scholarly journals Stakeholder Support for Wildlife Conservation Funding Policies

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris D. Henderson ◽  
Shawn J. Riley ◽  
Emily F. Pomeranz ◽  
Daniel B. Kramer
Keyword(s):  
Wildlife Management ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
Value Orientations ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
Sales Tax ◽  
Funding Policy ◽  
Funding Model ◽  
Funding Policies ◽  
Conservation Funding

State wildlife management agencies in the United States have depended on a “user-pay” funding model for conservation efforts that relies on revenue from hunting license sales and a federal excise tax on firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment. Declines in hunting participation, however, jeopardize sustainability of the current funding model. Ensuring support among stakeholders for wildlife management and conservation may require expanding sources of funding and incorporating the perspectives and values of a diversifying constituency into decision making processes. We used a web-based survey of wildlife-associated recreationists in Michigan, USA to evaluate support for a range of conservation funding policies. Respondents self-identified primarily as hunters (n = 2,558) or wildlife watchers (n = 942). We used binary logistic regression to evaluate support for four conservation funding policy options: state sales tax, lottery proceeds, extractive industry revenue, and a user-based tax on outdoor gear (i.e., “backpack tax”). Determinants of support varied by type of policy and stakeholder characteristics. We found no statistically significant differences between hunters and wildlife watchers in their support for conservation funding policies when accounting for other variables such as wildlife value orientations, engagement in stewardship behaviors, age, and gender. The industry-based policy achieved the greatest level of approval, while the backpack tax had the lowest. Respondents were mixed in their support of the sales tax and lottery proceeds options. Cluster analysis revealed three homogenous groups related to conservation funding policies: “strong support,” “mixed/opposed,” and “anti-backpack tax.” Clusters differed in their support for conservation funding policies and on psychological and demographic variables. The “strong support” and “anti-backpack tax” groups differed in their levels of stewardship engagement, knowledge of conservation funding mechanisms, and support for the backpack tax option. The “mixed-opposed” group tended to be older, less educated, and less likely to be a member of a conservation organization. Results suggest support for conservation funding differs by policy type and social and psychological characteristics of stakeholders. Based on differences in policy support revealed in this study, we suggest a multi-tiered approach to funding conservation and building on support among wildlife stakeholders to mitigate the looming funding crisis for state wildlife agencies.

scholarly journals Successful Wildlife Conservation Requires Good Governance

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily F. Pomeranz ◽  
Darragh Hare ◽  
Daniel J. Decker ◽  
Ann B. Forstchen ◽  
Cynthia A. Jacobson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Wildlife Management ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
The United States ◽  
Limited Range ◽  
State Agencies ◽  
Funding Model ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
The U.S

Public wildlife management in the United States is transforming as agencies seek relevancy to broader constituencies. State agencies in the United States, while tasked with conserving wildlife for all beneficiaries of the wildlife trust, have tended to manage for a limited range of benefits in part due to a narrow funding model heavily dependent on hunting, fishing, and trapping license buyers. To best meet the needs, interests, and concerns of a broader suite of beneficiaries, agencies will need to reconsider how priorities for management are set. This presents an opportunity for conservation program design and evaluation to be elevated in importance. We argue that success in wildlife conservation in the U.S. requires assessment of both decision-making processes and management results in relation to four questions: conservation of what, under what authority, for what purposes, and for whom?

scholarly journals Support for Minimum Legal Sales Age Laws Set to Age 21 Across Australia, Canada, England, and United States: Findings From the 2018 ITC Four Country Smoking and Vaping Survey

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 2266-2270
Author(s):  
Summer Sherburne Hawkins ◽  
Janet Chung-Hall ◽  
Lorraine Craig ◽  
Geoffrey T Fong ◽  
Ron Borland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Smoking Status ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Former Smokers ◽  
Sectional Analysis

Abstract Introduction Although the United States has seen a rapid increase in tobacco minimum legal sales age (MLSA) laws set to age 21, there is wide variation across high-income countries and less is known about policy support outside of the United States. We examined the prevalence of support for tobacco MLSA 21 laws as well as associations by sociodemographic, smoking, and household characteristics among current and former adult smokers. Methods In this cross-sectional analysis, we used the 2018 International Tobacco Control Four Country Smoking and Vaping Survey to examine support for MLSA 21 laws among 12 904 respondents from Australia, Canada, England, and United States. Results Support for raising the legal age of purchasing cigarettes/tobacco to 21 ranged from 62.2% in the United States to 70.8% in Canada. Endorsement also varied by age, such that 40.6% of 18–20 years old supported the policy compared with 69.3% of those aged ≥60 years. In the adjusted regression model, there was also higher support among respondents who were female than male, non-white than white, those who did not allow smoking in the household than those that did, and those who had children in the household than those that did not. There were no differences by household income, education, or smoking status. Conclusions Most current and former smokers, including a sizable minority of those aged ≤20 years, support raising the legal age of purchasing cigarettes/tobacco to 21. Implications There was strong support for MLSA 21 laws among smokers and former smokers across Australia, Canada, England, and the United States, providing evidence for the increasing public support of the passage of these laws beyond the United States.

