Class Projects
Course Project
WFSC 681: Conservation in Parks National Park Service Policy on Managing Feral Cats
 
This project was created for a 1-hour credit/no credit seminar course looking at specific aspects of conservation challenges in the National Park Service.
Research Projects
January 2005 to Present Landowner perspectives on natural resource conservation
Primary Investigator: Richard Conner
The purpose of this project is to assemble the information needed to provide reliable guidance for the most effective use of program incentives for gaining landowner participation in wildlife conservation efforts. Our objectives are to 1) survey landowners in the counties surrounding Ft. Hood to determine their interest in participating in an off-site conservation program; 2) estimate the cost effectiveness of the off-site conservation plan under a selected set of alternative participation rates; and, 3) assess the feasibility and relative efficiency of using a 501-3c entity and selected alternative institutional arrangements for contract and financial arrangements required to implement and operate the off-site conservation plan.
January 2004 to January 2005 Scuba diver preferences for coral reef conservation in marine protected areas
Primary Investigator: Robert B. Ditton
The objectives of this project were to (1) identify realistic management measures for protecting coral resources salient to sport divers, (2) evaluate the relative importance of each measure to divers, (3) estimate the importance of options for each management measure, (4) estimate the aggregate importance of management scenarios based on various combinations of the management measures, and  (5) examine the potential for of conjoint analysis in support of coral reef management and conservation in other MPAs.
Click here to view project summary and download the final report
November 2003 to June 2005 Attitudes of Recreational Boaters toward a New Manatee Slow Speed Zone in Pinellas County, Florida, USA
Primary Investigator: Richard Flamm
The purpose of this study is to identify differences between boater attitudes toward manatee protection. Group 1 received educational information on boating-related threats to manatees and were subsequently observed operating in a control boating area (i.e., not manatee speed zone). Group 2 did not receive educational information and were observed boating through a newly implemented manatee “slow speed” boating zone.
In 2002, data were collected on boaters who were educated and in 2003 data were collected on boaters observed in the newly regulated area. Three dimensions were measured via phone surveys: attitudes toward manatee management (i.e., management support), knowledge about manatees, and self-reported behavior.
Projected completion date: June 2005.
Other Projects