We introduced a multilevel model of value shift to describe the changing social context of wildlife conservation. Our model depicts how cultural‐level processes driven by modernization (e.g., increased wealth, education, and urbanization) affect changes in individual‐level cognition that prompt a shift from domination to mutualism wildlife values. Domination values promote beliefs that wildlife should be used primarily to bene...

Article impact statement : Conservation values are unlikely to change through intentional efforts.

The hope for creating widespread change in social values has endured among conservation professionals since early calls by Aldo Leopold for a “land ethic.” However, there has been little serious attention in conservation to the fields of investigation that address values, how they are formed, and how they change. We introduce a social–ecological systems conceptual approach in which values are seen not only as motivational goal...

Eulachon ( Thaleichthys pacificus ), an anadromous smelt in the Northeast Pacific Ocean was examined for listing under the USA’s Endangered Species Act (ESA). A southern Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of eulachon – that occurs in the California Current and is composed of numerous subpopulations that spawn in rivers from northern California to northern British Columbia – was identified on the basis of ecological and environm...