Factors affecting natural resource conservation investments of residents in the Lower Big Walnut Creek watershed, Ohio

Abstract

Data were collected from adults living in households within the Lower Big Walnut Creek watershed in central Ohio to assess psychosocial orientations of local property owners toward natural resources issues within the watershed and to evaluate their willingness to allocate economic resources to implement soil and water conservation programs on their properties. Unlike adoption studies that have examined attitudes toward nonpoint source pollution issues using managers of agricultural land holdings, this study was designed to assess orientations of suburban residents who live adjacent to an environmentally sensitive stream in the largest metropolitan area of Ohio. Study participants were chosen using databases that contained descriptions of residential land holdings within the Big Walnut Watershed. All land owners with residential property equal to or greater than 2 ac (0.8 ha) within the watershed were defined as being eligible to participate in the study. A total of 386 single family residential land holdings were identified as meeting these criteria, and a structured questionnaire was mailed to all identified property owners during the fall of 2005 and early winter of 2006. Thirty-eight subjects could not be located, which reduced the sampling frame to 348. A total of 149 questionnaires were returned that were sufficiently completed for use in statistical modeling. This constitutes a response rate of 41.8%, which is considered good for mail questionnaire studies using contemporary social science research standards. Study findings revealed that watershed residents were positive toward natural resources conservation within the watershed. Multi-variate binary logistic regression analysis revealed that the theoretical model used to guide the investigation was useful for predicting which respondents would be willing to allocate personal resources to address natural resources conservation problems on their properties. Study findings are basically consistent with hypotheses derived from theoretical modeling based on the traditional diffusion model. Findings are discussed in the context of future natural resources conservation initiatives among watershed residents.