Deer management cooperative members’ likelihood of engaging in conservation initiatives: an importance-likelihood analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACT Although research indicates deer management cooperatives (DMCs) provide the needed means to influence large-scale resource management changes, research has yet to identify which conservation initiatives DMC members find important and would likely implement. Therefore, we performed an Importance-Likelihood Analysis to ascertain which conservation initiatives DMC members find important and their likelihood of carrying out these initiatives. Results from our survey of 459 DMC members across 5 U.S. states found that the conservation initiatives of “increasing days spent on habitat management” and “managing habitat for species other than white-tailed deer” fell within the “Keep up the Good Work” quadrant. The conservation behavior of “enrolling in government cost-share programs” fell in the “Hard Sell” quadrant, and the initiatives of “becoming members of conservation NGOs,” and “increasing money spent on habitat management” fell in the “Communicate Value/Importance” quadrant. Thus, managers gain insight to improve the likelihood of users implementing a given conservation behavior.