Memo+4+-+Project+Definition+-+Gregory+Niguidula

Working Title: Assessing Invasive Species Management: Distinguishing Between Ecologically Beneficial Outcomes and Desired Natures

Key Words: invasive species, exotic species, management, policy, desired nature, ecology, biology, cultural shifts, sustainability,


 * **Data Sets ** ||  **Social Theoretical Questions **  ||  **Research Questions **  ||  **Why Now? **  ||  **Bias **  ||  **Fields of Work **  ||  **Funders **  ||
 * Species management plans from local agencies/ research centers

Environmental regulations in effect

Previously published studies & annual reviews

Interviews with researchers and policy makers about their attitudes towards invasives || When does conservation become more about humans than the environment?

How do humans affect the environment?

What's the relationship between humans and nature? || What is/are the "desired nature(s)" being sought?

How do people feel about invasive species?

How can the way people think about invasive species be improved?

How could the scientific and public’s perception of invasives be changed? || There is a heightened awareness of invasives that has grown in recent years, especially in the Great Lakes area. New ideas about how to best control invasives would be welcome. Furthermore the relatively limited amount of resources means that prioritization of certain threats over others is extremely important and this project could potentially assist with those decisions. || Resistance to change-I, like a lot of people, tend to get sentimental about keeping things the way they are

I've been told I have an "ecologist's mindset" meaning an extreme aversion to invasives?

Most of what I know of the topic has been through personal experience

Liberal upbringing || Ecologist at a research station

Environmental Protection Agency employee

Government worker in Bureau of Land Management, Nat’l Park Service, etc.

Policy advisor to elected officials || NSF through fellowship program

RPI and the Darrin Freshwater Institute

Agriculture & Food Research Initiative

US Dept. of Agriculture ||