Tennessee Black Bear Public Opinion Survey Executive Summary 2012 Survey TWRA Technical Report 12‐02 This electronic publication was developed by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s Division of Wildlife and Forestry. It is a summary of the Responsive Management Report: Tennessee resident’s opinions on black bears in general and the management and hunting of black bears. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Division of Wildlife and Forestry P.O. Box 40747 Nashville, TN 37179 www.tnwildlife.org Tennessee Black Bear Public Opinion Survey TWRA Executive Summary Introduction The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) has a long history of managing black bears. Historically, black bears were found throughout the entire state of Tennessee but due to habitat changes, lack of regulations, and other factors, bears were extirpated from much of their historic range. Throughout the twentieth century, the only region where bear populations remained intact was in the remote areas of Appalachia (Figure 1). Figure 1. Comparison of bear range, historic and late twentieth century. (Range distribution map provided by University of Tennessee) Over the past 20 years the Southeastern black bear population has grown considerably. In Tennessee, bears can now be found in areas of the Plateau and transient bears have been documented as far west as Memphis, TN. The cause of this expansion can be attributed to the growth of the Tennessee population as well as the influx of bears from numerous other states. There is strong evidence to suggest that black bears have begun to reclaim their traditional range. As a result, TWRA staff felt it was important to gauge general public attitudes and opinions on black bears to better understand how to go forward with developing a black bear management plan. It is hoped that this information will be used as an objective source of reference to determine public attitudes and opinions towards bears in Tennessee. To best measure attitudes and opinions on black bears, TWRA commissioned Responsive Management, a wildlife human dimensions survey organization, to design and implement the survey. The telephone based survey was conducted during January 2012 using standard telephone and cell phone databases. Survey methods and analytical analysis used by Responsive Management allow the TWRA and other organizations to make valid inferences from this survey data. Methods TWRA divided the state into three distinct areas: Established Bear Region, Establishing Bear Region and a Non‐Bear Region (Figure 2). Responsive Management drew a random selection of 400+ residents (≥18 years) from each of the 3 strata (1,285 total) and utilized a telephone survey questionnaire to conduct the survey. Responsive Management conducted pre‐tests of the questionnaire to ensure proper wording, flow, and logic in the survey. The sample of Tennessee residents was obtained from Survey Sampling International and Database 101. The sample Was representative of all residents of Tennessee 18 years old and older. The sample was stratified to obtain at least 400 completed interviews in each of three regions; for statewide results, the regions were weighted to be in proper proportions. Figure 2. Bear survey sampling strata. The analysis of data was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences as well as proprietary software developed by Responsive Management. The results were weighted by demographic and geographic characteristics (as well as region, as previously mentioned) so that the sample was representative of Tennessee residents (18 years old and older) as a whole. Throughout this report, findings of the telephone survey are reported at a 95% confidence interval (or higher). For the entire sample of Tennessee residents, the sampling error is at most plus or minus 2.73 percentage points. Selected Results Six major topics were chosen for discussion within the questionnaire conducted by Responsive Management. These topics include public knowledge of black bear, opinions on black bear and their populations, the level of tolerance of black bears, the human interaction with black bears, problems with black bears, and opinions on black bear management and hunting. The following is a summary of their findings, for more information and statistical analysis, please refer to Duda et al (2012). Public Knowledge of Black Bear Five questions helped gauge Tennessee residents’ knowledge level regarding black bears in Tennessee. Knowledge was widespread that black bears live in Tennessee and that they are omnivorous, less so regarding how often black bears give birth and the population trend in the state. Opinions on Black Bear and Their Populations The survey asked about opinion on the size of the black bear population in Tennessee and in the respondent’s county (for those counties in the Established or Establishing Bear Regions). Figure 3. Overall, in your opinion, would you say the black • The majority of Tennessee residents (54%) bear population in Tennessee is too high, about right, or too low? (n=1285)
think that the black bear population in the state is about right (Figure 3). Otherwise, more of 60%
them think the population is too low (23%) 40%
than too high (5%). 20%
• Regarding the size of the black bear population in the respondent’s county (among 0%
Too High
About Right
Too Low
Don't Know
those who live in either the Established Bear Region or the Establishing Bear Region), the majority say that the black bear population is about right (53%); otherwise, more of them say it is too low (28%) than too high (4%). LEVEL OF TOLERANCE OF BLACK BEARS Figure 4. In general, do you support or oppse having black bears in Tennessee? (n=1285)
A most basic question regarding tolerance of 100%
black bears simply asked Tennessee residents if 80%
they support or oppose having black bears in 60%
Tennessee (Figure 4). A large majority (87%) 40%
support, including a majority who strongly 20%
support (57%). Otherwise, more residents are 0%
neutral (7%) than in opposition (6%). Support
Neutral
Oppose
Considering the Tennessee bear population is Figure 5. In general, do you support or oppose having black expanding rapidly it was extremely important to bears in Tennessee? (n=427, 415, and 443 respectively)
measure public tolerance levels in the various 100%
strata. There were no significant differences 80%
between strata although people living in Established
60%
established bear regions tend to have the highest Establishing
level of support for having bears in Tennessee 40%
(Figure 5). Interestingly, the level of support for Non‐Bear
20%
having bears in their county remains high (72%), 0%
however support decreases the closer bears get Support Neutral Oppose
to their neighborhoods (22%) and homes (11%). HUMAN INTERACTION WITH BLACK BEARS Figure 6. Would you describe seeing the bear as a Just over half of Tennessee residents (54%) indicate that they positive, negative, or neutral experience?
