1. Understanding the contribution of land trusts to wildlife conservation ASHLEY DAYER, PH.D. AMANDA RODEWALD, PH.D. RICH STEDMAN, PH.D. EMILY COSBAR

2. MAGNITUDE OF LAND TRUST IMPACTS Over 1700 land trusts (24 national) Protected 47 million acres Wildlife Conservation?

3. KNOWLEDGE GAP Landowners’ motivating factors for conservation easements, but not motivations & impacts of land trusts ( Merenlender et al. 2004 ) 93% of land trusts believe “natural areas and wildlife habitats” are important ( LTA, 2010 ) Extent of focus on habitat protection must be evaluated, along with the type of land ( Merenlender et al., 2004 )

4. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE Assess land trusts’ interest and activity in conserving wildlife and their habitats, as reflected in: 1) their mission statements and 2) self-reported information in an organizational survey

5. WHY MISSION STATEMENTS? Mission foundational to non- profits (Pearce & David, 1987) Mission reflects interests & philosophy (Swales & Rogers, 1995; Patrick & Matthews, 2007) Land Trust Alliance emphasizes importance to land trusts (e.g., Hocker, 2008) Mission -> conservation priorities (Amundsen, 2012) Mission review required for accreditation

6. QUESTIONS Do land trusts’ mission statements reflect a focus on wildlife and/or habitat? Do land trusts report that their land provides wildlife habitat benefits (and to what extent relative to other benefits)? What habitat types are protected by land trusts? Do land trusts with “wildlife missions” report that a greater proportion of their land provides wildlife habitat than land trusts without “wildlife missions”?

7. METHODS - MISSIONS Land Trust Census dataset January – September 2010 Email and mail to 1760 land trusts (n = 970; RR =55%) If no response, included mission from 2005 or 2000 Census Word count analysis by NVivo Thematic analysis of mission statements 2 coders “Wildlife”, “animal”, and types “Habitat” and types

8. METHODS - SURVEY US land trusts working at sub-national level 5 email requests in March – April 2014 Incentive: Rally registration drawing 614 respondents (response rate: 42%)

9. SURVEY ITEMS “Approximately what percentage of the total acreage protected by your land trust maintains or protects these benefits?” Response options: 0%, 1-25%, 26-50%, 51-75%, or 76-100% Benefits: historic or cultural resources, working farms or ranch lands, working forests, important natural areas, water resources, wildlife habitat in general, bird habitat, and recreation “Approximately what percentage of the total acreage protected by your land trusts is characterized by the following types of land?” Response options: 0%, 1-25%, 26-50%, 51-75%, or 76-100% Land types: urban, agricultural, riparian, wetland, forest, aridland, grassland, arctic, coastal, and island

10. MISSION STATEMENTS 1358 mission statements (of 1639) “To protect and conserve woodlands, wetlands, stream corridors, floodplains, forest interior, wildlife corridors and connections, and other lands, which support declining or significant habitats for native flora and fauna, especially locally threatened, uncommon species such as neotropical birds.”

11. FREQUENCIES ThemeNumber of mission statements Percentage Wildlife, type, or animal 22817 Habitat or type47035

12. MORE THAN 50% OF LAND BENEFITS Percentage of Land Trusts

13. MORE THAN 50% OF HABITAT BENEFITS Percentage of Land Trusts

14. COMPARISON OF MISSION & SELF-REPORT Neither “wildlife missions” (Pearson chi-square = 3.06; p=.548) nor “habitat missions” (Pearson chi-square = 6.00; p=.200) predicted amount of land benefiting wildlife habitat

15. RETURN TO QUESTIONS Do land trusts’ mission statements reflect a focus on wildlife and/or habitat? Limited Do land trusts report that their land provides wildlife habitat benefits (and to what extent relative to other benefits)? Largely Yes What habitat types are protected by land trusts? Forests Do land trusts with “wildlife missions” report that a greater proportion of their land provides wildlife habitat than land trusts without “wildlife missions”? No connection

16. DISCUSSION Conflicting results -> what is the source of discrepancy? Missions don’t guide land trust activities?(broader? outdated?) Land trusts presume wildlife benefits even if not purposeful Mission statements don’t predict habitat outcomes Future research: biologically assess land trust outcomes for wildlife and habitat Applied: consider whether appropriate to recommend priorities based on missions

17. QUESTIONS? ASHLEY DAYER AAD86@CORNELL.EDU