Graduation Date
Fall 2024
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Science degree with a major in Natural Resources: option Environmental Science and Management
Committee Chair Name
Laurie Richmond
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Erin Kelly
Second Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Third Committee Member Name
Carrie Pomeroy
Third Committee Member Affiliation
Community Member or Outside Professional
Fourth Committee Member Name
Dan Reed
Fourth Committee Member Affiliation
Community Member or Outside Professional
Keywords
Kelp forest, Restoration, Management, Social-ecological systems, Restoration social science, Plural values, Climate change
Subject Categories
Environmental Science and Management
Abstract
In coastal Mendocino County, California, a multi-year marine heatwave event kicked off a dramatic ecosystem transformation that led to a near-total loss of bull kelp forests. People who relied on the local kelp ecosystems were affected and facing decisions about how to respond to the kelp ecosystem transformation. Rigorous assessments that are inclusive of local perspectives, values, and preferences could inform efforts related to kelp forest ecosystem management, conservation, and restoration. My research focused on answering the following questions: (1) What are the ways that people are connected to kelp ecosystems on the Mendocino coast? (2) What are community members’ knowledge and perceptions of the state of the kelp ecosystem both before and following the marine heatwave and kelp loss events? (3) What have been the impacts of kelp loss to community members? (4) What are kelp-connected community members’ perceptions of potential interventions or restoration actions that can be (or in some cases already have been) implemented in Mendocino’s kelp ecosystem? To answer these questions, I used a multi-methods approach that included semi-structured interviews of individuals who were connected to the Mendocino kelp system (n=20), participant observation, and document review.
Input gathered from these interviews indicated that community members had multiple ways of connecting to Mendocino kelp ecosystem, held diverse values encompassed in the local kelp ecosystem in its forested state, and desired a future in which the local kelp system is re-forested with kelps and seaweeds, diverse kelp ecosystem components are re-established, and peoples’ disrupted connections to the kelp ecosystem are repaired. I identified nine different ways interviewees were connected to the kelp ecosystem, which revealed the plurality of their values encompassed in the kelp system, and included examples of instrumental, intrinsic, and relational values. I found that this assessment: (1) Uncovered local ecological knowledge that can contribute to understandings of ecosystem dynamics and the potential efficacy of various restoration approaches; (2) Built knowledge of human connections to the kelp ecosystem and the potential social consequences of various restoration outcomes; and (3) Identified values and priorities for restoration and areas of potential conflict or agreement. Overall, this work can contribute to kelp ecosystem restoration and management efforts and to the growing body of work on restoration social science.
Citation Style
APA
Recommended Citation
Enevoldsen, Jocelyn, "Assessing community perspectives to inform kelp forest restoration and management: The case of Mendocino Coast, California" (2024). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 797.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/797