This article outlines a process for developing social indicators for regional resource management programs. Insights and lessons are drawn from experience developing indicators for the social dimensions of water quality programs addressing non-point-source pollution. The project driving these insights originated with a charge from regional leaders of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) water quality program to a project team comprised of participants from land grant universities within the region. We believe the indicator development process from that experience could be applied in other regions to address a variety of resource management issues. Key lessons learned through this process include the value of building stakeholder capacity for using social data, the importance of developing a conceptual framework to guide indicator selection, and the importance of selecting a small set of core indicators.

Climate change impacts on agriculture have been intensifying in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States. Few empirical studies have considered how dairy farmers and/or their advisors are interpreting and responding to climate impacts, risks, and opportunities in these regions. This study investigates dairy farmer and advisor views and decisions related to climate change using data from seven farmer and advisor focus groups conducted in New York and Wisconsin. The study examined how farmers and advisors perceived climate impacts on dairy farms, the practices they are adopting, and how perceived risks and vulnerability affect farmers’ decision making related to adaptation strategies. Although dairy farmers articulated concern regarding climate impacts, other business pressures, such as profitability, market conditions, government regulations, and labor availability were often more critical issues that affected their decision making. Personal experience with extreme weather and seasonal changes affected decision making. The findings from this study provide improved understanding of farmers’ needs and priorities, which can help guide land-grant researchers, Extension, and policymakers in their efforts to develop and coordinate a comprehensive strategy to address climate change impacts on dairy in the Northeast and the Midwest US.

This article outlines issues of planning and adaptation for watershed management programs by overlapping three broad bodies of literature: a) social psychology; b) performance management; and c) watershed planning and management. Our specific interest lies within the intersection areas: (ac) individual and socio-economic influences on the adoption of conservation practices; (ab) data utilization by managers; (bc) evaluation and performance measurement of watershed projects; and (abc) learning and adaptation in watershed planning and management. Literature within these intersections suggests several implications: values and individual perceptions are an important basis for environmental decision making; intermediate metrics are needed; metrics can be misleading; data are created but not used; and performance management and evaluation are conflated. More research is needed on adaptive capacity and effectiveness for non-regulatory approaches to environmental management. Research and practice would benefit by recognizing behavior change and environmental change as two discreet areas of learning and adaptation.