Searching for effective natural-resources policy: The special challenges of ecosystem management

No matter how elegant ecosystem management is scientifically, it will not reach its potential in western U.S., with its abundant public lands, unless it is effective public policy. Such policy is (1) an adaptive process, (2) utilizes the most appropriate science and technology, (3) is implementable, and (4) has low transaction cost. This paper focuses on the latter two characteristics which are shaped by social legitimacy, and proposes a procedure termed Collaborative Learning as a promising decision-making process for ecosystem management. Two defining criteria of social legitimacy in contemporary American public policy are (1) policy solutions must be recognized as technically sound; and (2) if people\u27s lives are affected, they must have a voice in policy process. The increasing sophistication of science and technology makes them less understood by the general public, and creates a dilemma between the narrow politics of expertise and a broad politics of public inclusion. Land management of any form in western U.S., with its mixed land ownership, is complicated and constrained by deeply held public values; multiple world views, parties and issues; legal constraints; and an entrenched conflict industry. Ecosystem management compounds these difficulties by adding more technical complexity and uncertainty, a systems view, increased focus on mixed-ownership solutions, and the importance of institutional continuity. Collaborative Learning (CL) is a framework for natural-resources policy making with public involvement. It is a hybrid between soft-systems methodology, which promotes learning and systems thinking, and alternative dispute resolution, which deals with value differences and strategic behaviors. CL stresses improvement rather than solution, situation over problem or conflict, concerns and interests rather than positions, progress over success, desirable and feasible change rather than desired future condition. Evaluations of CL conclude that the process broadens participants\u27 understanding, improves communication between diverse communities, and implements improvements. And while strategic behaviors persist, there is increased rapport, respect, and trust among participants. It is well-suited to ecosystem management

Black spruce regeneration in Kalmia dominated sites : effects of mycorrhizal inoculation and forest floor mixing

Study area : Terra Nova National Park, 90 km southeast of Gander, Newfoundland.There can be a shift in vegetation from black spruce (Picea mariana Mill.) forests with the ericaceous shrub Kalmia angustifolia L. (Kalmia) in the understory to ericaceous dominated heath in some areas of Newfoundland. This occurs on low to medium fertility sites after forest fire, insect defoliation, or clear-cut harvesting. Kalmia spreads rapidly with the concomitant failure of black spruce regeneration. This is a serious and widespread problem for the forest industry, and for protected area management when human interventions to natural disturbance cause the formation of Kalmia heath. The objective of this thesis was to test two alternate methods of enhancing black spruce regeneration in Kalmia dominated sites. I examined the growth response and foliar nutrient concentration of black spruce seedlings inoculated with the ectomycorrhiza (EM) Paxillus involutus (Batsch. Ex Fr.) Fr, planted in mechanically-mixed forest floors dominated by Kalmia. Changes in soil physical and chemical properties following mechanical mixing (tilling) of the forest floor horizon were also studied. The experiment was conducted over two growing seasons in Kalmia dominated sites resulting from heavy insect defoliation by spruce budworm and natural fires in Terra Nova National Park, Newfoundland. I found that inoculated seedlings had higher levels of EM formation, but lower growth than control seedlings, suggesting that the effect of EM on host performance is likely related to the physiological performance of the specific EM isolate under the prevailing soil conditions. Control seedlings that were exposed to nutrient stress in the greenhouse had better growth than the commercial nursery grown seedlings that were cultured using standard levels of fertilization. This suggests that black spruce growth might be closely related to adaptations to tolerate nutrient stress. Seedlings in insect defoliated sites in general had higher growth and foliar nutrient concentrations than those in burned sites. This was likely due to increased decomposition. Seedlings in all of the mixed forest floors had higher foliar nutrient concentrations than those in non-mixed forest floors, likely due to decreased acidity and competition, and increased decomposition. However, my results did not explain why forest floor mixing resulted in increased growth of black spruce seedlings in insect defoliated sites, but not in burned sites. Most theories of the growth of black spruce in Kalmia dominated sites include only below ground effects, but above ground effects may also be important. One possibility is that partial canopy cover is an important factor due to its effects on extremes of soil temperature and moisture, decomposition, litter quality, light levels, and near ground microclimate. My results indicate that it is possible to restore black spruce forest in insect defoliated sites with partial canopy cover that are dominated by Kalmia by mixing the forest floor and planting seedlings grown at low soil nutrient levels. However, further research is required to establish a method for restoring black spruce forest in open canopy burned sites

From the Forest to the River: Citizens\u27 Views of Stakeholder Engagement

Since the early 1990s collaboration and consensus processes have become associated with success in the environmental policy and natural resource policy arenas. Interest in collaboration and consensus processes have emerged, in part, out of a frustration with more conventional efforts used to involve stakeholders, to work though conflicts, and to make decisions in the environmental and natural resource policy arenas. Collaboration and consensus processes, when designed well and applied appropriately, provide opportunities for meaningful stakeholder engagement. This essay features aspects of two government-led or agency-based (Koontz et al. 2004; Moore and Koontz 2003) planning efforts that consider collaboration and citizens/stakeholder engagement. Both projects, a forest management plan revision on the Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania, and a regional sediment management planning effort at the mouth of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest, have considered a Collaborative Learning (CL) approach (Daniels and Walker 2001) for stakeholder involvement. As part of these CL applications, citizens/stakeholders have been asked for their views of the kind of participation processes they value and how they prefer to be involved. This essay presents a summary of citizens\u27 ideas. In doing so, it addresses the question: How do stakeholders want to be engaged in agency-led planning efforts? Data reveal that stakeholders prefer active engagement, access to information and events, and clearly defined decision space. Prior to presenting the project data germane to this question, the paper highlights the trinity of voice and Collaborative Learning