have seen a black bear in the wild in Tennessee at some time. • A follow‐up question found that a large majority of those who Positive
saw a bear describe the experience as positive (84%), including Negative
66% who describe it as strongly positive. Only 3% describe it as Neutral
negative (Figure 6). This question was asked only to those that responded having seen a bear. PROBLEMS WITH BLACK BEARS Only 1% of Tennessee residents indicate that they have personally had a problem or experienced property damage from black bears in Tennessee in the past 2 years. • The most common bear problems were agricultural damage (37%, consisting of 27% saying crop or orchard damage and 11% saying damage to livestock; some said both), vehicle collisions (15%), threat, injury, or illness to humans (13%), damage to yard or landscaping (10%), damage to a vegetable garden (10%), and damage to a birdfeeder (10%). It is well‐known fact that the majority of human bear Figure 7. Do you agree or disagree that it is okay to feed problems occur when bears are intentionally or wildlife or to leave food out for wildlife? (n=1285)
unintentionally lured to populated areas by the 80%
attraction or food or garbage. A series of questions 60%
were asked regarding the practice of placing food to 40%
attract wildlife. The large majority of Tennessee 20%
residents (71%) disagree that it is okay to feed 0%
wildlife or leave food out for wildlife, most of that Disagree
Agree
Neither
being strong disagreement (59%), meanwhile, 23% agree. Interestingly, the overwhelming majority of Tennessee residents (90%) support requiring people to use bear‐proof garbage containers in areas frequented by bears, while 7% oppose. Figure 8. Overall, do you think TWRA has done an OPINIONS ON BLACK BEAR MANAGEMENT AND excellent, good, fair, or poor job of managing black bears in Tennessee? (n=1285) HUNTING OF BLACK BEARS 80%
The large majority of Tennessee residents (73%) rate the TWRA as excellent or good in managing 60%
black bears in Tennessee (Figure 8), and only 8% 40%
rate them fair or poor (most of that being fair 20%
rather than poor). Only 1% believed TWRA managed black bears poorly. 0%
Excellent or Fair or Poor Don't Know
Good
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency uses hunting as a primary tool for managing bear populations. Support (54%) exceeds opposition (38%) to the regulated hunting of black bears in Tennessee. If respondents are informed that the TWRA carefully monitors the black bear population, support for hunting black bears is at 73%, and opposition is at 21%. Note that this is an increase from when the question is asked with no information added. Management Implications The results of the survey suggest that there is widespread public support for the presence of black bears in Tennessee. This opinion did not vary between established, establishing, or non‐bear areas. Although public support tends to decrease the closer the bear population gets to an individual’s residence, almost three‐quarters (72%) of Tennesseans support the idea of having bears within their county. The majority of Tennesseans (54%) also believe the bear population is about right with the next greatest group believing the bear population is too low (23%). This information may assist the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency in developing future long‐term goals for black bears with the emphasis being on continued protection and management of current bear populations. The survey also makes it apparent that the agency should strive for the highest bear densities in the least human populated areas. The survey also identified potential bear/human conflicts that may arise with a stable or growing bear population. Although damage is extremely rare (1% reporting damage within the last two years), it appears to be agricultural in nature. The agency would benefit by providing relief to landowners who experience bear related damages. These issues can be resolved through laws currently in existence (T.C.A. 70‐4‐115(a)). The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency may also benefit by exploring options to reduce bear/human interactions. Surprisingly, the majority of respondents did not agree that it was okay to feed wildlife (71%) while 90% of them felt it was appropriate to require people to use bear‐proof garbage cans where bears are present. In the future, the TWRA may investigate potential regulations that would ultimately reduce bear/human conflicts by regulating the public’s ability to artificially lure bears to a given area. Photo courtesy of National Park Service. In conclusion, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency received high marks for their current bear management practices, 73% responded excellent or good while only 1% felt TWRA managed bears poorly. However, just as bear populations change over time, so must bear management strategies. It is imperative that the TWRA continues to monitor public opinion as well as black bear populations. Armed with both types of information (biological and cultural), the TWRA should continue to manage bears at a level acceptable to both the resource’s and the public’s needs. Literature Cited Duda, M. D., M. Jones, T. Beppler, S. J. Bissell, et al. 2012. Tennessee resident’s opinions on black bears in general and the management and hunting of black bears. Harrisonburg, VA: Responsive Management.