Property Concepts, Ecological Thought, and Ecosystem Management: A Case of Conservation Policymaking in Vermont

Abstract

Ecosystem management focuses on dynamic processes that cross boundaries. The consequent need to work across boundaries clashes with notions of property. Beginning in 1996, the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources reformulated its land acquisition policy to incorporate newly articulated ecological goals that parallel those of ecosystem management. The process triggered a debate about property rights and the role of the state in promoting ecological goals through land acquisition. We examined ecological and property concepts drawn on during the process, changes in the planning process, and implications for ecosystem management. Using the idea of property as divisible bundles of rights, the state advocated conservation easements, which split ownership among parties, and promoted the concept of a working landscape to accommodate resource-based livelihoods. Our analysis illustrates the importance of examining interactions among concepts, social relations, and physical space to understand relationships between ecological principles and property rights issues in regional environmental planning.

Keywords:

• Conservation Policy
• Ecosystem Management
• Environmental Planning
• Natural Resource Conservation
• Property Rights
• Vermont
• Working Landscape