Using human dimensions insights to improve conservation efforts for the eastern massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus) in Michigan and the timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus horridus) in Minnesota

Human-wildlife interactions, whether positive or negative, are driving forces for stakeholder desires for wildlife populations. Thus, wildlife managers must integrate both ecological and sociological information to formulate wildlife management decisions. The overall goal of this dissertation research was to enhance reptile conservation efforts through discovery and dissemination of human dimensions insights on which management decisions could be made, particularly those that pertain to development and maintenance of social acceptance capacity for reptiles. In the case of snakes, human-wildlife encounters frequently have resulted in the death of the animal and research to determine specific human beliefs and attitudes that resulted in lethal behaviors toward snakes was lacking. The eastern massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus) is a candidate for listing and the timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus horridus) is under consideration for listing as a candidate species under the federal Endangered Species Act. Michigan is the stronghold for eastern massasauga populations and one large tract of extant habitat coincides with rapidly increasing human development pressures in the Ann Arbor and Detroit metropolitan areas. Minnesota paid bounties on the timber rattlesnake until 1989, and subsequently listed the species as threatened in 1996. Four counties in southeastern Minnesota still support populations of this species. To determine social carrying capacity for snakes in these two areas, I conducted semi-structured interviews to learn how people felt about the reptiles and amphibians found in their areas. Results were then used in the development of a mail questionnaire that was administered to 1,092 stakeholders in Michigan and 1,198 stakeholders in Minnesota. People who lived in the presence of rattlesnakes had more positive attitudes toward both non-venomous snakes and rattlesnakes than people who were unsure of their presence or people living in their absence. Social acceptance capacity was determined using two existing frameworks, cultural carrying capacity and wildlife stakeholder acceptance capacity. The variable that explained the greatest degree of variation in social acceptance capacities toward rattlesnakes was the rattlesnake stewardship score, a series of six items that were used to determine respondents' level of obligation toward the well-being of rattlesnakes. Risk perceptions were the most important determinants of whether or not a respondent would engage in a potentially lethal behavior toward a snake. Results of this study indicate a great need for education and communication efforts to correct mistaken beliefs and reduce heightened risk perceptions about snakes. An experiment was designed to test outreach methods for their efficacy in increasing knowledge and influencing attitudes toward snakes. Results indicate that face-to-face contact programs are most effective at changing attitudes toward snakes, but that any treatment can be used to increase knowledge. Information gained through this research can be used as the foundation for snake management efforts in Michigan and Minnesota. However, the process should be tested in other areas of the country where more than one rattlesnake currently exists and where rattlesnakes are more abundant on the landscape.