Managing Local Environmental Conflict amidst National Controversy

In: The international journal of conflict management: IJCMA, Volume 6, Issue 3, p. 290-311

Abstract

The recent impasse over federal forest management in the Pacific Northwest region of the US has been a living laboratory of conflict & its management. While most of the media attention has been focused on regional or national events, eg, President Clinton's Forest Conference of Apr 1993, a larger number of localized conflicts have shaped the controversy at the grass-roots level. This case study focuses on a pivotal meeting in one such conflict: the Shasta Costa planning process. Outside intervenors mediated the meeting, & US Dept of Agriculture Forest Service personnel, timber industry representatives, & environmentalists participated. Participant observations & a supplemental survey (N = 18) of participants led to the following conclusions: (1) measures of standing (the legal & social basis for legitimate participation) differed between the industry & environmental representatives, (2) reliance on science differed between groups, & (3) the process was not able to overcome a power imbalance. These findings suggest that there may be little hope for local dispute efforts if there is substantial policy uncertainty at the national level. Implications for managing forestry conflict in the region are discussed. 1 Figure, 1 Appendix, 55 References. Adapted from the source document.