Citizen Scientist Participation in Research on Private Lands Positively Impacts Multiple Conservation Behaviors

Abstract

Conservation research programs working on private lands provide invaluable data to support biodiversity conservation efforts and may also engender broader conservation outcomes by influencing the conservation behaviors of individuals that participate within the program. However, little is known about how conservation behavior outcomes may differ across varying levels of participation in a program and what factors may influence this conservation behavior change. We sought to elucidate the conservation behavior outcomes associated with citizen scientists and non–citizen scientists involved with a conservation research program, as well as the factors that are associated with a program’s perceived impact on participants’ conservation behaviors. We conducted an online survey of individuals (n = 193) associated with Virginia Working Landscapes (VWL), a Smithsonian conservation research program that studies and promotes native biodiversity on private lands. Forty-nine percent of respondents had actively participated as citizen scientists whereas fifty-one percent had not. VWL citizen scientists had significantly higher perceived impacts of the program on their engagement in conservation behaviors compared with non–citizen scientists. Significant predictors of respondents’ perceptions of VWL’s impact on their conservation behaviors include participating as a citizen scientist and attending program events, while characteristics of the participants were not predictive of perceptions of impact. Our findings illustrate the added value, beyond data collection, of incorporating citizen science into conservation research programs. Results from this study may provide guidance on how these programs can increase their impact on participants’ conservation behaviors and broaden their influence on private lands conservation.