| Demands by citizens for greater involvement in wildlife management have increased significantly in recent decades. At the same time, the diversity of people interested in wildlife has expanded from the traditional base of hunters and farmers to include stakeholders as varied as wildlife watchers, suburban homeowners, and the tourism industry. A major concern of wildlife managers today is weighing input from stakeholders and resolving conflicts. Citizen participation literature is helpful for developing a theoretical foundation, but a gap exists between theory and practice. Conceptually-sound, applied research that evaluates citizen participation approaches is needed to bridge the gap between theory and practice.; Combining theoretical and applied objectives, the goal of the dissertation is to address the following research question: How can theories of democracy and participation be integrated with experience of wildlife managers to guide the design of stakeholder involvement strategies and improve citizen participation in wildlife management? A conceptual framework for designing context-specific stakeholder involvement strategies is developed based on analysis of literature as well as qualitative and quantitative inquiry of stakeholders and wildlife managers. The framework is applied to two current wildlife management controversies: elk management in Evergreen, Colorado and white-tailed deer management in Cayuga Heights, New York. In collaboration with researchers and wildlife managers, the framework is evaluated and refined accordingly.; Analysis of the two cases reveals that different circumstances lead to different strategies for involving stakeholders in wildlife management. Results suggest that overall approaches to stakeholder involvement should differ in the two cases; i.e., a co-managerial approach is appropriate for deer management in Cayuga Heights while a transactional or inquisitive approach is appropriate for elk management in Evergreen. Although overall approaches should differ, similar characteristics should be emphasized in the implementation of stakeholder involvement processes. Specifically, stakeholders in both cases are less concerned about saving time and money than about participating in high quality processes that rely on scientific information, have genuine influence on decisions, treat citizens fairly, and promote communication and education. While these results have implications for wildlife management policy and practice, this research also contributes to theory through the development of a conceptual framework. |
