Alexander L. Metcalf, PhD
@metcalfhdlab.bsky.social
Full Professor and Director of the UM Human Dimensions Lab Behavioral science and social-psychology | Human relationships with wildlife & the environment | Conservation social science | Mixed methods
"[S]cience, even the highest-quality science, can never tell us what should be done." I don't do this often, but I published an Op-Ed. I guess that's what you do after a pet peeve festers too long!?? mountainjournal.org/grizzly-bear...
Op-Ed: The Forgotten Key to Wildlife Management: Values - Mountain Journal
Science alone won’t get the politics out of wildlife management. We shouldn’t want it to.
mountainjournal.org
Got a short term project that would benefit from a team of grad students working on it? Apply to be a policy clinic partner. mailchi.mp/ucdavis/requ...
Policy Clinic Request for Proposals
mailchi.mp
We just published one of my former PhD student’s dissertation chapters - we look at institutional mismatch across scales in a massive collective action problem in the US Great Plains biome - summary and paper link here: www.linkedin.com/posts/alexan...
Ecology & Society: Diagnosing and navigating scale mismatches in a social-ecological system: cross-scale feedbacks and cross-level interactions enable regime shift management in the Great Plains |...
All my students know I'm a "bit" obsessed with the collective nature of most (all?!) conservation challenges. For several years, I got to work with my then PhD student and now Dr. Holly Nesbitt on thi...
linkedin.com
NYU is hiring two postdocs at the Center for Social Media, AI & Politics: csmapnyu.org/jobs And a grant manager in Sociology with the Social Science Research Hub: uscareers-nyu.icims.com/jobs/15327/g... I'm part of both groups--please share with anyone who is interested!
Just a casual mention of our research…in the Atlantic!!
How Many Wolves Is Enough?
Now that thousands live in the United States, some people would like to kill more of them.
theatlantic.com
Seeking applicants to a qualitative social science post-doc position - located at Purdue University, but collaborating with me and others on the human dimensions of white-tailed deer and cwd management. www.schooljobs.com/careers/ummi...
Job Opportunities | University of Montana, Helena College & UM Western
schooljobs.com
"America’s debates over wildlife, especially wolves, are often framed as bitter battles between two entrenched camps... But recent research suggests the story is more complicated—and more hopeful." www.explorebigsky.com/dispatches-f...
Dispatches from the Wild: The wolf wars aren’t as polarized as you think | Explore Big Sky
By Benjamin Alva Polley EBS COLUMNIST America’s debates over wildlife, especially wolves, are often framed as bitter battles between two entrenched camps: pro-wolf environmentalists and anti-wolf rura...
explorebigsky.com
Big news in the Metcalf house… Today, Libby was officially named Dean of the College of Forestry and Conservation at the University of Montana & Director of the Montana Forest and Conservation Experiment Station. More to share in coming days, but I’m just so damn humbled to watch this Wonder Woman!
Good coverage of our human dimensions of wildlife study on the dynamic effects of social identity on attitudes! "Pack Politics: How Political Identity can Twist Perception of Wolves - Study shows that partisan misperceptions about opponents may lead to conflict, even when consensus is possible"
Pack Politics: How Political Identity can Twist Perception of Wolves - Mountain Journal
Study shows that partisan misperceptions about opponents may lead to conflict, even when consensus is possible
mountainjournal.org
Solid mix of pride and embarrassment to be featured in the inaugural YouTube episode of A New Angle podcast talking about the human dimensions of wolf and wildlife conservation. "The big (bad?) wolf with Dr. Alex Metcalf" www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VZa...
The Big (Bad?) Wolf with Dr. Alex Metcalf
YouTube video by A New Angle
youtube.com
Most Americans actually like wolves, but when researchers reminded people of their political identities, Democrats became more friendly to wolves and Republicans far more opposed. It’s an interesting study in how politics and social identity can fuel partisan polarization. buff.ly/aA10yEP
Americans generally like wolves − except when we’re reminded of our politics
New research shows how identity-driven assumptions can turn common ground into conflict.
theconversation.com
Ironically on January 6th, we have a new paper out about political identities and how they divide us on the topic of wolves. doi.org/10.1111/cobi...
doi.org
A couple years back I started to wonder how much of MT is owned by corporate entities, the role of really big properties, & the consequences for public trust wildlife management. Today we published some answers and how things have (and haven’t) changed over the past 20 years:
Private Ownership of Public Trust Wildlife Habitat in Montana, U.S.A. (2004–2023) - Environmental Management
Habitat ownership in the U.S. is primarily private, complicating management of public trust wildlife. Under this configuration, the rights and interests of private landowners can be at odds with those...
doi.org
missoulacurrent.com/montana-tole...
