Challenges and Opportunities for Conserving Vernal Pools on Private Land Using Regulatory and Voluntary Approaches

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR CONSERVING VERNAL POOLS ON PRIVATE LAND USING REGULATORY AND VOLUNTARY APPROACHES

By

Jessica Spelke Jansujwicz

Thesis Co-Advisors: Dr. Aram J.K. Calhoun and Dr. Robert J. Lilieholm

 A Lay Abstract of the Thesis Presented

in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the

Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

(in Ecology and Environmental Science)

August, 2011

Vernal pools are small, seasonal wetlands that provide critical breeding habitat for a unique assemblage of amphibians and invertebrates and important habitat for rare and endangered species.  Although unique and important ecosystems, vernal pools face significant management challenges.  The goal of my research was to better understand the challenges and opportunities for conserving vernal pools on private land using regulatory and voluntary approaches.  In pursuing this goal, I examined the process and outcomes of collaborative planning at the state and local level using a mixed-methods approach of observations, interviews, focus groups, and a mail survey. 

I interviewed members of the state-driven Vernal Pool Working Group (VPWG), to link the process and outputs of multi-stakeholder collaboration with social and environmental outcomes.  Using interviews, focus groups, and a mail survey, I explored landowner response to vernal pools, vernal pool regulations, and the Vernal Pool Mapping and Assessment Program (VPMAP), a community-based citizen science education and outreach program.  I also used interviews, focus groups, and observations to investigate stakeholder interactions in community-based vernal pool conservation planning. 

Intangible outcomes such as building relationships, establishing trust, and sharing information among participants were some of the most beneficial aspects of VPWG deliberations.  Data from participant observation, interviews, and focus groups revealed a diversity of frames or perceptions that landowners used to describe vernal pools, vernal pool regulations, and VPMAP.  Quantitative analysis of the mail survey identified three distinct groups of private landowners based on similar views of property rights, conservation, development, and economic issues.  While VPMAP mobilized support for community-based management, enhanced awareness and understanding of vernal pools at the local level, and improved participatory local planning through a process of collaborative learning, communication was a significant barrier for the effective functioning of VPMAP as a participatory strategy to engage a wider network of stakeholders in proactive conservation planning.  I conclude that initiating and supporting voluntary community-based processes within top-down regulatory structures is a challenging task requiring a continuous exchange of social and ecological information.