| Abstract |
- Before 2002, almost all of the approximately 40,000 acres of land in the Wood
River Valley, Oregon were used for intensive, flood-irrigated summer cattle grazing,
as it had been for over 100 years. Conservation activity in the valley was limited to a
couple of wealthy landowners. But a year after the 2001 Klamath Basin "water
crisis," a local non-profit water conservation organization, the Klamath Basin
Rangeland Trust (KBRT), was formed in the Wood River Valley, with the intention of
working to restore local natural resources and improve land and water quality and
quantity throughout the Basin. Since KBRT's introduction to the valley in 2002,
twelve local landowners, whose acreage comprises almost 30% of the valley, have
been consistently enrolled in various federal and state conservation and restoration
programs. Their participation has effected significant land management changes that
have improved the quality and quantity of land and water in the Wood River Valley.
Nonetheless, there are still several landowners who choose not to participate.
Determining what motivates ranchers to participate in programs that facilitate their
adoption of conservation practices is valuable in encouraging more widespread
sustainable agricultural production, and developing more agriculturally appealing
conservation-oriented programs in the future. Relevant literature reveals landowners'
socio-economic status, values and attitudes, landownership characteristics, and
conservation knowledge are important factors influencing their conservation decisions
and behavior. However, available research does not study the direct influence a
capacitating organization like KBRT has on landowner participation in conservation
programs.
This thesis is designed to address this lack of data by analyzing what motivates
landowners in the Wood River Valley, Oregon to participate or abstain from
participation in government sponsored, conservation oriented programs. The
hypothesis is that in addition to various socio-economic, attitudinal, and
landownership characteristics, KBRT’s presence in the valley is a principle reason
why landowners choose to participate in conservation programs. To investigate this
hypothesis, and determine why some landowners participate in conservation programs
and some do not, this case-study evaluates how various socio-economic,
landownership, value and knowledge-based factors influence Wood River Valley
landowners' willingness and ability to incorporate conservation practices into their
existing operations. To measure the influence of various factors on landowner
participation in conservation programs, I interviewed seventeen landowners in the
Wood River Valley who either participate or have chosen not to participate in
government sponsored conservation oriented programs. To gauge the degree of
influence different factors have on landowner participation, I asked project
participants a series of semi-structured interview questions relating to each of the
factors. I then coded and analyzed the interviews, and incorporated information
gathered from my literature review to explore what motivates landowners' decisions
regarding participation in conservation oriented programs, and to learn whether
KBRT's presence relates to landowner participation.
As discussion of the interview results and analysis will reveal, the ten
landowners interviewed who participate in conservation programs reveal economic
incentives provided by the programs, landownership characteristics, personal values,
and the influence of KBRT to be the primary reasons why they choose to participate in
conservation programs. Therefore, the original hypothesis that an enabling
organization like KBRT is critical to landowner participation is supported. The
hypothesis is mediated by participating landowners’ perceptions of such an
organization. The seven landowners interviewed who do not participate in
conservation programs reveal that their personal opinions and philosophical values
against externally driven conservation practices and programs are the most significant
deterrents to their participation in conservation programs
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