Perspectives on the management of human-wildlife habituation: Report from a workshop at the George Wright Society Conference, Portland, OR, March 3, 2009
Hudenko HW and Decker DJ. 2013. Perspectives on the management of human-wildlife habituation: Report from a workshop at the George Wright Society Conference, Portland, OR, March 3, 2009. Natural Resource Report. NPS/BRMD/NRR—2013/630. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
In 2008 the Biological Resource Management Division of the National Park Service (NPS) launched a multi-faceted inquiry to inform management of human-wildlife habituation across the National Park system. As part of the inquiry, a habituation-themed workshop was conducted with park and protected area researchers, managers, and staff at the George Weight Society conference in 2009. The goal of the workshop was to advance understanding of habituation and identify and prioritize the most urgent management needs related to human‐wildlife habituation in protected areas. The workshop began with a presentation about habituation and the role it plays in human-wildlife interactions in national parks. This was followed by a panel discussion with audience participation. After a brief narrative from each panelist, a moderator presented a series of questions to guide the discussion. Audience members were encouraged to participate in the discussion and to offer input addressing habituation-related management issues. The input from panelists and audience members emphasized the difficulty associated with distinguishing between habituation and food conditioning in an applied context. Nevertheless, participants expressed a desire to articulate these nuances in the hopes of shifting management of human-wildlife interactions in parks from a reactive, conflict-oriented perspective to a more proactive one. The consensus among participants was that coordination and collaboration among park divisions and other affected parties was of upmost importance when considering management and decision-making related to habituation. Participants identified the need for more research-based information related to habituation to facilitate such efforts.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Hudenko, Heather; Decker, D.
- Date of Issue
- 2013-02
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- BRD , NRSS
- Keywords
- food conditioning, Habituation, human dimensions, human-wildlife, Visitor Impact, Wildlife, Wildlife viewing