Communicating Human Dimensions Findings to Non -Technical Audiences: The Potential for Conflict Index

Wildlife management involves not only the biological and ecological components, but the social and economic as well. Individuals may hold positive or negative beliefs, as well as different values and attitudes toward the same species. Stakeholder groups wanting different management approaches for a species often come into conflict with one another and with agency managers. Human dimensions research provides a scientific approach to determine public acceptance for proposed management actions, affords understanding of public perceptions regarding issues, and allows managers to better understand stakeholder positions to ensure greater success of management programs. By incorporating human dimensions research into wildlife program planning and implementation, wildlife managers can monitor changes (both positive and negative) in public attitudes toward and perceptions of individual species, management efforts, and agencies. In this way human dimensions research becomes an integral component of adaptive management. Reliable human dimensions data allows agencies to understand not only areas of potential conflict before launching management programs, but underlying factors leading to conflict - thereby providing potential opportunities to address or mitigate these factors wherever possible. Comprehensive human dimensions research approaches also afford managers the opportunity to test messaging, evaluate program acceptance, and determine stakeholder trust in the agency itself.