| As grizzly bear populations expand across the rangelands of southwest Montana, conservationists promote conflict-reduction tools as ranchers and livestock are interacting with bears at higher rates. Ranching communities are simultaneously experiencing increased amenity migration and associated community cultural shifts that challenge ranchers’ sense of belonging and sense of place. I used a symbolic meanings and sense of place approach to understand how ranching communities in southwest Montana perceive livestock-grizzly conflict in the context of changes to ranchers’ broader social landscapes. After conducting interviews (n=29) and a Q-Sort activity (n=21) with community members, a Q-method factor analysis revealed three latent perspectives. Stakeholders make sense of conflict on the landscape, focusing on the social divide, institutions, and ecosystem resolution. These findings suggest that ranching communities’ conceptualization of livestock-grizzly conflict is influenced by their shifting sense of belonging to a place and underlying symbolic meanings assigned to bears, conflict-reduction tools, and land. |