Project Focus Areas
The scale and speed of woody plant encroachment in the western Great Plains demands the development of innovative approaches to brush management and prevention. For example, Oklahoma lost 3,632,939 tons of forage in 2022 due to invasive woody plant encroachment, and Kansas lost 968,908 tons of forage. That same year, PLJV received a National Conservation Innovation Grant from USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service to develop an effective outreach model to increase brush management and prescribed fire on rangelands by integrating social science insights into targeted strategic communications. The model is being piloted within three focus areas each in Kansas (Osborne, Lincoln, and Barber Counties) and Oklahoma (Roger Mills , Woods, and Beaver Counties). The insights and products generated can then be adapted and used by partners across the region.
Over three years, we are collecting social science information about brush management needs and barriers to participation in management activities, creating and evaluating targeted communication messages and products that address those barriers and aim to increase participation in management actions. We will be working with agencies, conservation programs and local partners to deliver these communication messages to producers through targeted marketing communications campaigns and producer-focused outreach events. The social science insights and communication products can then be adapted and used by partners across the region.
Below is a more detailed description of each project component.
“It didn’t occur to us to treat them when they were little, when they were manageable” ~Producer in Beaver County, Oklahoma
- Summarize the social science literature surrounding producer adoption, decision-making, and barriers related to brush management and prescribed fire, make it accessible online, and provide the summary to agencies and other partners throughout the region. This literature review will help us and partners understand what is known about the connections between cognitions and behavior and define which barriers and motivations we will examine further. STATUS: This component of the project was completed in 2023. The full report can be found below.
- Work with producers through 12 key informant interviews and six focus groups to identify motivational, financial, and logistical barriers to using brush management and prescribed fire across a gradient of woody plant encroachment (light, medium, and heavy). The interviews will identify the barriers and motivations that we will further examine through focus groups. Interviews will also provide farm-level indicators of encroachment and insights into the visual cues producers use to decide how to manage invasive woody plants. Results from this phase will be used to develop communication messages and products that increase management activities. STATUS: The social science report from the focus groups and stakeholder interviews is being finalized and will be available soon.
- Use social science results from the literature review and interviews to develop messages to increase participation in brush management and prescribed fire. These messages will cover topics that help producers know when and how to engage in management at each level of encroachment. The messages will be reviewed by experts to ensure accuracy about management practices. STATUS: The messages have been drafted and reviewed by our advisory team.
- Test draft messages in the focus groups, refine the messages and test them again with focus group participants through a combination of remote methods and in-person meetings. The final messages will be used to develop a communications guide which will be shared with conservation agencies and partners to incorporate into their communications and outreach to promote brush management and prescribed fire. STATUS: Message testing was conducted in December 2023 and in February 2024.
- Develop, implement and evaluate two marketing communications campaigns in Kansas and Oklahoma. The campaigns will include two state-specific websites, producer success stories in local publications, and producer outreach events – all designed to drive engagement in brush management and prescribed fire. The website will also connect producers to local conservation partners and programs. The campaigns will be rolled out in our focal areas and involve local conservation districts and other partners.
Invasive Woody Plant Social Science Review
In 2023, PLJV conducted a literature review on landowner perceptions regarding invasive woody plant management. The goal of this review was to identify the primary motivations, barriers, and needs for conducting management to support future application of social science insights into conservation delivery, communication, and outreach.
Findings from the literature revealed that motivations, barriers and needs of landowners varied greatly depending on the management practice utilized, with most studies (71%) focusing on prescribed burning as a way to eliminate invasive woody plants. The strongest motivations for management were related to the landowner’s purpose for owning the property — ranchers were more likely to manage than those who own land for hunting or other recreational purposes. Standard burn policies in place related to liability were cited as the number one barrier toward effective management. Looking forward, establishing programs that provide peer-to-peer mentorship and offer access to resources such as labor, equipment, and funding was found to be crucial for successfully managing against encroachment.
