SYMPOSIUM PRESENTER TITLE: Public Attitudes and Opinions Regarding Beaver and Beaver Management in Wisconsin ABSTRACT: The Wisconsin DNR used a statewide household survey to measure public opinions about beavers and beaver management. Public input has informed the state’s current Beaver Management Plan, but the current study is the first random sample survey on this topic and will inform an update to the Management Plan. Results demonstrate that most Wisconsinites are aware that beavers occur throughout the state and have seen a beaver or signs of a beaver; experience with property damage caused by beaver is less common. Experience with beaver damage, however, influences both attitudes toward beaver, recognition of beaver impacts, and opinions about beaver management. Those who live in rural environments and/or identify as trappers, foresters/timber producers, or agricultural producers are less likely than the average Wisconsinite to hold favorable attitudes and more likely to recognize potential negative impacts of beaver. In contrast, those living in suburban or urban environments, Native American tribal members, and environmental advocates are more likely to hold favorable attitudes and slightly less likely to recognize potential negative impacts. Results suggest that some Wisconsinites care about how beavers and beaver habitat are managed, but may have limited awareness of specific management programs and practices. Overall, Wisconsinites place highest importance on educational-focused management priorities. Monitoring beaver numbers, research on reducing conflicts, and creating refuge areas are also of high importance. If conflicts with beaver occur, Wisconsinites are supportive of DNR providing information about how to coexist with beaver and divided over the use of lethal control to address conflicts. BIO: Lauren Bradshaw is a natural resources sociologist with the Wisconsin DNR. Her applied social science research explores the relationships between people and natural resources. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in Environment & Resources with an emphasis on plant community ecology.