Bijesh Mishra[1], Rodney Will[2], Omkar Joshi[3]
(Short Oral Presentation, 7 Minute)
Note: This research was presented during a conference “2021 International Society of Forest Resource Economics Symposium” held virtually and live via ZOOM May 18-19, 2021 (Central Standard Time).
Abstract
The forest-grassland transitional ecotone of the south-central USA is a mixture of forest, savanna, and prairie. The ecotone is increasing in woody plant dominance due to the exclusion of fire and other anthropogenic factors. Active management, e.g., prescribed fire and thinning, can increase sustainability and resiliency and restore the full suite of ecosystem services, but comes with the cost of management and acceptance of management tools. Deer hunting is a vital source of revenue generation to offset the landowner’s management cost in the region. We tested Oklahoma landowners’ and hunters’ perceptions regarding active and sustainable management of forest and rangeland for deer habitat using two established theories of reasoned action and planned behavior as well as expanded theories adding moral norms. We collected mailed survey data and analyzed the results using structural equation modeling. We found that subjective norms and perceived behavior predict deer hunting intention when moral norms were introduced into the model. Attitudes, however, did not mediate through moral norms, but were able to significantly predict deer hunting intentions independently with negative sign. The study suggests that landowners have positive social pressure, and are interested towards active management but associated financial burden, and risk could be shaping negative attitudes.
Key Words: Active Management, Deer Hunting, Theory of Planned Behavior, Theory of Reasoned Action, Structural Equation Modeling.
[1] Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Oklahoma State University. Presenter.
[2] Professor Dr. Rodney Will, Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Oklahoma State University.
[3] Assistant Professor Dr. Omkar Joshi, Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Oklahoma State University.
Further details: International Society of Forest Resource Economics (ISFRE).
