Motivations for land protection and stewardship: Exploring place attachment and rural landscape character in Massachusetts

Rural landscapes around the world, including those in New England, face intense development pressures from nearby urban areas. Sustaining rural landscapes requires protecting these lands from development and continuing traditional land stewardship by local residents. Government officials and planners need to understand the attitudes and perceptions of rural residents as the first step in planning for sustainability. This paper describes two studies in rural Massachusetts that explored the hypothesis that place attachment may be an important motivation affecting residents’ attitudes toward land preservation. The first study used a photo-preference questionnaire to survey local residents about their attachment to the rural landscape, their perceptions of rural character, and their attitudes toward land protection. The second study used qualitative interviews with residents in the same region to add new insights to the survey results. Both studies found strong support by local residents for preserving rural character in their areas. Moreover, these studies found a positive correlation between local residents’ support for land protection (both in general and on their own land) and their level of attachment for scenes of rural places in their area. This research presents compelling evidence that local residents’ attachment to the rural landscape is a strong motivation for engaging in land stewardship and preservation efforts to sustain rural places and economies.

Research highlights▶ Results from both quantitative and qualitative studies of rural residents in western Massachusetts found support for preserving rural character. ▶ Positive correlation found between local residents’ attachment for rural places and their support for land preservation. ▶ Local land trusts and government agencies are more trusted by rural residents to preserve land than federal or state-level agencies. ▶ Place attachment is a motivation to preserve rural landscapes.