These results can particularly benefit applied social scientists and conservation delivery practitioners who are developing projects or are already working with landowners regularly on grassland management-related issues. Key recommendations from this report include strategies for forming new partnerships to combat invasive woody plant species, ideas for future communications and outreach with landowners around the topic, and suggested changes to current programs and policies in place.
Roberts, R.M., Shorter, L., Gramza, A. and Hamend, M. (2023). Invasive Woody Plant Social Science Review: A synthesized report of landowner motivations, barriers, and future needs for invasive woody plant management across the Great Plains. Playa Lakes Joint Venture, Lafayette, CO. View the full report >>
Invasive Woody Plant Social Science Report
In 2023, PLJV conducted interviews and focus groups in Kansas and Oklahoma on landowner perceptions regarding invasive woody plant management. This report examines various motivations, barriers, and future needs of landowners and land managers regarding invasive woody plant management decision-making. With this knowledge, conservation practitioners can better support these individuals in their ongoing efforts to manage invasive species.
Findings from the data revealed that mechanical removal (including hand removal, skid steer, and dozer work), chemical application, and prescribed burning were the most commonly used management practices, with cost and time efficiency, effectiveness at killing trees, and availability of equipment being the primary reasons for using the aforementioned practices. The primary motivations for land owners and managers to remove invasive woody plants included visually seeing trees and shrubs on rangeland, the availability of assistance program, seeing a neighbor’s improved rangeland due to management, harboring an environmental stewardship ethic, and a desire to increase production value of their range. Prescribed burning had the largest number of barriers toward management, the most common being a fear of unknown outcomes due to inexperience, weather or ecological conditions preventing an effective burn, or a perceived lack of external support to conduct a prescribed burn. Moving forward, producers would like to see the establishment of more prescribed burn associations to help alleviate existing fears and providing resources to conduct a burn, increased funding and assistance programs to help overcome concerns related to the costs of management, and the formation of a community of practice to provide information around invasive woody plant management.
These results can particularly benefit individuals who are developing projects or are already working with landowners regularly on grassland management-related issues. A series of recommendations are identified to assist conservation delivery professionals, outreach specialists, and policymakers in applying these results by supporting on-site conservation efforts and bolstering communication strategies regarding the control of invasive trees and shrubs.
Roberts, R.M., Shorter, L., Gramza, A. and Hamend, M. (2023). Invasive Woody Plant Social Science Report: Understanding landowner motivations, barriers, and needs for tree and shrub management in Kansas and Oklahoma. Playa Lakes Joint Venture, Lafayette, CO. View the full report >>
Woody Plant Management Communications Guide
Using the social science data from the above reports, PLJV created a guide to help conservation outreach and delivery staff communicate more effectively with producers about woody plant management. The guide provides communication strategies by audience including intact grassland owners, indigenous land managers, recreational landowners, and non-residential landowners. It also provides best practices for communicating with producers, questions to inform the conversation, and different messages that can be used based on where the landowner is along the management spectrum.
The guide also provides access to a toolkit with communication products – such as direct mail postcards, handouts, and social media content – that encourage woody plant removal and promote grassland health. Some of the products can be downloaded and used as is, while others are available in editable formats.
While the guide is primarily geared toward conservation delivery staff who are working with landowners to promote the removal of woody encroachment, the guide and toolkit may also be helpful when communicating with landowners and land managers who wish to promote healthy grasslands.
Project Partners
The following partners are contributing to this project as part of the grant, the partnership will continue to grow.
- Ducks Unlimited
- Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Fire Management
- Kansas Association of Conservation Districts, Barber Conservation District, Lincoln Conservation District, and Osborne Conservation District
- Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks
- Kansas Grazing Lands Coalition
- Kansas NRCS
- Kansas Prescribed Fire Council
- Kansas State University
- Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts, Beaver Conservation District, Upper Washita Conservation District, and Woods Conservation District
- Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
- Oklahoma NRCS
- Oklahoma Prescribed Burn Association
- Oklahoma State University
- Pheasants Forever/Quail Forever
- US Fish and Wildlife Service
- Working Lands for Wildlife
LEARN MORE
For more information about the project or to see how you can be involved, contact Lindsay Shorter or Ryan Roberts.