The Midwestern Region is dominated by intensive agricultural production, primarily corn and soybeans. Economic pressures result in optimizing acreage planted and may place pressure on producers to resign not enroll in conservation programs. At issue is the balance between ecosystem services provided by acres in conservation programs and those in agricultural production. Intensive agricultural production (e.g., high levels of fertilizers) in this region are major contributors to Gulf hypoxia (i.e., reduced levels of ecosystem services) in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Researchers in the Human Dimensions Research Program at the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS), through a grant provided by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IL DNR), are undertaking a study of agriculture producers’ perceptions of ecosystem services, support for use of prairie buffer strips, and awareness of Gulf hypoxia and its causes. This study will be a mail survey stratified by landowners enrolled and not enrolled in conservation programs conducted October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2015. What is not known, however, is the awareness of and support for agriculture conservation policies among the non-agriculture producing public. The proposed study will (a) address this need for understanding non-agriculture producers’ perceptions of ecosystem services provided by agriculture conservation programs and support for these programs and (b) compliment the ongoing IL DNR study of agriculture producers. The proposed study will also investigate public awareness of Gulf hypoxia, knowledge of factors leading to hypoxia, and efforts to reduce it. The objectives are to identify attitudes toward conservation, perceptions of ecosystem services, awareness of Gulf hypoxia, and attitudes toward policies that address Gulf hypoxia among urban to rural homeowners that are non- agriculture producers. The proposed study will employ a repeated-wave mail survey of 3,000 single-family homeowners stratified by rural to urban residences in Illinois. To the extent, survey questions will parallel the INHS study of agriculture producers. Survey participants will be mailed a survey packet consisting of cover letter, survey questionnaire, and stamped return envelope. At two- week intervals following the initial survey packet non-respondents will be mailed a postcard reminder followed by another survey packet. Three total mailings of survey packets and postcard reminders are anticipated to achieve a statistically valid response at a 95% confidence interval. Products from this study will include comparison of awareness and attitudes toward agriculture conservation programs and Gulf hypoxia among the non-agriculture producing public. Further, comparing findings from this study to those of the INHS study of agriculture producers will allow for a comprehensive assessment of public support for policies regarding conservation programs and Gulf hypoxia.
