Learning to adopt ecosystem management: The case of Chicago Wilderness.

Ecosystem management has evolved as a new approach to biodiversity conservation. Before implementing ecosystem management, organizations and agencies must first learn about and adopt the various elements of ecosystem management. This study looks at one group of organizations that is attempting to implement ecosystem management, Chicago Wilderness, and examines which factors promote adoption of ecosystem management components. Components of ecosystem management include collaboration, systems thinking, regional perspectives, adaptive management, and restoration of ecosystem processes. Chicago Wilderness is a group of more than 150 agencies and organizations working collaboratively to conserve biodiversity in the metropolitan Chicago region. Through a mailed survey, data were collected from 299 respondents, representing 84% of the member organizations of Chicago Wilderness. Questions probed attitudes and beliefs about ecosystem management as well as how the respondent and their organizations participated in Chicago Wilderness activities. Information about individual and organizational traits was also collected. Results illustrate that participation in collaborative activities, even at a passive level, led to the adoption of ecosystem management. As shown from regression modeling, passive involvement in Chicago Wilderness activities, in other words reading materials and informally discussing issues, is a primary predictor of adoption of ecosystem management, more so than other levels of involvement. Additionally, individual and organizational traits, including personal feelings towards conservation, perceived attitudes of the organizational leadership, and the organization's mission affect the extent to which ecosystem management is adopted. The more personally responsible the respondent felt to find solutions to conservation challenges the more likely he/she was to adopt the various components of ecosystem management. Perceptions of leadership support (more than actual leadership support) also determined the extent to which one participated in Chicago Wilderness and adopted ecosystem management. Exploratory in nature, this study spawns many questions for additional research, such as where does organizational learning occur, as well as a number of recommendations for Chicago Wilderness and similar collaborative endeavors, such as allow time for informal networking. This study begins to undercover some factors that may lead to organizational learning and change, but as these are complex processes much more work is needed in this area.Ph.D.Environmental scienceHealth and Environmental SciencesSocial SciencesSociologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/124503/2/3150038.pd