How Vermonters Feel About Coyotes

Presenter's Name(s)

Ashley P. BrayFollow

Conference Year

January 2019

Abstract

One challenge to wildlife managers is trying to make management decisions around people who have different values surrounding wildlife. In Vermont, this dynamic is evident in policy challenges surrounding coyotes. Conflicts between different stakeholder groups over how to manage coyotes have been on the rise potentially due to the difference in culture and values between urban and rural residents. Although the general attitudes of hunters, farmers and the public about coyotes has been nationally studied, no study has investigated the difference between rural and urban residents’ attitudes about coyotes. In this study, I am using cultural ecosystem services (CES) as a framework to explore the values behind Vermonters attitudes regarding coyotes. CES are the non-material values that are a direct result of people’s relationship with nature and are often left out of decision-making. Once I obtain my results, I expect to see urban areas having more tolerance to the presence of coyotes, and in rural areas I expect there to be more animosity towards them.

Primary Faculty Mentor Name

Rachelle Gould

Graduate Student Mentors

Joshua Morse

Faculty/Staff Collaborators

Joshua Morse (Graduate Student Mentor)

Status

Undergraduate

Student College

Rubenstein School of Environmental and Natural Resources

Program/Major

Wildlife and Fisheries Biology

Primary Research Category

Vermont Studies

Secondary Research Category

Food & Environment Studies

Tertiary Research Category

Social Sciences

Abstract only.

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How Vermonters Feel About Coyotes

One challenge to wildlife managers is trying to make management decisions around people who have different values surrounding wildlife. In Vermont, this dynamic is evident in policy challenges surrounding coyotes. Conflicts between different stakeholder groups over how to manage coyotes have been on the rise potentially due to the difference in culture and values between urban and rural residents. Although the general attitudes of hunters, farmers and the public about coyotes has been nationally studied, no study has investigated the difference between rural and urban residents’ attitudes about coyotes. In this study, I am using cultural ecosystem services (CES) as a framework to explore the values behind Vermonters attitudes regarding coyotes. CES are the non-material values that are a direct result of people’s relationship with nature and are often left out of decision-making. Once I obtain my results, I expect to see urban areas having more tolerance to the presence of coyotes, and in rural areas I expect there to be more animosity towards them.