This paper examines how residents of Southern Appalachia observe changes in their natural environment, the values that they assign to plants and animals in that environment, and their understandings and explanations of environmental change. We use semi-structured interviews and participant observation to determine that multigenerational residents and newcomers to the region are observing and noting change in different components of the environment and that they have different determinations of both the causes and likely consequences of that change. While multigenerational residents focus their observation and commentary on staple crops and culturally-important species, newcomers to the area concentrate on species related to recreational pursuits, giving each group insights into different aspects of environmental change. These findings are translated into recommendations for more inclusive and effective environmental and conservation planning.

本文研究了南阿巴拉契亚的居民如何观察自然环境的变化、他们赋予该环境中的植物和动物的价值，以及他们对环境变化的理解和解释。我们使用半结构化访谈和参与观察来确定该地区的多代居民和新移民正在观察和注意环境不同组成部分的变化，并且他们对这种变化的原因和可能的后果有不同的判断。虽然多代居民将他们的观察和评论重点放在主要作物和具有重要文化意义的物种上，但该地区的新移民则专注于与休闲活动相关的物种，让每个群体都能深入了解环境变化的不同方面。