Proposed Restoration of European Bison (Bison

Human dimensions research can help resource and wildlife managers make informed decisions, target information efforts, and gain a greater understanding of the factors that comprise attitudes toward wildlife management efforts. Despite these often-stated merits, studies addressing the human dimensions of resource and wildlife management efforts are rare in Europe. A proposed restoration of free-ranging European bison (Bison bonasus) in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany has presented an opportunity to help address this research gap. During May-July, 2006, we used a randomly distributed, self-administered questionnaire (n=398), to assess local residents ’ attitudes, beliefs, and levels of support or opposition towards the proposed restoration. These factors were compared across two administrative regions spanned by the proposed restoration area. We found that respondents from the Siegen-Wittgenstein region held significantly more positive attitudes and significantly higher knowledge levels than respondents from the Hochsauerlandkreis region. Principal components analysis revealed that attitude