Human dimensions of wildlife management: Knowledge for agency survival in the 21st century

Abstract The need to understand the human dimensions of fish and wildlife management has increased in recent years as societal values have changed pertaining to wildlife and its use. For management agencies to survive into the twenty‐first century, they must address four contemporary concerns: (1) identifying and understanding diverse stakeholders; (2) understanding forces affecting traditional stakeholder participation in fish and wildlife activities; (3) assessing the best ways to obtain stakeholder input for management decision making; and (4) determining how to incorporate disparate stakeholder preferences into management decisions. Human dimensions inquiries can help agencies adequately address these concerns by: (1) exploring human dimensions problems and monitoring human attitudes and behaviors; (2) synthesizing human dimensions with other bodies of knowledge regarding human behavior; and (3) applying human dimensions knowledge in management decisions and evaluating outcomes. These kinds of human dimensions inquiries complement the biological studies agencies already conduct, and can help agencies make more informed and more acceptable management decisions. Keywords: human dimensionsdecision makingstakeholderswildlife management