Wildlife value orientation of landowners from five states in the upper midwest, USA

Five Upper Midwest states (Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa) participated in a Plains and Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative (PPP-LCC) funded survey of landowners. All five surveys included a 13-item wildlife value orientation (WVO) scale to provide insight into how landowners in this region make land use decisions that affect wildlife habitat. Most landowners were utilitarian (59%), 11% were identified as mutualists, and pluralists and distanced landowners were 15% each. Pluralist and mutualist landowners placed more importance on wildlife considerations when making land use decisions compared to utilitarian and distanced landowners. However, landowners’ WVO was not related to their participation in United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Bill conservation programs. The proportion of WVO types among landowners varied considerably by age cohort. The proportion of utilitarians was highest for landowners born during the 1970s age cohorts and has since declined.