Status of Peer-Reviewed Literature on the Human Dimensions of Managing Wildlife Habituation and Food Conditioning in National Parks.

摘要

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. The NPS created a Task Agreement with Cornell University to complete several parts of the inquiry. To begin the inquiry, a habituation-themed workshop was conducted with wildlife and human dimensions researchers and practitioners at a professional conference. The goal of the workshop was to advance understanding of habituation and identify and prioritize the most urgent research needs related to human-wildlife habituation in protected areas. The workshop included a series of presentations about habituation and the role it plays in human-wildlife interactions in national parks. Workshop participants broke into small groups for facilitated discussions. Groups prioritized the aspects of human-wildlife habituation they felt were most urgent and needed attention to improve management of human-wildlife interactions in protected areas. Session participants then reconvened to summarize and synthesize input from the break-out groups and to discuss potential implications for policy, education/training, and management interventions. Wildlife managers and human dimensions researchers and practitioners emphasized their desire to better understand human-wildlife habituation and the positive and negative consequences for park resources and visitor experiences. Workshop participants highlighted the need for integrated human dimensions and biological habituation research agendas. There was consensus among participants that standard protocol for addressing habituation issues is lacking across the NPS. Workshop participants indicated that improved understanding of human expectations was critical to managing habituation issues in protected areas.