Understanding Park Visitors’ Response to Interventions to Reduce Petrified Wood Theft

Abstract

This study examined why theft of petrified wood at Petrified Forest National Park occurred and how designed interventions worked to inhibit the performance of that behavior. This evaluation was based on semi-structured interviews with observed thieves and non-thieves. Subjective responses revealed that theft was not a thoughtless act, but instead occurred because thieves rationalized that their particular act of theft was acceptable. The primary rationalization given by thieves was that their piece of stolen wood was so small that taking it would not hurt anything. It appeared as though anti-theft messages were received by all of those interviewed, but that thieves only applied these messages to the larger pieces of wood. In addition, most thieves did not view taking a little chip as stealing. There was not one primary message from the interventions processed by respondents, but instead many different messages were received and may have been impacting behavior.