In landscapes where diverse benefits are not always readily apparent, such as sagebrush steppe, it is often assumed that the broader public may not care about or value the landscape. With this concern in mind, our stakeholders identified a need for spatially-explicit social data to bridge existing regional economic and ecological data as both the landscape and population changes. Ongoing engagement refined a multi-phase social science approach to understand public landscape values and attitudes toward managing recreation and residential development. Several insights emerged from the engagement process, related to cultivating trust and relationships and navigating differing expectations and understandings.
