Date of Award

Spring 2026

Abstract

Abundant American black bear (Ursus americanus) populations and increasing human development in New Hampshire have led to a prevalence of human-bear conflict across the state. This conflict negatively impacts humans, bears, and even the surrounding environment as safety is put at risk and environmental roles are disrupted. This thesis aimed to address both the ecological and human dimensions of human-bear conflict by combining a quantitative spatial analysis with a qualitative thematic analysis. Chapter One examined anthropogenic and landscape factors influencing human-black bear conflict levels across New Hampshire. I utilized ordinal logistic regression to analyze how various ecologically relevant predictor variables influenced conflict levels from 2021-2024 at both a local (1 mi2 | 2.6 km2) and landscape (25 mi2 | 64.7 km2) scale. Results highlighted the percentage of Wildland Urban Interface, bear population density, a forest aggregation index, percentage of coniferous forest, and the number of solid waste facilities as significant positive drivers of conflict. Mean forest patch size, the percentage of mixed forest, and mean human density were indicated as significant negative drivers. Chapter Two shifted to investigate human behavior and how that impacts experiences with black bears and black bear management. An online survey was sent out to residents living in areas of high human-bear conflict. Responses were coded and grouped into themes. Five core themes were identified: subjective experiences, divergent safety orientations, perceived inevitability, multi-scalar responsibility, and information seeking behavior and institutional communication gaps. These themes revealed the impact that human experiences and behavior have on both reducing and exacerbating conflict. This research highlights the importance of effective management strategies that address both the ecological and human aspects of conflict.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

First Advisor

Fikirte Erda

Second Advisor

Russell Congalton

Third Advisor

Andrew Timmins

Degree Name

Master of Science

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