre-survey) and after (post-survey) visiting a live animal rattlesnake display on campus. This was repeated in the Fall 2019 except that eight interactive elements were incorporated into the rattlesnakes displays. The pre and post-surveys were designed to evaluate the effect of the displays on student knowledge, attitudes, and values towards rattlesnakes. Paired t-tests revealed that visiting the displays increased student knowledge, attitude, and value of rattlesnakes, but that this effect was not enhanced by adding the interactive elements to the display. The results also showed that visiting the displays increased visitor dwell time, positively influenced one’s interest in revisiting the displays, and, overall provided visitors with enjoyment. These results provide further evidence that self-guided, live animal displays are impactful on increasing visitor knowledge, attitude, and value. However, the results also demonstrate that interactive elements do not necessarily enhance a display’s value, so further research should be conducted to determine key traits of effective interactive elements. This data and that from future related studies can have powerful conservation implications by informing on how displays can be optimized to achieve desired objectives.
ContributorsTrussell, Danielle (Author) / DeNardo, Dale F (Thesis advisor) / Budruk, Megha (Committee member) / Wright, Christian (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Balancing conservation goals and needs of local residents is always challenging. While some believe protected areas are a safe paradise for wildlife, others suggest that it is shortsighted to ignore the social and economic challenges faced by people who live adjacent to protected areas when addressing conservation objectives. This dissertation explores the link between biodiversity conservation and environmental education programs (EEPs) administered to residents of buffer zones adjacent to three protected areas in the Terai Arc Landscape, Nepal. Using surveys and interviews, this study examined 1) the influence of EEPs on attitudes of local people toward biodiversity conservation; 2) the influence of EEPs on conservation behavior; 3) the responses toward biodiversity conservation of local people residing in buffer zones who have received different levels of EEPs; and 4) the effect of EEPs on wildlife populations within adjacent protected areas. Local people who had participated in EEPs and attended school were more likely to express a positive attitude toward conservation goals than participants who had not participated in EEPs or had the opportunity to attend school. Participation in EEPs and level of education favored expressed behavior toward conservation goals, such as making contributions for conservation or supporting anti-poaching patrols. However, EEP participants and non-participants were equally likely to engage in activities that were at odds with positive conservation behavior, such as collecting fuel wood or killing wildlife to protect their farm or feed their families. A direct comparison of EEPs given by schools versus non-government organizations showed that EEPs were largely ineffective in promoting positive conservation attitudes and behaviors. Despite heavy poaching of charismatic species such as the greater one-horned rhinoceros or tiger over past decades, Nepal recently celebrated ‘zero poaching years’ in 2011 and 2013, largely due to increased anti-poaching enforcement. The relationship between EEPs and the decline in poaching is unclear, although local officials all claimed that EEPs played an important role. These results indicate that current administration of EEPs in Terai buffer zone communities is inadequate, while also providing evidence that properly administrated EEPs may become a valuable investment for these protected areas to achieve long-term success.
ContributorsShrestha, Samridhi (Author) / Smith, Andrew T. (Thesis advisor) / Minteer, Ben (Committee member) / Pearson, David (Committee member) / Nyaupane, Gyan (Committee member) / Budruk, Megha (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015