Renewable Energy on Tribal Lands: A Feasibility Study for a Biomass-to-Energy Plant on the Cocopah Reservation in Arizona

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Lauren K. D’Souza ◽  
William L. Ascher ◽  
Tanja Srebotnjak
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
The United States ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Energy Plant ◽  
Energy Projects ◽  
Alternative Investment

Native American reservations are among the most economically disadvantaged regions in the United States; lacking access to economic and educational opportunities that are exacerbated by “energy insecurity” due to insufficient connectivity to the electric grid and power outages. Local renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and biomass offer energy alternatives but their implementation encounters barriers such as lack of financing, infrastructure, and expertise, as well as divergent attitudes among tribal leaders. Biomass, in particular, could be a source of stable base-load power that is abundant and scalable in many rural communities. This case study examines the feasibility of a biomass energy plant on the Cocopah reservation in southwestern Arizona. It considers feedstock availability, cost and energy content, technology options, nameplate capacity, discount and interest rates, construction, operation and maintenance (O&M) costs, and alternative investment options. This study finds that at current electricity prices and based on typical costs for fuel, O&M over 30 years, none of the tested scenarios is presently cost-effective on a net present value (NPV) basis when compared with an alternative investment yielding annual returns of 3% or higher. The technology most likely to be economically viable and suitable for remote, rural contexts—a combustion stoker—resulted in a levelized costs of energy (LCOE) ranging from US$0.056 to 0.147/kWh. The most favorable scenario is a combustion stoker with an estimated NPV of US$4,791,243. The NPV of the corresponding alternative investment is US$7,123,380. However, if the tribes were able to secure a zero-interest loan to finance the plant’s installation cost, the project would be on par with the alternative investment. Even if this were the case, the scenario still relies on some of the most optimistic assumptions for the biomass-to-power plant and excludes abatement costs for air emissions. The study thus concludes that at present small-scale, biomass-to-energy projects require a mix of favorable market and local conditions as well as appropriate policy support to make biomass energy projects a cost-competitive source of stable, alternative energy for remote rural tribal communities that can provide greater tribal sovereignty and economic opportunities.

scholarly journals Cyber Terrorism and Public Support for Retaliation – A Multi-Country Survey Experiment

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Ryan Shandler ◽  
Michael L. Gross ◽  
Sophia Backhaus ◽  
Daphna Canetti
Keyword(s):  
Television News ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
Randomized Experiments ◽  
Cyber Terrorism ◽  
News Reports ◽  
Terror Attacks ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
Psychological Mechanism

Abstract Does exposure to cyber terrorism prompt calls for retaliatory military strikes? By what psychological mechanism does it do so? Through a series of controlled, randomized experiments, this study exposed respondents (n = 2,028) to television news reports depicting cyber and conventional terror attacks against critical infrastructures in the United States, United Kingdom and Israel. The findings indicate that only lethal cyber terrorism triggers strong support for retaliation. Findings also confirm that anger bridges exposure to cyber terrorism and retaliation, rather than psychological mechanisms such as threat perception or anxiety as other studies propose. These findings extend to the cyber realm a recent trend that views anger as a primary mechanism linking exposure to terrorism with militant preferences. With cyber terrorism a mounting international concern, this study demonstrates how exposure to this threat can generate strong public support for retaliatory policies, depending on the lethality of the attack.

Low Self-Control, Substance-Using Peers and Intimate Partners, Pro-Drug Use Definitions, and Inhalant Use Among Convicted Offenders in South Korea

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaeyong Choi ◽  
Nathan E. Kruis
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Mediation Effects ◽  
Mediation Hypothesis ◽  
Low Self Control ◽  
The Relationship

Hirschi has repeatedly argued that the relationship between social learning variables and crime is a product of “self-selection” driven by low self-control (LSC). Akers’ has suggested that social learning mechanisms, such as affiliations with deviant individuals and acceptance of criminal definitions, can mediate the effects of LSC on crime. Interestingly, there has been little comparative work done to explore this mediation hypothesis in the realm of substance use for offender populations outside of the United States. This study helps fill these gaps in the literature by exploring the potential mediation effects of social learning variables on the relationship between LSC and inhalant use among a sample of 739 male offenders in South Korea. Our results provide strong support for the mediation hypothesis that LSC indirectly influences self-reported inhalant use through social learning mechanisms.

