Local institutions and Natural Resource Management

As researchers and policy-makers confront the challenges of and opportunities for improving natural resource management, increasing attention is being given to the dynamics of coupled natural-human systems. Interdisciplinary study of these coupled systems has generated considerable research and management innovations. Among these are more intensive research of the emergence and behavior of local institutions and consideration of the potential for voluntary and/or collaborative approaches to supplement conventional natural resource policy and management approaches. Front and center in this line of research are studies of local institutional responses to common pool resource management issues. Over time, this productive line of research is encouraging greater integration of insights across social science fields and identification of systematic patterns in research findings. Responding to such encouragement, this research blends insights from collective action theory, institutional rational choice and the institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework to investigate the distribution and success of resource-based organizations. Moreover, our research makes a unique contribution to this literature by considering the spatial aspects of these institutions' formation, behavior and success. Lake associations are an interesting class of resource-based organizations. These local, lake-centered institutions strive to address management issues using informal and voluntary strategies. Lake associations are most common in lake-rich states, including Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, New York, New Hampshire and Maine. The objectives of these groups vary from narrow (private road maintenance) to broad (watershed health). These organizations allow for lake-centered boundaries including multiple jurisdictions, provide a voice to seasonal property owners, and resolve some issues related to coordination, property rights, and transaction costs. The numerous and diverse lake associations of Maine are the focus of our empirical work. The primary research objective of this analysis is to develop an integrated empirical modeling framework of lake association presence and lake management success. To fulfill this objective, we examined the relative performance of empirical econometric models that ignore and address potential sample selection bias. Because we only observe measures of lake association management success on lakes that have a lake association, the sample is non-random. In our empirical work, entry into the lake association management success sample is further complicated by our reliance on survey data to describe management behavior and performance. A broad secondary research objective is to continue exploring the extent to which the Institutional Development Analysis (IAD) framework can be used to explain the distribution and behavior of Maine lake associations. We assembled an extensive spatial database describing natural and human features of 2,602 Maine lakes (Maine's great ponds; > 10 acres in size) to support this analysis. We integrated this extensive database with a smaller survey-based database describing lake association behavior and natural resource management success. Data describing the distribution and success of lake associations were drawn from non-government organization, federal and state agency databases and primary survey data collected to describe social and economic characteristics of Maine lakes. We captured additional lake and association attributes by manipulating various state and federal GIS databases and creating primary spatial databases. Results to date reveal support for the IAD theoretical framework in describing factors influencing the presence of lake associations. These results offer guidance on how to better integrate the informal approaches of local institutions with more formal, regional government-based management approaches. By understanding where local institutions are likely to form and what issues they are best suited to address, state and federal government agencies can better work with local organizations to address the complexities of natural resource management. Results explaining variation in natural resource management success and the potential gains from an integrated model of presence and success are less robust and are constrained by limited available data describing management behavior and success.local institutions, natural resource management, institutional economics, lake associations, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

A Community Guide to Starting & Running a Wood Bank

Imagine your local food pantry. Replace the food with firewood and you have programs known as wood banks. Like a food pantry, wood banks are programs that aim to help community members with life essentials by supplying firewood at little to no cost to those in need that rely on firewood as a heating source. As straightforward and tangible as these centers sound, as of 2014 only about a dozen wood banks are clearly recognized across the states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, with only a handful consistently active in Maine. There may be many more wood banks that exist but are not advertised or labeled as a wood bank. —From p.

S4E2: What’s your relationship with the forest?

Maine is the most forested state in the country, and its residents interact with forests regularly in many different ways. They provide supplies for various products, which fuels industry and job creation, and space for outdoor recreation. These interactions, which help define Maine’s identity, are the subject of Jessica Leahy’s research. As a professor in UMaine’s School of Forest Resources, she studies the human dimensions of forestry and other natural resources. In this episode of “The Maine Question,” Leahy discusses her work, the ways forests impact our lives and how our actions affect them

The Economic Contribution of Snowmobiling in Maine

Snowmobiling has been a popular winter pastime in Maine for decades. During the 2018-2019 snowmobiling season, nearly 60,000 snowmobiles were registered in Maine by resident snowmobilers, and over 25,000 snowmobiles were registered by non-residents. Since the 1998 report An Economic Evaluation of Snowmobiling in Maine, overall registrations have increased, and registrations among non-residents have more than doubled. There has been no comprehensive evaluation of snowmobiling in Maine since the 1998 report completed by the University of Maine in collaboration with the Maine Snowmobile Association and State of Maine Snowmobile Program. In order to update the information on snowmobiling related expenditures, the sociodemographic characteristics of snowmobilers in Maine, and the opinions of Maine snowmobilers on snowmobiling tourism infrastructure and issues related to snowmobiling in Maine today, a new study was commissioned by the State of Maine Snowmobile Program and the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry through the University of Maine’s School of Forest Resources. The results are contained in this report. The results conclude that snowmobiling generated $459 million in direct spending across many sectors during the 2018-2019 season. Accounting for indirect and induced economic activity, the contribution of snowmobiling to Maine’s economy was over$606 million. Snowmobiling generates a significant amount of spending during the winter in Maine, especially in the rural areas which benefit from snowmobiling activity. Snowmobile related spending also directly supports 2,279 jobs in the state of Maine and indirect and induced effects of the spending support an additional 1,060 jobs. Trip-related spending accounts for approximately $209.5 million or about 46$132 million in direct spendin

