US Geological Survey

 

Date of this Version

2002

Comments

Published in TRANSACTIONS OF THE SIXTY-SEVENTH NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE, 2002, ed. Jennifer Rahm (Washington, DC, 2002)

Abstract

Wildlife-related values in American society are undergoing considerable change. Within the last few decades, non-consumptive recreational use of wildlife has increased dramatically; groups that subscribe to animal protection values (ranging from animal welfare to animal rights to animal liberation) are exercising increasing influence over wildlife policy, and the ranks of people who practice wildlife rehabilitation have grown significantly. In this time of questioning and change, it should not be surprising that the attitudes and values of conservation professionals are in transition as well. Within many agencies and academic institutions, the traditional focus on game management (Geist et al. 2001) is giving way to an emphasis on biodiversity conservation, endangered species protection and ecosystem approaches to management. Changing professional values are reflected, to varying degrees, in changing curricula offered by academic departments in colleges and universities (Organ and Fritzell 2000) and in the changing management strategies of conservation organizations-non-governmental as well as state and federal agencies. Within many organizations and agencies, employees with more traditional-value perspectives often work alongside employees who possess non-traditional values, sometimes in an uneasy state of co-existence.

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