Wildlife management increasingly incorporates public participation to be more inclusive and reduce tensions between management and the general public in the decision-making process. There is also a need, however, to include spatial data since most wildlife biological and biophysical data are stored spatially in geographic information systems (GIS). This article presents a method for integrating this information using public participation geographic information systems (PPGIS). We asked stakeholders to identify specific places on a map that they would like to see maintained for the conservation of particular threatened species. This information is useful for identifying public wildlife management preferences and for allowing comparisons between public and expert opinions. We found high levels of public accuracy in identifying suitable habitat for threatened species conservation. We also identified places of potential conflict due to incompatible stakeholder preferences, but found little conflict between public conservation and development preferences.

The U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast has a long history of intense and varied development, from energy infrastructure and seaports to vacation homes and tourism. Coastal populations and development are growing. Concurrently, global climate change will influence sea level rise, resulting in increased flooding, storm surge, and coastal erosion. Regional planners must prepare for sea level rise and develop adaptive solutions to maximize resiliency. Comprehensive coastal vulnerability mapping assessments (CVMA) can integrate social, economic, and physical vulnerability with spatial analysis of natural hazards for local place-based investigations. Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) are a potentially important tool for the spatial collection of stakeholder knowledge for CVMA. The objective of this study was to assess the locations of a range of landscape values, ecosystem services, and development preferences held and identified by the general public using PPGIS to determine if those valued locations are vulnerable to sea level rise. We found that PPGIS can be used to map a wide variety of landscape values and that they can be used to assess vulnerability to sea level rise. We conclude with a discussion on how to integrate PPGIS into participatory CVMA for sea level rise planning.

Coastal estuaries in the northern Gulf of Mexico are important habitat for wading birds, but are threatened by land use and ecological changes. Conservation has been demonstrated to be more effective when stakeholders are included in the decision-making process. Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) facilitates the inclusion of stakeholder preferences in the planning process by allowing a direct spatial comparison with other ecological data. In this study, we used a PPGIS survey of residents of two counties on Alabama’s Gulf Coast to identify wading bird conservation hotspots as identified by local residents. Additionally, we assessed the ability of general public respondents to accurately identify wading bird habitat, determined whether participants associated wading bird habitat with particular land cover types, and examined whether respondents identified areas with high wading bird species richness. We found that respondents could accurately identify suitable wading bird habitat on a map of the study area, but underrepresented riparian forest, which is an important habitat for many wading bird species. Additionally, participants tended to prioritize areas that support higher wading bird species richness. Thus, this study demonstrated how PPGIS can function as an important tool for incorporating both stakeholder management preferences and identifying knowledge gaps.

Broad-scale deforestation has reduced habitat area and connectivity for wildlife in the Neotropics. Costa Rica has attempted to reverse this trend by developing a network of biological corridors to connect protected areas. However, individual corridors consist of diversely managed, privately owned land, and corridor councils lack the authority to implement management policies. Thus, locally operating organizations play critical roles in executing conservation initiatives, but little research has examined whether their actions support corridor objectives. To explore how organizations’ conservation priorities align with corridor goals, we conducted semi-structured interviews about land management practices, conservation initiatives, and conservation constraints with key informants from 20 organizations operating within the upper Guacimal watershed, located within the Corredor Biológico Pájaro Campana (CBPC) in northwestern Costa Rica. The interviews included a participatory mapping activity in which participants identified up to five conservation priorities by drawing polygons on a map. Analysis of locations where significant numbers of participant-identified polygons overlapped (hotspots) showed that organizations’ conservation priorities aligned with the primary goal of the CBPC, which is to enhance downslope forest connectivity. Hotspots occurred in middle-elevation areas of moderate to low forest cover that are downslope adjacent to the well-protected high-elevation zone within the study area. Theme-based analysis of interviews provided contextual information describing why places were selected, complementing the spatial information about where priorities were located. Interviews revealed that lowland areas were not prioritized for conservation due to perceived constraints to working in that zone. Qualitative analysis of interviews also ensured that non-dominant opinions were identified, which revealed trade-offs between prioritizing conservation expansion and maintaining currently protected areas. By coupling participatory mapping with semi-structured interviews, we present an approach that can increase effectiveness for identifying conservation priorities and represent diverse perspectives.