Assessing Stakeholder Perceptions: Listening to Avid Hunters of Western Kentucky

Abstract

Presented are findings of an interpretive investigation of perceptions held by avidKentucky hunters about white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) herd quality and hunting regulations. Three facilitated focus groups with hunters and five follow-up key informant interviews were conducted and analyzed through an iterative qualitative analysis. Three distinct categories of hunter concerns emerged that reflected aspects of quality of experience, trust, and the regulatory environment. The findings suggested the need for wildlife agency personnel to develop methods to disseminate information about regulation-setting in a more consistent and meaningful manner. The article suggests that adoption of a complementary, qualitative-quantitative approach to data collection and analysis can assist in crafting more relevant questions on statewide quantitative surveys, thereby leading to more relevant results.

Tolerance of wolves in Wisconsin: A mixed-methods examination of policy effects on attitudes and behavioral inclinations

“…Focus groups have been used as a stand-alone method to examine mental constructs of biodiversity (Fischer and Young, 2007), to learn about children's attitudes toward hunting (DiCamillo, 1995), and to explore beliefs underlying support or opposition of wildlife management methods (Dandy et al, 2012). They have also been used in combination with other methods such as individual interviews (Kaplowitz and Hoehn, 2001), key informant interviews (Mangun et al, 2007), and surveys (Kolinjivadi, 2012;Wutich et al, 2010) to examine perceptions of ecosystem services, perceptions of deer hunters, and water management concerns among decision makers. These studies found that focus groups used in concert with other methods revealed differing but complementary information.…”

Comparing Catch Orientation Among Minnesota Walleye, Northern Pike, and Bass Anglers

“…It seems somewhat counterintuitive that increased orientation to catch big largemouth bass was not related to increased support Downloaded by [University of California Davis] at 11:26 21 November 2014 for protective regulations. Perhaps largemouth bass anglers' attitudes about regulations are influenced by other factors like agency trust (Mangun, Throgmorton, Carver, & Davenport, 2007), political orientation (Konisky, Milyo, & Richardson, 2008), or norms promulgated by sportfishing organizations (Salz & Loomis, 2005).…”

Resource Attributes That Contribute to Nonresident Diver Satisfaction in the Florida Keys, Usa

“…recreation specialization theory was first proposed by bryan (1977), later refined by Ditton, Loomis, and Choi (1992), and subsequently used as a framework to investigate a variety of natural resource conservation issues (Dearden et al, 2006;mangun, throgmorton, Carver, & Davenport, 2007;Oh & Ditton, 2006). Specialization theory postulates that participants in an outdoor recreation activity (e.g., anglers, scuba divers, boaters) can be placed on a continuum ranging from general interest and low involvement at one end, to expert interest and high involvement in a leisure social world at the other end.…”