A Values-Based Private Landowner Typology to Improve Grassland Conservation Initiatives

Abstract

Many conservation initiatives are based on natural science alone, despite an extensive body of literature demonstrating that the incorporation of social science generates more successful and lasting outcomes. The Land Use Value (LUV) scale is an example of a social science tool that grassland conservation practitioners can use to improve their understanding of the land use decisions of private agricultural landowners. Drawing on data from a mail survey, we demonstrated the utility of the LUV scale to segment agricultural producers by four LUV types (Humans First, Nature First, Interconnected, and Disconnected) with significantly different motivations and land use behaviors. This information can be used to evaluate and align grassland conservation practices, policies, and messaging with the LUV types of private agricultural landowners. Tools like the LUV scale are critical to building the social science capacity of conservation professionals and organizations, in order to improve the efficacy of conservation initiatives.

Keywords:

• Agriculture
• grassland conservation
• land use values
• typology
• private land

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to express their gratitude to all survey participants from MN, ND, and SD, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, and South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks for their support and participation, and C. Johnston for reviewing the initial draft of this manuscript.

Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Additional information

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under award number [FX.SC1420033LCC0/145/FF03S11000].