what's the policy problem ?Jackson, Wyoming is home to the most iconic grizzly bear and her family. She goes by the name #399 and she and other grizzly bears lack a decision-making process that accounts for people's values in her management. How do we account for people's expectations of how these bears are managed if there is no system in place that can consider our expectations of wildlife as a public good for all?
|
purpose of study
The purpose of this study is to provide social, biophysical, and political context to human-bear management in Jackson Hole in order to identify a policy problem and provide recommendations that address conservation governance issues. The ultimate goal is to provide better insight into how environmental practitioners and public can better manage for people's expectations in order to ensure a secure future for grizzly bears and people in Jackson Hole.
identify the problemOftentimes in conservation management, the solutions are designed before the actual problem is defined. Problem definition is a critical step of decision-making that is usually overseen. This step is necessary to understand what we (as individuals and a society) are truly dealing with.
Without problem definition, we are only attending to the surface of the problem with technical, conventional strategies that can only address the problem in the short-term or can end up exacerbating the problem. |
Technical strategies like hazing, euthanization, and relocation of grizzly bears are often used to address socio-ecological conflicts. These conflicts call for a decision-making framework that considers a level of complexity that traditional wildlife management practices are unable to grapple.
By not adequately addressing the underlying problem of human-bear relations, grizzly bears are being killed at the cost of our inability to address complex problems. We are left with the following problem and question: |
|
how do we manage the world's most iconic and value-laden grizzly bear without a decision-making process that addresses social complexity ? |
|
other strategies sought
|