USFWS/NCTC Human Dimensions in Conservation

In 2012, Desert National Wildlife Refuge Complex began designing and building visitor centers for Desert, Ash Meadows, and Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuges. Larger efforts were underway to restore relationships and build partnerships with the seven tribes of Nuwuvi, or Southern Paiutes. The planning and design of the visitor centers was a collaboration with Nuwuvi and the voice of Nuwuvi is woven throughout the exhibits. For pictures of the visitor centers and more resources, please visit https://my.usgs.gov/hd/node/728

Who are stakeholders? Why do you need to know? In this podcast, Dr. Katie Steiger-Meister, Senior Public Affairs Specialist with the USFWS Midwest Office of External Affairs, talks about the importance of and tools for stakeholder identification and engagement.

Learn some tips for using persuasive communication to influence conservation behavior. In this podcast, we'll hear from Dr. Shawn Davis, professor of communication at Northern Michigan University and Ms. Lori Brown-Large of Action Research, marketing consultant and social scientist.

We've recently released the Human Dimensions Resource Portal (http://my.usgs.gov/hd/team/usfws). This site for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees provides access to human dimensions tools and resources applicable to conservation work and has many other features that encourage a community of practice around HD topics. Learn more about what it has to offer in this podcast!

Human-wildlife interactions can create obstacles for wildlife conservation efforts. In this podcast we'll hear from Nancy Finley, manager of the Florida Keys National Wildlife Refuge Complex, and Dave Case from D.J. Case and Associates, about the negative impacts of Key deer feeding and what's being done about it.

If we want people to conserve fish, wildlife and habitats, we must better understand how to enage with our audiences and effectively communicate with them. In this podcast, Dr. Jessica Thompson, Northern Michigan State University professor, shares tips and best practices for understanding and communicating to make our messages stick.

Being relevant in our conservation work requires that we understand the demographic changes in the US. In this podcast, Dr. Steve Murdock, Rice University professor and former director of the U.S. Census Bureau, shares some key demographic and socioeconomic trends we are seeing in the US and why a fundamental understanding of these trends is an important part of ensuring successful conservation.

In this podcast, Aaron Mize, Deputy Refuge Manager at Bosque del Apache and Natalie Sexton, Chief of Human Dimensions Branch/NWRS, discuss the relevance of the human dimension to refuges and their management. To help natural resource practitioners better identify and address the human dimension, they describe the social science behind topics such as behavior change, strategic communications and stakeholder engagement and provide examples of applying these concepts to natural resource management.

Natalie Sexton, Chief of Human Dimensions Branch/ NWRS, interviews Charlie Pelizza, Refuge Manager of Everglades Headwaters NWR and Conservation Area about the human dimensions of landscape conservation and planning. Charlie shares lessons learned through his experiences in leading the establishment of this refuge.