Speakers: Max Nielsen-Pincus, Associate Professor, Environmental Science and Management, Portland State University and Kaegan Scully-Engelmeyer, PhD Student, School of the Environment, Portland State University

Topic: Public perceptions of coastal resources and marine protected areas: Exploring drivers of support and values for Oregon’s Marine Reserves

Consideration of social and cultural dimensions in coastal and marine planning has increased over the past several decades, and local community dynamics around marine protected area designation and resource management more broadly has been the subject of much ocean and coastal management social science research. However, broader public opinions and attitudes about coastal resources and marine protected areas are not well understood and are critical for managers seeking to maintain their public trust obligations in environmental management. We explored relationships between awareness, attitudes and beliefs towards coastal and marine resource issues and uses, and demographics among a sample of Oregon, USA residents (n=459), and tested their influence on support for expanding Oregon’s recently established marine reserves. We also conducted and analyzed a public participation geographic information system (PPGIS) mapping survey (n=244) to capture uses and perceived values of coastal and marine areas. We measured coastal values, explored regional differences in those values, and identified a suite of coastal and marine ecosystem services that Oregonians prioritize from the recently established marine reserve network. We found that public support for Oregon’s marine reserves is linked to concerns for the ecological integrity of Oregon’s ocean jurisdiction and attitudes towards a number of human uses of the ocean. Support is generally high with >65% reporting interest in expanding the number or size of Oregon’s marine reserves.  In mapping results, we incorporated ecosystem service value types into a use (indirect and direct) and non-use (existence) value framework, and found that participants prioritized indirect use (scenic, recreation) over direct use and existence values coastwide. Within Oregon’s marine reserve network, which was not delineated in the mapping exercise, value preferences diverged from coastwide averages, wherein existence values (biodiversity/wildlife, wilderness, etc.) were elevated above other categories.