Brent S. Steel

Conflicting values about federal forests: A comparison of national and Oregon publics

Abstract Federal forest land in the Pacific Northwest has become the focus of a regional and national debate concerning the protection of natural environmental systems and the economic and cultural vitality of local communities. At the heart of this debate are different values about forests and human relationships to forests. This study examines the degree to which the public embraces differing values about federal forests nationally and regionally. Findings suggest strong biocentric value orientations toward forests among the public in both cases. It is further suggested that the value orientations of citizens are strongly related to policy preferences for federal forest lands.

Contrasting Views of Coastal Residents and Coastal Coho Restoration Planners

Abstract Concern about declining Oregon coastal salmon runs (Oncorhynchus spp.) led to petitions to list them under the Endangered Species Act. In response, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber advanced a voluntary restoration plan rather than a regulatory approach with federal requirements. The National Marine Fisheries Service accepted the governors approach. We surveyed 505 Oregon coastal residents and found solid support for a voluntary, nonfederal approach. Coastal residents expressed general support for salmon and environmental restoration, as did respondents to other recent surveys in the Pacific Northwest. However, the views of coastal residents differed from those of many agency people regarding the impact of marine mammals, use of hatcheries, and importance of naturally spawning salmon stocks. Residents also showed a willingness to pay and volunteer for salmon restoration that is comparable to responses for other surveys done in the region during the 1990s. The survey found coastal residents were ver...

Resources and strategies of interest groups and industry representatives involved in federal forest policy

Abstract This study analyzes the resources and strategies of public interest groups and industry representatives involved in federal forest policy in the state of Oregon during the early 1990s. While many studies have examined the role of interest groups in the policy process, few have compared empirically the resources available and strategies pursued by industry representatives and public interest groups in a particular policy domain. Utilizing survey data from 133 business representatives and 326 public interest groups involved in federal forest policy, the study argues that public interest group influence derives primarily from the ability to mobilize human resources; the financial resources of these groups tend to be modest. Industry and industry-supported groups, in contrast, possess considerable financial power while enjoying less support from the public. Consequently, industry interests tend to focus their efforts on more traditional forms of influence such as the persistent lobbying of natural resource agencies and elected officials. Public interest groups, in contrast, tend to devote considerable efforts to building public support in urban core areas to build the capacity to pressure governmental decision-makers.

Affirmative Action and Productivity in Law Enforcement Agencies

The results of a survey of 254 police departments in the United States appear compelling. Whether the criterion be crime containment, successful arrest of wrong-doers, or effective use of public monies, the findings are uniform — to wit, no substantive difference exists in the level of productivity of police departments categorized as to their rate of progress in minority utilization. For all of the plausibility associated with the argument that special procedures for minority recruitment and reten tion will necessarily increase the costs of operation of public agencies, or the belief that any modifica tion of a fully color-blind selection system will compromise the ability of employees to perform their duties, there is virtually no evidence in the data reported here to support these expectations.

Determinants of public support for tax and expenditure initiatives: An Oregon and Washington case study

Abstract This article examines the determinants of public support for state tax and expenditure initiatives in Washington and Oregon during the 1993 elections. Both states had initiatives on their November ballots dealing with taxes and expenditures—Measure 1 in Oregon, which would have introduced a state sales tax, and two initiatives in Washington (I-601 and I-602) concerning state government revenue and expenditure limitations. Using statewide mail and telephone surveys conducted among voting age residents of Oregon and Washington several weeks prior to the election, this study examines the determinants of public support for each of the initiatives. The determinants of support examined include various sociodemographic factors such as age cohort, gender, education, level of income, and occupational sector (public v. private); the level of informedness concerning each initiative; perceptions of self interest ; and various political indicators , including partisan identification, ideology, degree of cynicism concerning state politics, and perceptions of state budget waste. Findings suggest similar patterns of support and opposition among citizens in both states, with perceptions of high state waste and political cynicism strongly associated with support for tax and expenditure limitation in Washington and opposition to the adoption of a sales tax in Oregon.

Core—Periphery Relationships of Resource-Based Communities

Core—periphery theory explains processes by which decision making in rural resource-based communities becomes dominated by urban centers. Urban cores have the advantages of centrality, synergism, and recombination. Data from Oregon communities and counties for the period 1949 to 1989 show dramatic change in the relative incomes between urban centers and rural resource-based communities at the periphery. Coping strategies for resource-based communities include forming cartels, becoming self-sufficient, promoting community sustainability, establishing a harmony of interest with urban cores, and changing community identity. Altering the structural advantages of urban cores is, however, very difficult.

Prospects for Alternative Energy Development in the U.S. West

This chapter provides an overview and introduction to the book, describing its purpose, and the “story” to be told in the subsequent chapters. The chapter begins with a brief discussion of climate change, followed by a short review of issues pertaining to the environmental hazards’ consequences of current carbonbased technologies as drivers of alternative energy technology. The discussion then turns to the background to alternative energy development in the four case study states, which will include state energy profiles, renewable energy capacity, and emerging state renewable energy policies. The chapter will conclude with a brief summary of the alternative explanations for individuals’ particular opinions about alternative energy technologies that will be investigated in the chapters that follow.