Natural resource management is more effective when it includes collaboration among numerous stakeholders who bring multiple perspectives to the decision-making process. In particular, many individuals and organizations (e.g., The Wildlife Society) have advocated for decisions to be science-based as a means for improving management outcomes. But there has been little research evaluating the sources, science-based or otherwise, used by natural resource agencies to support decision-making at the state-level within the United States. We surveyed state natural resource agency personnel in all 50 states to assess the sources of information used to make management decisions and the factors that influenced selection of the sources. Approximately 60% of respondents reported using ≥3 different source types when making recommendations. Existing management plans, the peer-reviewed scientific literature, and expert opinion were the most frequently used sources. Perception of source relevance was the most frequent predictor of source use, and the number of management plans a manager had previously written positively predicted the use of management plans, expert opinion, and personal experiences. Ninety percent of respondents reported that increased use of the peer-reviewed literature would or might improve management recommendations. Aspects of academic and agency cultures influenced which articles or journals were used to make recommendations. Our findings indicate managers support the use of peer-reviewed literature as an important component of management decision-making; however, if the goal is to improve the flow of information between scientists and managers, researchers should publish in journals that are readily accessible to managers and present results in a way that clearly articulates relevance to management decisions. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.

中文翻译：

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自然资源经理使用哪些资源来做出决策？

当自然资源管理包括众多利益相关者之间的协作时，它会更加有效，这些利益相关者为决策过程带来了多种观点。尤其是，许多个人和组织（例如，野生动物协会）已经提倡以科学为基础的决策作为改善管理结果的一种手段。但是，很少有研究评估自然资源机构用于支持美国州级决策的来源，无论是基于科学的还是其他方式。我们对所有 50 个州的州自然资源机构人员进行了调查，以评估用于做出管理决策的信息来源以及影响来源选择的因素。大约 60% 的受访者表示在提出建议时使用了≥3 种不同的来源类型。现有的管理计划、同行评审的科学文献和专家意见是最常用的来源。对资源相关性的感知是资源使用最常见的预测因素，经理之前编写的管理计划数量积极预测管理计划的使用、专家意见和个人经验。90% 的受访者表示，增加对同行评审文献的使用会或可能会改进管理建议。学术和机构文化的各个方面影响了使用哪些文章或期刊来提出建议。我们的研究结果表明，管理者支持使用同行评审文献作为管理决策的重要组成部分；然而，如果目标是改善科学家和管理人员之间的信息流动，研究人员应在管理人员易于访问的期刊上发表文章，并以清晰表达与管理决策相关性的方式呈现结果。© 2021 野生动物协会。