The precarious position of wildlife conservation funding in the United States

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Mark Damian Duda ◽  
Tom Beppler ◽  
Douglas J. Austen ◽  
John F. Organ
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Conservation Funding

The Arts as a Polarized Issue and the Role of Political Trust in Promoting the Arts: Evidence From the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-97
Author(s):  
Lim Jae Young ◽  
Woo Harin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Moderating Role

The arts in the United States, for a long time received strong support from both sides of the political aisle. However, in recent years, the arts have been transformed into a partisan issue that pits conservatives against liberals. The article points to the importance of political trust as a means of helping conservatives overcome their ideological inclinations and support the arts. Scholars argue that political trust influences more strongly individuals who perceive a given policy to be one that imposes ideological risks for them compared with those without such risks. Focusing on the moderating role of political trust, the article examines whether political trust can help alleviate the conservatives’ hostility to the arts. Relying on the 2016 General Social Survey, the article finds that conservatives have no direct relationship with arts spending, but they will be more likely to support arts spending when this is contingent upon political trust.

scholarly journals Solving Environmental Problems Together? The Roles of Value Orientations and Trust in the State in Environmental Policy Support among Swedish Undergraduate Students

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niklas Harring ◽  
Tomas Torbjörnsson ◽  
Cecilia Lundholm
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
The State ◽  
Value Orientations ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Environmental Intervention ◽  
Environmental Policy Instruments ◽  
Personal Norms

This paper explores whether value orientation (VO) and trust in the state (TIS) are linked to support for environmental intervention and steering among Swedish students in economics, law, and political science. Furthermore, we considered whether environmental personal norms mediate the link between VO and support for environmental policy instruments and finally, whether TIS moderates the link between environmental personal norms and support for environmental policy instruments, testing this on a sample of over 800 Swedish students. We found a positive link between both a self-transcendence VO and TIS on environmental policy support; however, we cannot confirm a moderating effect of TIS on the relation between environmental personal norms and policy support. Furthermore, left-wing students displayed stronger support for environmental intervention. We conclude that more knowledge on programme-specific characteristics regarding environmental values, beliefs, and attitudes among freshman students can enhance sustainability teaching intended to develop the students’ critical and reflective capabilities.

scholarly journals A multiscale approach to balance trade-offs among dam infrastructure, river restoration, and cost

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (47) ◽  
pp. 12069-12074 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel G. Roy ◽  
Emi Uchida ◽  
Simone P. de Souza ◽  
Ben Blachly ◽  
Emma Fox ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
River Restoration ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Dam Removal ◽  
The United States ◽  
Multiscale Approach ◽  
Funding Policy ◽  
Net Benefit ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Aging Infrastructure

Aging infrastructure and growing interests in river restoration have led to a substantial rise in dam removals in the United States. However, the decision to remove a dam involves many complex trade-offs. The benefits of dam removal for hazard reduction and ecological restoration are potentially offset by the loss of hydroelectricity production, water supply, and other important services. We use a multiobjective approach to examine a wide array of trade-offs and synergies involved with strategic dam removal at three spatial scales in New England. We find that increasing the scale of decision-making improves the efficiency of trade-offs among ecosystem services, river safety, and economic costs resulting from dam removal, but this may lead to heterogeneous and less equitable local-scale outcomes. Our model may help facilitate multilateral funding, policy, and stakeholder agreements by analyzing the trade-offs of coordinated dam decisions, including net benefit alternatives to dam removal, at scales that satisfy these agreements.

Current Developing Trend of Sales Tax on E-Business

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 60-73
Author(s):  
James G. S. Yang ◽  
Peter L. Lohrey ◽  
Leonard J. Lauricella
Keyword(s):  
State Government ◽  
The United States ◽  
United States Senate ◽  
Sales Tax ◽  
Internet Commerce ◽  
Business Operations ◽  
State Statutes ◽  
State Income Tax ◽  
Physical Presence ◽  
State Income

This article explores the development of sales tax on e-business. It points out that the problem was rooted in the fact that the seller is required to collect and remit the tax to the buyer's state government. If the seller and the buyer do not reside in the same state, the buyer's state government has no jurisdiction over the seller, unless there is a “physical presence” of the seller in the buyer's state. A state government can require an out-of-state seller to collect sales tax from the in-state buyer only when there is “physical presence.” However, what constitutes “physical presence” can become very controversial and complex. This article discusses many court cases. As Internet commerce was incorporated into the business operations, a great many transactions were executed online. The concept of “physical presence” became even more complex, as websites and digitized products became more commonplace. A new concept of “economic nexus” has evolved under many state statutes. Now an out-of-state seller may be required to collect sales tax from an in-state buyer, regardless of “physical presence.” In 2013 the United States Senate enacted the “Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013.” This embraced the concept of “economic nexus.” This legislation could potentially end or at least greatly simplify all controversies in e-business taxation. This paper further notes that the concept of “economic nexus” may be extended to the arena of state income tax.

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