Values, trust, and cultural backlash in wildlife governance

While there have been calls for state fish and wildlife agencies in the U.S. to create more inclusive approaches to governance, the recent rise of populism may make that a challenging endeavor. Current populist trends have... [ view full abstract ]

While there have been calls for state fish and wildlife agencies in the U.S. to create more inclusive approaches to governance, the recent rise of populism may make that a challenging endeavor. Current populist trends have been explained through the phenomenon of cultural backlash, where those who felt left behind in the value shift beginning post-World War II started to mobilize by the end of the century to protect their core values and traditions. Our prior work suggests that wildlife values in the western United States are shifting from traditional domination to mutualism orientations. The current study looked for indications of backlash from the American hunting culture that may be associated with that shift. Data from a 19-state survey (n = 12,673) revealed that, in states with a higher prevalence of mutualism, residents with domination values had lower levels of trust in the state wildlife agency. Traditional residents were also less supportive of broadly-inclusive governance models, and the potential for social conflict over wildlife issues was much higher in those states. Finally, we found evidence of actions to “fight back” against change among traditional groups in the growth of ballot initiatives from 1990 to 2016 to protect hunting rights. Given the changing social and political context of wildlife management in the U.S., cultural backlash and the conflict that results will likely remain a challenge for those tasked with wildlife decision-making moving forward. Governance innovations will be necessary to help wildlife conservation institutions adapt in the face of this changing socio-political environment.