What Causes Harmful Algal Blooms? A Case Study of Causal Attributions and Conflict in a Lakeshore Community

Environmental management involves the complex interaction between identifying the causes of problems and implementing solutions. Our exploratory study draws on attribution theory to analyze the causal attributions among community members experiencing frequent and intensifying harmful algal blooms in a lake of western New York State. Our interviews (n = 21) revealed that causal attributions were grounded in observation but that scientific observations led to very different causal attributions than direct observations among a subset of the lay public. Some community members also developed causal attributions based on their social relationships. Differences in causal attributions became the basis of widespread intracommunity disagreement, which in turn hampered management efforts. Our work demonstrates the need for meaningful public engagement in water management—engagement that addresses causal beliefs within the community, even if those beliefs may not align with scientific understandings.