July 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 17

Unfortunately, " reality " and " facts "
are rarely as important to the public
as their feelings. Just because feelings
are not objective does not mean they
should be ignored. Emotions are important because they influence perceptions. " Researchers who examine
environmental decisionmaking have
consistently demonstrated that emotions not only play a role in environmental decisions, but also serve as a
motivational and guiding principle
of environmental perception and actions " (Vining and Merrick 2012:48).
This can result from numerous factors
like reading Little Red Riding Hood as a
child and having animals as pets. Unfortunately, regardless of how people
feel, managers often get caught in the
middle, and making everyone happy can seem like an impossible task.
However, there are many ways to
handle these wildlife situations.
Take, for example, the Urbana Park
District (UPD) in central Illinois.
In Meadowbrook Park, a 130-acre,
high-traffic parcel, beavers dammed a
creek, leading to upstream flooding. Not
unexpectedly, the people with flooded
basements responded angrily and passionately. However, the UPD came to
realize through respectful dialogue that
the public doesn't hate beavers, they just
hate flooding. By reframing the public's
emotions, the park district was able to
come to a compromise by which the
beavers could stay in the park and the
nearby neighborhoods could maintain
dry basements. They used a few feet of
PVC pipe to alleviate some of the water
pressure near the dam. Consequently,
the UPD addressed homeowners' concerns and eliminated flooding. In fact,
park visits have increased, as hundreds
of people seek the chance to catch a
glimpse of the beavers.
Success stories like this are becoming
more common. However, with limited

time, budget and personnel, it is understandable why managers might be
skeptical of this approach. Nevertheless, park managers have the knowledge and experience to ask people their
feelings, help them understand policies and thereby minimize occasional
conflicts between people and animals.
With that in mind, the following strategies and tools are available to help:

Manage people first, manage
wildlife second
Rather than spending time, energy and
resources to combat wildlife, the position supported by recent research is
that we should focus on the people who
patronize the sites where these animals
live (Nelson 2008). Instead of using
limited park resources to try to change
animal behavior, it is more effective to

concentrate our efforts on directing human behavior through positive interaction and education. At the end of the
day, until we can teach wildlife to look
both ways before crossing the street or
not use our porches for nesting sites,
our energy is best spent giving people
tools to get along peacefully.

Be willing to engage the public
- even when they are passionate and emotional.
Ultimately, having people who are passionate is what you want; it means they
care about your parks. However, one
mistake managers make is to ignore
people's feelings. Emotions do not
necessarily make public opinions irrational or worthy of dismissal. " Emotion has elements of reason and action
Continued on page 59

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July 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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