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Abstract
As public participation in environmental decisions has increased, natural resource management agencies have been challenged to involve stakeholders constructively in the resolution of a variety of contentious issues. This research examines how evaluative criteria, initially derived from theory and literature and then refined based on input from agency staff and stakeholders, can provide natural resource agencies with guidance for designing context-specific stakeholder involvement strategies. To provide illustrations, we conducted inquiries in two communities experiencing wildlife management conflicts. Results suggest that quality stakeholder involvement processes use scientific information, have genuine influence on decisions, treat citizens fairly, and promote informative communication and learning.
The authors thank the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Bureau of Wildlife, and the Human Dimensions Research Unit in the Department of Natural Resources at Cornell University for their support of this research. Funding for this project was provided by the New York Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration grant WE-173-G job 146-III-3b, the EPA STAR Graduate Fellowship Program, the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation, the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station project NYC 147403, and the Cornell University Fellowship Office.
Notes
Note. Both descriptive factor labels (in bold) and survey items composing each factor are listed. Respondents ranked the importance of each item on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 indicated the item was “not at all important” and 5 indicated the item was “very important.”
Note. 1 = not at all important, 5 = very important.
Note. CTFs, citizen task forces. 1 = most preferred, 6 = least preferred.