Using Mixed Methods to Develop a Frame-Based Private Landowner Typology

An important goal of community-based management is to engage a wider network of stakeholders in conservation and management decisions. Using mixed methods, we constructed a frame-based private landowner typology to identify landowner response patterns to vernal pool conservation and management in Maine. Drawing on data from interviews and focus groups, we identified two opposing frames that described landowner views on vernal pools (personal gain and personal loss). A mail survey identified three groups of private landowners (Supportive, Uncertain, and Opposing) with similar sociodemographic and property variables but different aesthetic preferences, economic concerns, and views on property rights and conservation. Our results suggest that frame-based typologies are useful for enhancing communications with different landowner groups and in identifying trusted information sources and communication preferences. Our approach represents a critical first step toward understanding and integrating a range of landowner perspectives into conservation practice and enhancing private landowner cooperation in proactive planning

Effects of the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program on backcountry users in Grand Canyon and Everglades National Parks

Since the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program was approved in 1996, allowing public land management agencies to collect and retain recreation user fees, several research studies have gathered opinions and attitudes from different groups of recreation users. One particular group, backcountry users of National Parks, had yet to be included. This thesis uses a sample of backcountry users from Grand Canyon and Everglades National Park to determine opinions and attitudes, potential displacement, and visitation responses to increased recreation user fees. Backcountry users at these National Parks were found to be supportive of most recreation user fees, such as entrance and backcountry permit fees. However, this was not always the case; few found parking fees appropriate. The consistent opinion of respondents at both National Parks was that fee revenue should be used to revegetate impacted sites. Most backcountry users found the current price of the permit fees to be "about right." Potential displacement is often a concern when recreation user fees are implemented. In this thesis, there were few significant demographic differences between samples that had visited before fee implementation and those that had visited after implementation. There were, however, changes in trip characteristics such as mode of transportation and amount of pre-trip planning Three to 13% of the respondents said that they would visit less often in the future because of the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program. These potentially displaced users at Everglades National Park were more likely to be low-income. Potentially displaced users at Grand Canyon National Park were more likely to be non-white, low-income, not working full time, and live closer to the National Park. The visitation response to a hypothetical increase in recreation user fees was measured using the contingent behavior method, and estimated using the Tobit and Heckman sample selection models. Trip expenditures, distance to the National Park, and annual household income significantly affected backcountry users' decisions to plan on returning to the National Park in the next two years. For those that were planning on visiting the backcountry of the National Park. the proposed increase in recreation user fees, ratings of fees as a barrier, and frequency of participation influenced the reduction in number of visits

Strengthening Knowledge Co-Production Capacity: Examining Interest in Community-University Partnerships.

Building successful, enduring research partnerships is essential for improving links between knowledge and action to address sustainability challenges. Communication research can play a critical role in fostering more effective research partnerships, especially those concerned with knowledge co-production processes. This article focuses on community-university research partnerships and factors that influence participation in the co-production process. We identify specific pathways for improving partnership development through a prospective analytical approach that examines community officials’ interest in partnering with university researchers. Using survey responses from a statewide sample of Maine municipal officials, we conduct a statistical analysis of community-university partnership potential to test a conceptual model of partnership interest grounded in natural resource management theory and environmental communication. Our findings both support and advance prior research on collaborations. Results reveal that belief in the helpfulness of the collaborator to solve problems, institutional proximity, familiarity, perceived problem severity and problem type and trust influence interest in developing community-university partnerships. These findings underscore the benefits of proactively assessing partnership potential prior to forming partnerships and the important roles for communication research within sustainability science, especially with regard to strengthening partnership formation and knowledge co-production processes

Creating Opportunities for Improving Lake-Focused Stakeholder Engagement: Knowledge–Action Systems, Pro-Environment Behavior and Sustainable Lake Management

Managers, policymakers, non-government organizations and community groups are increasingly relying on stakeholder participation to bolster lake management efforts. The growing portfolio of lake-focused stakeholder engagement cases offers valuable information about the efficacy of alternative stakeholder engagement strategies. While attention has been devoted to inventorying these instances, lesser emphasis has been given to evaluating the effectiveness of different participation and engagement approaches. There is arguably no panacea for involving stakeholders in lake and basin management. Lake management challenges in distinct natural and human systems necessitate diverse approaches for interacting with stakeholders. As calls for stakeholder participation increase and management budget constraints tighten, the urgency of exploring and documenting the effectiveness of alternative approach rises. This paper examines lake-focused stakeholder participation activities targeting individuals and households, summarizes and shares recent findings from research of knowledge–action processes and pro-environment behaviours, and offers encouragement and guidance for lake managers to create opportunities for improving lake-focused stakeholder engagement

Communication and sustainability science teams as complex systems

Communication is essential to resilience, as interactions among humans influence how social-ecological systems (SES) respond to change. Our research focuses on how specific communication interactions on sustainability science teams, such as how people meet with each other; the ways in which they categorize themselves and others; the decision-making models they use; and their communication competencies affect outcomes. We describe research from a two-year study of communication in Maine\u27s Sustainability Solutions Initiative, a statewide network of sustainability science teams. Our results demonstrate that decision making and communication competencies influenced mutual understanding, inclusion of diverse ideas, and progress toward sustainability-related goals. We discuss our results in light of key resilience themes and conclude with recommendations for communication design in sustainability teams for improved collaborative process and outcomes