Lecture Notes on Institutional Drivers of Conflict | ESP 172, Study notes of Environmental Science

Download Lecture Notes on Institutional Drivers of Conflict | ESP 172 and more Study notes Environmental Science in PDF only on Docsity! Institutional Drivers of Conflict (Nie, Chap 1) • Scarcity: 2.39% of land is wilderness, 1% of Tallgrass Prarie, 2%  of historic griz range; the “last best places” • Intermixed ownership: Logging checkerboards, School trust,  split‐estate • Budgets:  Extraction incentives, shortfalls • Adversarial governance: Appeals, litigation • Public Land Law:  Vague and contradictory (e.g., Nat. Park  Organic Act 1916) • Mistrust:  Enviros. and USFS discretion Public Discourse Drivers of Conflict • Surrogate issues: Northern Spotted Owl and Timber  wars • Competing frames:  Economic and ecological views on  forest health, symbolic issues • Place‐based values:  Native American sites • Scientific disagreement:  value of old growth • Political grandstanding:  Crisis strategies, polarization • Media coverage:  Drama vs. substance Is all of this conflict undesirable? Reform: Comprehensive Review ¢ Public Land Law Review Commission ¢ Last convened over 40 years ago ¢ Most likely outcome would be creating of new legislation Reform: Administrative Planning Recognition that agencies are political creatures Courts and public opinion grant political discretion; less “scientification” of politics Planning reform to focus on efficiency; e.g. Bush proposed NFMA planning rules that avoids many NEPA requirements Forest-plans not subject to NEPA; only projects Reform: Collaboration Decentralized stakeholder groups formulate policy recommendations Beyond a reactive approach to public participation; notice-and-comment rulemaking Allows consideration of ecosystems, reduces conflict Local versus national accountability