This manual draws upon decades of engagement in conservation management and years of applied research on conservation behavior. Its guiding principles for inspiring conservation action not only are backed by the latest social science, but also have been field-tested in Minnesota. Conservation resource professionals will find the statistics, stories, and strategies presented useful in project design and evaluation, as well as for leveraging support for conservation programming. The manual describes a new approach for water resource protection informed by systems thinking and a model of community capacity. It then offers real-world examples and success stories based on the authors’ ongoing work in Minnesota.

Reviews:

“I’m a licensed civil engineer. Very little of my education dealt with those things beyond the calculator. What Paul, Mae and Troy have done here is provide a few decades of experience to help water managers realize that people make decisions. The zillions of decisions Minnesota landowners make each day about their land directly influences our waters. Every water professional who has ever lamented the difficulty in  convincing landowners to adopt different practices or to participate in a project should read this while asking, “What should I be doing differently in my job?”

– Steve Woods, Freshwater Society Executive Director