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Joan Brehm

Joan M. Brehm, PhD at Illinois State University

Research Activities and Interestes

My research interests center around the interactions between human populations and the environment in which they live. I am most intrigued by how societies function and what factors influence their various relationships and attitudes towards 'nature' and what those attitudes mean for both sustainable land management and broader community well-being. My professional training has focused heavily on rural and environmental change, with formal training in natural resource and environmental sociology, community, and demography. One avenue of investigation has focused on an examination of the role of natural environment amenities in community attachment and their relationship to community well-being in rural areas in the Intermountain West. More recently, I have focused my scholarship on research that examines the role of values, attitudes, and place attachment in the development of sustainable, watershed-scale stewardship of water quality and natural resources at the community level.

Some Of My Most Recent Publications:

  • Joan M. Brehm and Brian W. Eisenhauer.  2008. “Motivations for participating in Community-Supported Agriculture and their relationship with community attachment and social capital.”  Southern Rural Sociology, Vol. 23, No. 1, pg. 94-115.
  • Joan M. Brehm.  2007.  “Community attachment unpacked: The complexities of the natural environment dimension.”  Human Ecology,Vol. 35, No. 4, pp. 477-488.
  • Joan M. Brehm, Brian W. Eisenhauer, and Richard S. Krannich.  2006.  “Community attachments as predictors of local environmental concern: The case for multiple dimensions of attachment.”  American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 50, No. 2. pg. 142-165.
  • Joan M. Brehm and Brian W. Eisenhauer. 2006. “Environmental concern in the Mormon Culture Region.” Society and Natural Resources, Vo. 19, No. 5. pg. 393-410.
  • Joan M. Brehm, Brian W. Eisenhauer, and Richard S. Krannich. 2004. “Expanding the concept of community attachment and it’s relationship to well-being in the amenity-rich rural West.” Rural Sociology, Vol. 69, No. 3.

Current Research Projects

Evaluating Watershed Health Risks through Integrated Water Quality Analyses, Community Capacity Assessments, and Outreach Appraisals.

Co-PIs: Mae Davenport, Jon Schoonever, and Karl Williard, Southern Illinois University; Erin Seekamp, University of Idaho; Joan Brehm, Illinois State University. Funded by USDA/CSREES. (2007-2010).

This project involves an interdisciplinary investigation of water quality and community capacity for planning and conservation with the overall goal of evaluating and communicating watershed and community health risks in eight subwatershed communities within the Lower Kaskaskia River Watershed. . To learn more about this project and see some of the research results, please visit the Lower Kaskaskia River Watershed project website.

Nippersink Creek Watershed Social Assessment.

PI: Joan Brehm, Illinois State University. Funded by Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (ILEPA) 319 Program. (2009-2011).

This project takes a proactive approach to protecting the water quality and ecological health of the Nippersink Creek Watershed to enable future development efforts to proceed with the assurance that the water quality and ecological integrity of the watershed have been provided for. This in turn may attract residents and associated business for the high quality of life and environment in the Nippersink Creek Watershed.  The social assessment of residents within the Nippersink Creek Watershed assists in the facilitation of effective and targeted implementation of various conservation efforts (as outlined in the Nippersink Creek Watershed Plan) though a more accurate understanding of current values and attitudes towards the natural resources within the watershed.  This understanding, in turn, will be utilized to develop place-specific outreach and education efforts to improve stewardship of water quality and natural resources within the Nippersink Creek Watershed.  In an effort to improve non-point source (NPS) pollution management through the use of social indicators, this project is funded as part of a pilot program of the Region 5 Environmental Protection Agency’s  (EPA) Social Indicators for Planning and Evaluation System (SIPES) program. Read more about the SIPES program.

Download the Executive Summary Report: Maintaining What We Value: Executive Summary Report on the Community Survey (PDF)

The Nexus of Place Attachment, Behavior, and Ecological Integrity on Round Lake, IL.

PI: Joan Brehm, Illinios State University. Funded by: Round Lake Commission and Illinois State University, College of Arts and Sciences. (2007-2008).

Keep checking back for updates on new research projects. See my curriculum vitae for a complete listing of current publications