An Evaluation of West Virginia's Non-Industrial Private Forest Landowner Participation in Conservation Easements

Oliver, Matt D.

doi:10.33915/etd.3322

Cited by 3 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…(Farmer Participant 23) This theme represents a form of Cultural Capital, in that an attachment was generally derived from a familial devotion that was passed down over time. This was an expected result because prior research has shown that participation in conservation programs can be motivated by a personal connection to the land (Oliver 2011;Farmer 2009).…”

Section: Personal Attachment To the Landmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…These sentiments were expected, given that the literature discusses rural landowners and their negative perceptions of organizational trustworthiness Oliver 2011).…”

Section: Barriers To Participationmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…To gather empirical data on Human Captial, participants were asked about their general knowledge and level of familiarity with conservation practices (Prokopy et al 2014;Oliver 2011) and to describe any field demonstrations or on-farm educational opportunities they had attended concerning soil and water conservation practices (Mancini et al 2008;Bruening and Martin 1992). In addition, each informant was asked whether they had ever engaged in participatory approaches (Prokopy et al 2014;Pannell et al 2006) such as NRCS LWGs.…”

Section: Farmer Interview Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They were also asked to rate the importance of indicators such as cultural landscapes (Burton 2012;Burton et al 2008;Schmitzberger et al 2005;Ryan et al 2003), their role as land stewards (Prokopy et al 2014;Greiner and Gregg 2011), and conservation practices in general (Arbuckle et al 2018;Prokopy et al 2014;Baumgart-Getz et al 2012;Ma et al 2010;Prokopy et al 2008). Furthermore, participants were provided a Likert scale to rate the trustworthiness of several kinds of groups and organizations (e.g., Federal agencies, local government, NGOs, and farmer groups) Oliver 2011).…”

Section: Financial Capitalmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Data was gathered on Human Capital by inquiring about the respondent's general knowledge of management, vegetative, and structural conservation practices(Prokopy et al 2014;Oliver 2011). Questions regarding how much formal(Baumgart-Getz et al 2012, 21) and informal(Baumgart-Getz et al 2012;Mancini 2008;Bruening and Martin 1992) education they had received were posed.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Assessment of Farmer Participation in the United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Services’ Conservation Technical Assistance Program in West Virginia

Oliver¹

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Food and fiber production on America's farmlands have a major influence on the environment, therefore, soil and water conservation practices are critical. NRCS has provided no-fee technical assistance for nearly 100 years through the Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA) program. The CTA program is essential because it provides technical knowledge directly to farmers for planning and implementing conservation practices that are proven to benefit environmental health and on-farm production. CTA program funds support NRCS staff and training and are thereby the local service delivery vehicle for all NRCS programs. However, in recent years, funding for CTA has remained relatively constant while financial assistance program funds have increased dramatically. Because NRCS relies on federal appropriations, it's vitally important to make the case for additional CTA funds while also developing strategies to increase program effectiveness. The objectives of this study were to: (1) determine the factors that influence farmers' decisions to participate in the CTA program; (2) consider NRCS's organizational capacity to deliver it; and (3) describe how NRCS might increase participation. A theory of change to increase participation was developed based on the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) approach and Community Capitals Framework (CCF). This theoretical model was used to develop and test hypotheses through a sequential mixed methods research design. The first method utilized Geographic Information System (GIS) modeling to identify the sample population. Next, asset mapping was used to evaluate a potential causal relationship between participation and organizational assets. Then, interviews were conducted to understand motivations and barriers to participation and inform survey design. Lastly, data from a mailed questionnaire was quantitatively analyzed to assess farmer motivations and barriers to participation. Results showed that additional CTA funds are needed to increase NRCS staff and expand training to build public engagement and community development knowledge and skills. Furthermore, results indicate that the addition of coproduction strategies through partnerships and farmer-to-farmer methods could further increase CTA program participation. There were many people that contributed to this research. If not for them, completion of this dissertation would not have been possible. I would like to take a moment and acknowledge them for their time and efforts. I would like to begin by showing appreciation for my advisor, Dr. Margaret Stout. Thank you for believing in me and for challenging me. I am incredibly grateful for your advice and encouragement that began long before my time as a PhD student. There is no doubt this work is tremendously better because of your careful and thoughtful guidance. It has been a pleasure working with you these last five years.

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Section: Personal Attachment To the Landmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…These sentiments were expected, given that the literature discusses rural landowners and their negative perceptions of organizational trustworthiness Oliver 2011).…”

Section: Barriers To Participationmentioning

confidence: 92%