Elsevier

Journal of Rural Studies

Volume 39, June 2015, Pages 51-62
Journal of Rural Studies

Comparing newer and longer-term residents' perceptions and actions in response to forest insect disturbance on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula: A longitudinal perspective

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2015.03.007Get rights and content

Highlights

  • This study explores how newcomer-oldtimer differences may change over time.

  • The analysis drew on longitudinal survey data from six Kenai communities.

  • The two groups differed in beetle-related experience, perceptions, and activeness.

  • They became similar in wildfire experience and risk perception in the study period.

  • Differences in community interaction and actions became greater over time.

Abstract

Many parts of rural America have experienced various types of reverse migration flows from urban areas since the 1970s. Recent rural in-migration is increasingly driven by people seeking natural amenities, and tends to concentrate in traditional natural resource-based communities or wildland–urban interface areas. These communities are often at risk from a variety of ecological disturbances (e.g., insects, wildfires, and droughts) that are expected to be exacerbated by environmental change across different scales. A common strategy in studying the potential social, economic, and environmental impacts of rural in-migration is to compare rural migrants to non-migrants on relevant perceptions, attitudes, and activities. However, despite the highly dynamic nature of rural population change, few studies have assessed temporal shifts in migrant-nonmigrant differences. Alaska's Kenai Peninsula has experienced both a large spruce bark beetle outbreak and substantial in-migration in recent decades. Drawing on longitudinal survey data (2004 and 2008) from six rural communities there, this study explores the evolution of differences between newer and longer-term rural residents in community experience, perceptions, and activeness in response to the beetle outbreak. The analysis revealed newcomers initially indicated higher degrees of perceived tree mortality and forest risks, but lower levels of community wildfire experience, satisfaction with private landowners and government land managers, and participation in typical community activities and community response to the beetle disturbance when compared with longer-term residents. The difference between the two resident groups in community activeness became even greater over the four-year study period despite a general trend of coalescent community emergency experience and perceptions among local residents.

Introduction

Since the 1970s, many parts of rural America have experienced significant reverse migration flows from urban areas related to various factors including industrial decentralization, energy resource development, social and environmental amenities (retirement- or recreation-oriented), and urban expansion (Egan and Luloff, 2005, Gosnell and Abrams, 2011, Krannich et al., 2011, Kruger et al., 2008, McGranahan, 1999, Radeloff et al., 2005, Schwazweller, 1979, Smith et al., 2001). Population increase in rapidly growing rural communities has resulted in profound social, economic, and environmental consequences (Abrams et al., 2012, Nelson, 2001, Price and Clay, 1980). Research on the potential impacts of rural in-migration tends to focus on the differences, or the lack thereof, between recent migrants (new full-time and seasonal residents) and non-migrants (life-long residents and earlier in-migrants) in a range of aspects such as socio-demographic characteristics, attitudes toward development and environmental issues, community interaction or attachment, and participation in community activities (e.g., Fortmann and Kusel, 1990, Gosnell and Abrams, 2011, Jennings and Krannich, 2013, Matarrita-Cascante et al., 2010, Nelson, 1997, Smith and Krannich, 2000, Stedman, 2006). Most of these studies employed cross-sectional data to examine the implications of rural in-migration for local social and ecological well-being. Few efforts have assessed temporal shifts in migrant-nonmigrant differences despite the highly dynamic nature of rural population change.

Recent rural in-migration is increasingly driven by people seeking natural amenities, and tends to concentrate in traditional natural resource-based communities (e.g., forested and ranching communities) or wildland–urban interface areas (Egan and Luloff, 2005, Gordon et al., 2013, Krannich et al., 2011, Kruger et al., 2008, Radeloff et al., 2005, Yung and Belsky, 2007). These communities are situated in the intersection between environment and society (Field and Burch, 1988), and are often at risk from a variety of ecological disturbances (e.g., insects, wildfires, and droughts) that are expected to be exacerbated by environmental change across different scales (Dale et al., 2001). Over the past decade, the human dimensions of forest disturbance by insects have gained increased attention in the rural and natural resource sociology literature (Flint et al., 2012). Not only are forested landscapes heterogeneous and dynamic but complex human dimensions, including varying and changing perceptions, attitudes, and actions, exist as well (Flint et al., 2009).

Current rural migration and environment research typically focuses on environmental causes and consequences of population movement in the developing world context (de Sherbinin et al., 2008, Qin and Flint, 2012). Increasing research interest on the implications of rural in-migration for environmental change and natural resource management in more developed countries has emerged in recent years (e.g., Abrams et al., 2012, Egan and Luloff, 2005, Gosnell and Abrams, 2011, Kruger et al., 2008, McCool and Kruger, 2003). This study links existing literature on rural population change and migration-natural resources relationships in the United States to the investigation of the human dimensions of forest insect disturbance. Drawing on longitudinal survey data (2004 and 2008) from six study communities on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula, this analysis explores how differences between newer and longer-term rural residents in perceptions and activities evolved over time. The Kenai experienced both a widespread spruce bark beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) outbreak and considerable population growth in recent decades. The following two research questions guide the organization of this article: (1) Did newer and longer-term residents differ in community experience, perceptions, and activeness in response to the beetle outbreak? (2) Did these differences change during the four-year study period?

Section snippets

Literature review

Previous research has used the migrant-nonmigrant comparison approach to examine the social, economic, and environmental consequences of in-migration flows in rural America, while temporal changes in such migration impacts are relatively understudied. This section reviews the existing rural migration literature along these key themes, and makes connections to relevant findings from recent research on the human dimensions of forest insect disturbance.

Study area

Using longitudinal survey datasets from the Kenai Peninsula in south-central Alaska, the present study examines the role of residence status in local response to natural disturbances, as well as the temporal shifts in community interaction, risk perception, and environmental attitudes and actions among newer and longer-term rural residents. The combination of a massive forest insect disturbance and a high magnitude of in-migration makes the Kenai Peninsula an important study area for assessing

Socio-demographic indicators

Major socio-demographic characteristics of newer and longer-term residents in the 2004 and 2008 survey data are summarized in Table 1. Newer residents made up of 39.1% and 40.5% of respondents respectively in the two survey samples. They were younger and had a significantly or almost significantly lower proportion of Alaskan Natives than longer-term residents in both years of survey. No substantial difference was found between the two groups in terms of gender composition in either survey.

Discussion

Responding to the need for examining temporal changes in the relationships among rural migration, communities, and natural resources (Amstrong and Stedman, 2013, Flint, 2006, Kruger et al., 2008), this study assesses the effects of residence status on local perceptions, interaction, and response to the beetle outbreak on the Kenai Peninsula at two points in time. The analysis of the 2004 and 2008 survey data revealed changing differences and/or similarities between newer and longer-term

Conclusions and implications

In summary, this study explores temporal changes in newcomer-oldtimer differences in the context of the spruce bark beetle outbreak on the Kenai Peninsula. The analysis revealed newcomers initially indicated higher degrees of perceived tree mortality and forest risks, but lower levels of community wildfire experience, satisfaction with private landowners and government land managers, and participation in typical community activities and community response to the beetle disturbance when compared

Acknowledgments

This study drew on data from a larger research project funded by the Pacific Northwest Research Station, Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The author would like to acknowledge and thank Courtney G. Flint, A.E. Luloff, Jason Gordon, Joshua Gruver, and Brad Woods for their contribution to that project. The work of the author is supported in part by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch Project #1005128, #1005129. The paper was presented at the

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