Conservation planning is important to ensure both ecological and social benefits of natural resources, including the maintenance of functional ecosystems and stable wildlife populations as well as the provision of resources that communities rely on. Yet, the integration of the human dimensions of conservation planning remains limited in practice. This thesis examines conservation planning in South Dakota and within Joint Venture (JV) partnerships, using qualitative methods to identify challenges and opportunities for more effective and coordinated planning. In chapter one, I examine how collaboration, public participation, and the use of climate information are integrated conservation planning in South Dakota and identify opportunities for improvement. I conducted in-depth interviews with 35 natural resource managers in federal and state agencies, and nonprofit organizations, as well as content analysis of 56 conservation plans. The study finds that the absence of complementary organizational goals, inadequate public engagement methods, and limited understanding of climate data constrain planning outcomes. Despite these challenges, examples such as the Central Grasslands Roadmap and community-based coalitions demonstrate that relational approaches to conservation planning can improve collaboration, increase participation, and improve the use of scientific information in decision-making. The study positioned relationships as foundational to improve conservation planning across collaboration, public participation, and the use of climate information. In chapter two, I examined human dimensions understanding and capacity needs within two JV partnerships operating in the Midwest. I used free listing exercises and semi-structured interviews with 29 JV participants to collect data, and I applied descriptive statistics, Smith's salience index, and reflexive thematic analysis to identify capacity gaps and opportunities. The findings revealed that, of the nine domains identified by JV participants, 17.2% could only name one domain, and nearly a quarter (27.3%) could name three domains, reflecting a limited understanding of the field. Three salient capacity needs were identified: developing human dimensions expertise, recognizing the importance of human dimensions, and conducting human dimensions research. Corresponding opportunities included increasing collaboration through partnerships, understanding how values shape conservation behavior, and incorporating social science research into planning processes. The findings reflect an organizational culture that prioritizes biological sciences in a way that limits human dimensions integration. Both chapters of the thesis demonstrate that sustainable conservation planning outcomes depend on effective human dimensions integration. Strengthening relationships across partners and investing in human dimensions capacity are critical for conservation planning that is inclusive, adaptive, and sustainable, and supports functional ecosystems and stable wildlife populations.

Human-driven ecological transformations threaten traditional management approaches to protected areas. The resist-accept-direct framework has been utilised within the U.S. National Park Service to help land managers make decisions during global change. But in U.S. land management agencies and beyond, there is often not enough appreciation that decisions about responding to change are laden with values. Using academic and agency literature, and drawing on interviews with U.S. National Park Service staff, we show how ethics is central to decisions about managing for the future. We identify six particularly salient ethical considerations that may be helpful for managers. We explain why they are ethical and why they should be recognised as such. During this ethical examination, we find connections between Indigenous and non-Indigenous environmental ethics for land management and suggest that ‘relationships gathered in place’ may be an especially valuable ethical lens for thinking about ecological transformation. The article closes with some tentative recommendations about how to consider trade-offs when values conflict.

The grasslands in the North Central region are managed by a diverse group of Federal, State, and Tribal agencies; nongovernmental organizations; partnerships; and private landowners. This chapter highlights these various grassland management entities, provides background information on their mission and organizational structure, and describes some of their key grassland management activities, including the way in which each entity engages private landowners in grassland management. Each section also describes emerging challenges and opportunities and high-level information needs. The review and synthesis of grassland management-related documents identified specific information needs, which are listed in an appendix to provide additional detail for anyone looking to collaborate with grassland management entities on shared interests in grassland management or research.

Pinyon–juniper (PJ) woodlands, one of the most extensive mature and old-growth woodland types in the Western United States, provide critical ecological, cultural, and economic benefits but face increasing threats from climate change, altered disturbance regimes, invasive species, and pests. We developed the PJ Woodland Climate Adaptation Management Menu, a decision support tool designed to guide adaptive, climate-informed management of PJ ecosystems, particularly within the Colorado Plateau ecoregion. The menu was created through an iterative, collaborative process involving literature review, integration of strategies from existing adaptation frameworks, and extensive input from scientists, land managers, and community partners during workshops and focus groups. The menu links specific, evidence-based approaches to each of six broad strategies, including soliciting community input, mitigating disturbance, enhancing and maintaining biodiversity, conserving ecotones, timing actions for optimal outcomes, and accepting climate-driven changes when appropriate. It is intended for use with the Adaptation Workbook to help managers connect local goals and climate vulnerabilities to tailored management tactics. Hypothetical scenarios demonstrate the menu’s application to contrasting PJ woodland conditions, from die-off events to old-growth maintenance. Lessons learned during development underscore the value of early stakeholder engagement, cross-sector collaboration, and balancing diverse ecological objectives. This menu offers a flexible, transferable framework to strengthen climate resilience in PJ woodlands and serves as a model that could improve adaptation planning in other dryland forest ecosystems.

Managing species in an uncertain future is a reality for natural resource decision makers. Climate change is expected to exacerbate threats such as habitat loss and disease, and cause phenological mismatches, but there is uncertainty in the magnitude of these effects. Amphibians are among the most threatened taxa on earth, and most species in North America are uniquely tied to water availability for breeding, larval development, thermal refugia, and food availability. Changes in water availability and temperature may result in phenological mismatches with one or more of these processes. Thus, quantifying the dependency of amphibians to water on the landscape is critical to understanding how species may respond, as well as understanding the interplay with other threats, such as disease. We developed a dynamic co-occurrence occupancy model to explore the effects of climate change on the breeding occurrence of boreal toads (Anaxyrus boreas) and the amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, Bd) in the southern Rocky Mountains (SRM). We derived novel covariates to test hypotheses related to multi-generational impacts of climate on the dynamics of both boreal toad breeding and Bd. We report estimates of current (2001–2019) and future (2055–2069) occupancy under a range of plausible climate scenarios. The probability of boreal toad breeding occurrence at a site in the SRM declined > 40% from 2001 to 2019, and further declines are likely under future scenarios, particularly as active season length increases. To help integrate this information into management, we developed a web-based decision support tool to summarize predicted future hydrological and occupancy conditions.