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- Title
Ecological Awareness, Connection to Wetlands, and Wildlife Recreation as Drivers of Wetland Conservation Involvement.
- Authors
Rutter, Jonathan D.; Dayer, Ashley A.; Raedeke, Andrew H.
- Abstract
Public involvement in conservation is driven by several factors, including individuals' ecological awareness, sense of connection to landscapes, and wildlife recreation participation. Efforts to increase conservation involvement would benefit from a deeper understanding of the relative strength of these factors in specific landscapes. This study examined these factors specifically in the context of wetland conservation, based on a 2017 survey of Missouri residents (n = 4076). We used multiple linear regression to analyze how wildlife recreation participation predicted awareness of wetland ecological benefits, as well as connection to wetlands. Then, we used logistic regression to analyze how demographic characteristics, wildlife recreation participation in wetlands, awareness, and connection predicted individual involvement in wetland conservation. 19% of respondents reported engaging in at least one wetland-related conservation behavior in the previous year. Compared to non-participants, we found that both wildlife viewers and waterfowl hunters were significantly more aware of wetland ecological benefits, more connected to wetlands, and more likely to be involved in wetland conservation. Connection to wetlands was a considerably stronger predictor of conservation involvement than was awareness of wetland ecological benefits. Our results suggest that promoting connection to wetlands, particularly through increased participation in wildlife recreation, may contribute to more widespread involvement in wetland conservation.
- Subjects
MISSOURI; WETLANDS; WETLAND conservation; AWARENESS; DEMOGRAPHIC characteristics; RECREATION; LOGISTIC regression analysis; CICONIIFORMES
- Publication
Wetlands, 2022, Vol 42, Issue 2, p1
- ISSN
0277-5212
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s13157-021-01522-6