UM Researchers: Vast majority of Montanans tolerate wolves
Montanans are becoming increasingly tolerant of wolves in general, but wolf hunters and trappers are some of the least tolerant in the state, according to new Montana research.
missoulacurrent.com
Alexander L. Metcalf, PhD@metcalfhdlab.bsky.social · 8mo ago🚨 New Lab paper! 🚨 Contrary to assumptions & media narratives, most people have positive attitudes toward wolves & are tolerant of them. This is true around the world & even here in MT where 74% of Montanans are tolerant or very tolerant of wolves. 1/ conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
🚨 New Lab paper! 🚨 Contrary to assumptions & media narratives, most people have positive attitudes toward wolves & are tolerant of them. This is true around the world & even here in MT where 74% of Montanans are tolerant or very tolerant of wolves. 1/ conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Increasing tolerance of wolves in Montana, United States (2012–2023)
There is little reliable human dimensions data on people's attitudes toward wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains despite global interest in wolf management in the area, and limited information glob...
conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Absolute rock star Claire McAtee presenting her senior honors thesis in human dimensions of Wildlife Biology!
Working on 3 sets of page proofs! Really eager to share these results... #HumanDimensions #Wildlife #Wolves #Wolf #privateland #landownership #publictrust #socialidentity #hdw #conservation #endangeredspecies #carnivores
Consider that MT is 40% public land. This means animals are harvested on public land at 150% the rate of private. Thats assuming an even distribution of animals across ownerships - which is false. If we could account for the concentration on private, the rate would be higher.
Half of successful Montana elk hunters fill their tags on public land
Five bull elk stood just out of reach on public land, a reminder that in hunting, luck and licensing often decide success...
montanaoutdoor.com
The so-called debunking of “cult psychology” from the recent paper on When Prophecy Fails is misleading. Check out the comments on this thread, where philosophers point out where the key premises of the book replicate in the vast majority of similar cults & a huge replication of dissonance theory.
Eric Mandelbaum@ericman.bsky.social · 9mo agoThis is all p misleading IMO. I just saw this link so haven't read it yet (but will, though I also think lots of the retweets of this haven't read it as well, given its provenance). I don't see how this counters (eg) Dawson 1999 which goes through 13 millennial cults and finds 12 show the effect 1/n
When I first read this quote years ago it made no sense to me. I wish that hadn’t changed.
Ben Edwards@bostonhistory.bsky.social · 10mo ago“The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie." — Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Registration is NOW OPEN for the Conservation Marketing (ConsMark) Conference 2025! 🗓️ Date: December 3 & 4 🔗 Register today: lnkd.in/eBbCVZUu #conservation #marketing #conference
Everything in academia just seems to be moving so slowly these days. I’ve complained about journal reviews, but grant announcement and reviews, hiring paperwork, student issues, accounting processes, policy changes … it’s like everything is in quicksand.
🔥 The never-ending narrative… This week, I’ve once again heard prominent climate researchers dismiss individual action as either irrelevant or a distraction instigated by the fossil fuel industry. Here’s a 🧵 on why this argument frustrates me to no end and why I think it misses the bigger picture.
Further robust evidence suggesting green nudges at the individual level are unlikely to make a difference. As we recently suggested, it is time to abandon the prevailing success focus and rather think of this body of evidence as pointing to the many structural constraints people are facing, and
Jörg Ankel-Peters@jrgptrs.bsky.social · 10mo agoNew DP @i4replication.bsky.social: Meta-analysis on green nudges correcting for publication bias. "Behavioral interventions on households and individuals are unlikely to deliver material climate benefits." www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10...
I have a cool new colleague! “UM names endowed chair of forest conservation program” missoulacurrent.com/um-forest-co...
UM names endowed chair of forest conservation program
The position will oversee student training in forest processes and functions, and field-based knowledge that prepares students to address emerging issues in forest management.
missoulacurrent.com
