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Assessing Perceptions of
Rural Stakeholders Toward Wolves
(2002-present)
Undergraduate Students:
Jared Duquette, Matt Hund,
Megan Provost, Shawn Rossler
Inclusion of human dimensions into the development of
management plans for gray wolves (Canis lupus) in the Great Lakes Region
is essential given the long and intimate relationship that humans have
experienced with wolves. In
particular, livestock producers are the sector of our society that will continue
to interact directly (often as a conflict in the form of livestock depredation)
with wolves as the wolf population in the Great Lakes Region continues to
recover and expand into more agricultural lands.
Conflicts that arise between livestock producers and wolves often are
relayed into depredation control activities whereby government officials destroy
wolves suspected of causing the conflict(s).
Thus, the attitudes of livestock producers can be instrumental in shaping
management plans and societal perceptions of wolves.
Unfortunately, the attitudes and perceptions of the rural community
toward wolves, livestock depredations, and management practices for preventing
depredations have not been adequately assessed in North America.
This study aims to provide a comprehensive measure of attitudes of rural
stakeholders in the Great Lakes Region and will lead to further
studies that will extrapolate these findings to other regions of
North America. This study is funded by CMU.
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Shawn
Rossler (left) and Jared Duquetee
(right) entering the last survey from 2003.
Jared is completing a M.S. degree in wildlife at Ohio State University.
Shawn completed a M.S. degree
at CMU and is currently a wildlife technician with the U.S. Forest Service. |
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