An Evaluation of Climate Change Risk Perceptions and Policy Preferences of United States Forest Service Supervisors and Deputy Supervisors

Abstract

Climate change is arguably the most pressing environmental threat facing Earth‘s natural systems and has come to the forefront in decision-making circles as to how these systems should be managed. Despite the vast amount of attention being devoted to the issue, the complexity and uncertainty associated with climate change impacts has caused difficulty for policy makers in the formulation of policies to address the issue. Currently, research being conducted within the human dimensions of natural resources and other social sciences (particularly risk management) is looking at how the public perceives climate change risk perceptions and resulting behaviors. These questions are important for policy makers attempting to deal with climate change issues because the development of policies is driven primarily through the support or rejection of proposed rules by the public. The decisions made regarding climate change will undoubtedly be influenced by how the public and policy makers view the perceived risks associated with a changing climate at any agency level. Forest Supervisors and Deputy Forest Supervisors are responsible for the overall management activities of U.S. National Forests. Their perception of the risks associated with climate change will undoubtedly drive the direction of forest management. This thesis used survey methods to investigate climate change knowledge, risk perceptions and policy preferences of those responsible for the well-being and management of forests within the United States National Forest System. By doing so, this research adds to the field of risk perception by identifying drivers of risk as well as the field of environmental policy by developing a set of recommendations for how to manage systems under altered climatic patterns. Results of this research indicate that there is a heightened level of risk associated with climate change and the USFS has a role in addressing such issues, but there is a lack of urgency to do so. Forest Supervisors indicated a clear need for a clear strategy in relationship to climate change in addition for the appeal to climate change researchers to relay information in a way that it can be translated to direct on the ground management.