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Suposiciones Conductuales de las Políticas de Conservación: la Conservación de Hábitat de Rob le en Tierras Forestales Familiares en el Valle Willamette, Oregon
Author(s) -
FISCHER A. PAIGE,
BLISS JOHN C.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
conservation biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.2
H-Index - 222
eISSN - 1523-1739
pISSN - 0888-8892
DOI - 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2007.00873.x
Subject(s) - stewardship (theology) , flexibility (engineering) , autonomy , threatened species , business , environmental resource management , public policy , habitat , geography , environmental planning , political science , ecology , politics , economics , management , law , biology
Designing policies that harness the motivations of landowners is essential for conserving threatened habitats on private lands. Our goal was to understand how to apply ethnographic information about family‐forest owners to the design of conservation policy for Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana) in the Willamette Valley, Oregon (U.S.A.). We examined owners' knowledge, beliefs, values, and socioeconomic contexts through in‐depth individual and focus‐group interviews to understand their motivations to conserve oak. We then used Schneider and Ingram's (1990) policy analysis framework to compare owners' motivations to the logic of policy. Owners had complex motivations for conserving oak. Despite this complexity, all 5 categories of policy that Schneider and Ingram describe hold promise. Policies that use symbolism to inspire behavior and policies that build capacity can harness owners' stewardship ethics and moral obligations. Policies that offer tangible rewards can build on owners' utilitarian motives. Policies that permit and prohibit behavior can tap owners' concerns about rule violations. Policies that promote voluntary, collaborative efforts can accommodate owners' need for autonomy and flexibility.