Policy-Oriented Learning among National Forest Stakeholders in the Pacific Northwest: The Role of Science in Changing Beliefs about Forest Management Policy

Abstract

We evaluate whether national forest stakeholders in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States changed their beliefs about appropriate forest management practices and policies since adoption of the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan, and whether any belief changes were due to new scientific information. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 individuals with long-term involvement in national forest policy in the Pacific Northwest. Three coalitions were identified: an amenity coalition, a commodity coalition, and a scientific management coalition. The majority of interviewees stated that they revised some of their policy beliefs, with belief changes varying by coalition. Of those who changed their beliefs, most attributed their belief changes to personal experiences and perceptions. New scientific information played a relatively small role in changing stakeholder beliefs, despite extensive scientific research on the impacts of forest management practices following in the wake of the Northwest Forest Plan.

Keywords:

• Belief change
• Northwest Forest Plan
• forest management policy
• scientific information

Acknowledgements

We thank the busy individuals who participated in interviews and shared their perspectives and experiences with us. We are also grateful to the editors and the anonymous reviewers who provided valuable feedback on this manuscript. This manuscript is based on an unpublished thesis: Lange, Sarah E. 2016. Policy-Oriented Learning Among National Forest Stakeholders in the Pacific Northwest: Changes in Policy Beliefs Since Adoption of the Northwest Forest Plan (Unpublished Master’s thesis). University of Washington, Seattle, WA.