TY - JOUR
T1 - Understanding the Hidden Costs and Benefits of Living With Grizzly Bears in Montana
AU - Lamar, Sara
AU - Burnham, Morey
AU - Metcalf, Alexander L.
AU - Ebel, Sarah A.
AU - Graves, Darci M.
AU - Sundstrom, Allegra
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2024/7/1
Y1 - 2024/7/1
N2 - Wildlife sometimes impose unmitigated costs and provide unevenly distributed benefits that exacerbate conflict among people or between wildlife and groups of people. Although previous research has primarily focused on the visible effects of wildlife, reducing conflict will require a broader understanding of wildlife effects on human well-being. Using a “noticing, collecting, thinking” analysis of 25 interviews with people living near grizzly bears in Montana, USA, we provide a nuanced profile of their perceived costs and benefits, including hidden and nonmaterial effects. Interviewees described the interconnected nature of grizzly bear effects on people, where visible effects on livelihoods, health, social relations, personal security, and freedom led to negative hidden effects such as threats to cultural identity and diminished perceptions of livelihood sustainability. Positive effects included enhanced mental, spiritual, and cultural well-being, such as enhanced feelings of connection to wild places. We discuss how this broader understanding of wildlife costs and benefits helps provide a more thorough understanding of the effects of living with grizzly bears.
AB - Wildlife sometimes impose unmitigated costs and provide unevenly distributed benefits that exacerbate conflict among people or between wildlife and groups of people. Although previous research has primarily focused on the visible effects of wildlife, reducing conflict will require a broader understanding of wildlife effects on human well-being. Using a “noticing, collecting, thinking” analysis of 25 interviews with people living near grizzly bears in Montana, USA, we provide a nuanced profile of their perceived costs and benefits, including hidden and nonmaterial effects. Interviewees described the interconnected nature of grizzly bear effects on people, where visible effects on livelihoods, health, social relations, personal security, and freedom led to negative hidden effects such as threats to cultural identity and diminished perceptions of livelihood sustainability. Positive effects included enhanced mental, spiritual, and cultural well-being, such as enhanced feelings of connection to wild places. We discuss how this broader understanding of wildlife costs and benefits helps provide a more thorough understanding of the effects of living with grizzly bears.
KW - Large carnivore conservation
KW - hidden and non-material costs and benefits
KW - human well-being
KW - qualitative research
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85197613698&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/08941920.2024.2361418
DO - 10.1080/08941920.2024.2361418
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85197613698
SN - 0894-1920
VL - 37
SP - 1378
EP - 1396
JO - Society and Natural Resources
JF - Society and Natural Resources
IS - 9
ER -