Ratcheting up Rigor in Wildlife Management Decision Making

Abstract

The wildlife management institution has been transforming to ensure relevance and positive conservation outcomes into the future. Continuous improvement of decision making is one aspect of this transformation. Managers and policy makers with responsibility for wildlife decisions have an exceedingly challenging job because the set of objectives they wish to achieve is so complex, multifaceted, and often contentious. Many wildlife management agencies desire decision-making processes that are transparent, replicable, engage partners, and communicate effectively with the public. Using a decision science approach offers a framework to allow agencies to achieve these objectives so the decision-making process is consistent with their desires. One can point to many excellent examples of formal decision science applications by state and federal agencies in the United States, but many obstacles hinder systematic approaches to decision making. We describe our observations—based on first-hand experiences—with decision making in wildlife management, present reasons why making decisions is difficult, identify challenges faced by wildlife managers at various levels of governance, and address measures wildlife managers can employ to help overcome these challenges. We acknowledge that no panacea, simple recipe, or one-size-fits-all prescription exists for wildlife management decision making. Nevertheless, we hope that by a) describing how a systematic decision science framework can help agencies achieve their objectives, while simultaneously benefiting stakeholders, managers, and conservation outcomes, and b) providing specific suggestions for overcoming challenges associated with decision making, we will help agencies in the midst of their challenges to improve decision-making processes consistent with their objectives. © 2020 The Authors. Wildlife Society Bulletin published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Wildlife Society.