Auditory Temporal Resolution in Normal-Hearing Preschool Children Revealed by Word Recognition in Continuous and Interrupted Noise

The purpose of this study was to examine temporal resolution in normal-hearing preschool children. Word recognition was evaluated in quiet and in spectrally identical continuous and interrupted noise at signal-to-noise ratios (S/Ns) of 10, 0, and −10dB−10dB−10dB. Sixteen children 4to5years4to5years4to5yearsof age and eight adults participated. Performance decreased with decreasing S/N. At poorer S/Ns, participants demonstrated superior performance or a release from masking in the interrupted noise. Adults performed better than children, yet the release from masking was equivalent. Collectively these findings are consistent with the notion that preschool children suffer from poorer processing efficiency rather than temporal resolution per se

Antibiotic Resistance in Marine Microbial Communities Proximal to a Florida Sewage Outfall System

Water samples were collected at several wastewater treatment plants in southeast Florida, and water and sediment samples were collected along and around one outfall pipe, as well as along several transects extending both north and south of the respective outfall outlet. Two sets of samples were collected to address potential seasonal differences, including 38 in the wet season (June 2018) and 42 in the dry season (March 2019). Samples were screened for the presence/absence of 15 select antibiotic resistance gene targets using the polymerase chain reaction. A contrast between seasons was found, with a higher frequency of detections occurring in the wet season and fewer during the dry season. These data illustrate an anthropogenic influence on offshore microbial genetics and seasonal flux regarding associated health risks to recreational users and the regional ecosystem

Antibiotic Resistance in Marine Microbial Communities Proximal to a Florida Sewage Outfall System

Water samples were collected at several wastewater treatment plants in southeast Florida, and water and sediment samples were collected along and around one outfall pipe, as well as along several transects extending both north and south of the respective outfall outlet. Two sets of samples were collected to address potential seasonal differences, including 38 in the wet season (June 2018) and 42 in the dry season (March 2019). Samples were screened for the presence/absence of 15 select antibiotic resistance gene targets using the polymerase chain reaction. A contrast between seasons was found, with a higher frequency of detections occurring in the wet season and fewer during the dry season. These data illustrate an anthropogenic influence on offshore microbial genetics and seasonal flux regarding associated health risks to recreational users and the regional ecosystem

Collaborative Alignment: a framework for community-based collaboration for natural resource management, environmental policy decisions, and locally-led climate action

This essay introduces the Collaborative Alignment Framework (CA) and proposes its suitability for empowering and engaging communities as they address issues related to SDG 15. The fifteenth Sustainable Development Goal is concerned with protecting, restoring and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems; managing forests sustainably; combating desertification, and stopping and reversing land biodiversity loss. Doing so necessarily involves communities and the parties that have a lot at stake related to environmental safeguards and management practices. Consequently, the discussion of Collaborative Alignment occurs in the following steps: First, it situates CA in the community-based forest collaborative movement in the United States, a movement that emerged in the forestry sector in the 1990s. Second, the essay addresses the foundations of CA. Third, CA is explained. Fourth, case examples of CA applications are featured. Lastly, the essay presents the relevance of Collaborative Alignment to “locally-led adaptation”, a community and place-based approach for addressing climate change (and SDG 13)

Collaboration in Environmental Conflict Management and Decision-Making: Comparing Best Practices With Insights From Collaborative Learning Work

For much of the past three decades, when environmental or natural resource conflicts have emerged, diverse parties (government agencies, stakeholder organizations, and citizens) have often sought an alternative to adversarial battles. They have turned to collaboration, and in so doing, have attempted to work through conflicts to find common ground and make sound decisions. And in so doing their experiences have given rise to the development of “best practices” for conducting collaborative work. This essay considers three sets of best practices for collaboration and compares those practices with the “best practices” that the authors have determined from their 27 years of Collaborative Learning fieldwork. When insights from Collaborative Learning projects are combined with a collective set of best practices, 18 areas emerge to guide collaborative efforts

The Partnership for Coastal Watersheds: A progress report

Prepared for the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, the Coos Watershed Association (CWA), and the Partnership for Coastal WatershedsThis report assesses the progress of the Partnership for Coastal Watersheds (PCW) Project from its inception through the summer of 2012. First, the PCW is described and PCW meeting activities are discussed. Following this foundation information, the report describes its assessment methods and presents the results of those methods. The report concludes with a presentation of observations and recommendations. During the Winter of 2009/2010 the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve (SSNERR) and the Coos Watershed Association (CWA) invited local landowners, technical advisors, and interested individuals and organizations to join them on a new approach to managing coastal watersheds. CWA and SSNERR leaders envisioned a partnership that would focus on the 35,155 acre area of the South Slough watershed and several small watersheds that drain to the Pacific Ocean between Cape Arago and Bullards Beach (the coastal frontal watersheds) in Southwestern Oregon. The PCW, the conveners hoped, could provide local communities (such as Charleston and Coos Bay) with a way to anticipate and respond to the local effects of climate and land use changes (Coos Watershed Association).Keywords: South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Environmental action plan, Coos Bay, Watershed assessmen