Date of Award

1-1-2015

Language

English

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

College/School/Department

Department of Biological Sciences

Content Description

1 online resource (x, 95 pages) : color illustrations

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Gary Kleppel

Committee Members

Jennifer Dean

Keywords

invasive species, land management, nature preserve, public opinion, survey, wildlife management, Landowners, Invasive plants, Alien plants

Subject Categories

Biology | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Abstract

Invasive species are a growing human-caused threat to biodiversity around the globe as they are moved both accidentally and intentionally through trade routes. The human component of conservation management is especially critical in invasive species, as human awareness is key to preventing and rapidly responding to new introductions. Yet the social component of management is poorly studied, even as outreach efforts continue to grow in an effort to gain public support. This study attempts to understand public knowledge and opinions toward invasive species and their management through an online survey of neighboring landowners to a suburban nature preserve, the Albany Pine Bush. Neighboring landowners within a quarter mile of the Preserve’s boundaries were contacted via postcard and asked to take an online survey. Results indicate that neighboring landowners are a unique stakeholder group, older and better educated than other residents of the capital region around Albany NY, and that while awareness of invasive species is high, knowledge of invasive species is low. This is a change from previous studies, which indicated low awareness of the invasive species problem. Neighboring landowners are generally supportive of active management of invasive species. The majority reported prescribed fire to be mostly acceptable (58.3%), mowing to be mostly acceptable (58.3%), and tree banding or girdling to be mostly acceptable (50.4%). The majority of respondents found passive management such as displays in the Discovery center (95%), education programs (93.6%), and outreach brochures to neighboring landowners (92.1%) as being mostly acceptable or acceptable in all cases. Most respondents (87.8%) were also open to the Preserve working with the local community to control invasive species outside of Preserve boundaries. However the low response rate for this pilot study suggests less interested landowners may be underrepresented. Further study is recommended to better understand the opinions of this critical stakeholder group in order to gain their support for future management needs.

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