Learning by Doing: Policy Learning in Community-Based Deer Management

ABSTRACT

Increasing numbers of urban and suburban communities are facing the problem of learning to manage large populations of white-tailed deer in close proximity to large numbers of people. Some communities have been trying to address such problems for decades, and what they have learned from their experience could help other communities just beginning to face these problems. This study used the policy learning literature to explore what key stakeholders learn as their communities manage deer and how this learning affects their management. Case studies of 6 communities with more than 10 years of deer management experience were conducted. Three types of learning (technical, conceptual, and social) were found to be important. These learning types were interrelated with social learning serving as the foundation for the other two. The learning process was more difficult in communities in which public attitudes did not support traditional management practices and in those in which the ownership of land on which deer were being managed was fragmented.

Keywords:

• community-based management
• policy learning
• urban/suburban deer management

Funding for this study was provided by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Pittman-Robertson Program, through project WE-173-G (subgrant 146-R).

Notes

The use of the term “social learning” by Fiorino (2001) differs from its use in some other sources. Other sources may define social learning as either individual learning that occurs in a social context or learning by social groups. As Fiorino (2001) uses the term, social learning refers to learning about social processes and their influence on public policy.

Judgments about the strength of the animal welfare advocacy coalitions were based on the perceptions of state wildlife managers and community leaders involved in deer management at each study site. These perceptions were very similar for different individuals.