Denise Lach

Climate change adaptation strategies for federal forests of the Pacific Northwest, USA: ecological, policy, and socio-economic perspectives

Conserving biological diversity in a changing climate poses major challenges for land managers and society. Effective adaptive strategies for dealing with climate change require a socio-ecological systems perspective. We highlight some of the projected ecological responses to climate change in the Pacific Northwest, U.S.A and identify possible adaptive actions that federal forest managers could take. The forest landscape, ownership patterns and recent shift toward ecologically based forest management provide a good starting place for conserving biological diversity under climate change. Nevertheless, undesirable changes in species and ecosystems will occur and a number of adaptive actions could be undertaken to lessen the effects of climate change on forest ecosystems. These include: manipulation of stand and landscape structure to increase ecological resistance and resilience; movement of species and genotypes; and engaging in regional, multi-ownership planning to make adaptive actions more effective. Although the language and goals of environmental laws and policies were developed under the assumption of stable climate and disturbance regimes, they appear to be flexible enough to accommodate many adaptive actions. It is less certain, however, if sufficient social license and economic capacity exist to undertake these actions. Given the history of contentious and litigious debate about federal forest management in this region, it is likely that some of these actions will be seen as double-edge swords, spurring social resistance, especially where actions involve cutting trees. Given uncertainties and complexity, collaborative efforts that promote learning (e.g. adaptive management groups) must be rejuvenated and expanded.

Evaluating the Science-Policy Interface for Climate Change Research

We propose a general method for evaluating, and possibly improving, the interface between scientific research and policy-making institutions. The method considers the adequacy of both institutional structures for incorporating research, and research for addressing institutional needs. It involves both interviews (with policy makers and scientists) and formal analyses of the links between the research and the decisions described in the interviews. A case study applies the method in analyzing the usefulness of climate change research for managing salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest. It shows these policy makers to be receptive to the research, which is, in principle, relevant to them. However, they are unable to use it because the research is not currently formulated in ways compatible with current decision-making models. For their part, these models are not comprehensive enough to capture the full range of potentially relevant environmental forcers, including climate change.

Social power and GIS technology: a review and assessment of approaches for natural resource management.

Geographic information system (GIS) technology fundamentally changes how information is viewed, literally, for its maps and databases contain uncertainty, assumptions, privileged knowledge, and story-making power, along with unintended social consequences. This article hypothesizes that the introduction of GIS into the public participation process in natural resource management blurs the boundaries between science and nonscience, requiring a revision of the way we think about, learn from, and use maps for environmental decision-making. This may lend a degree of “social power” to nonscientists in the form of providing improved access to data and maps, and along with it the resulting expression of community needs, priorities, and goals, with perhaps the “power” to influence policy and management decisions. A case study from western Oregon forest management provides context and practical examples. We consider, through a broad conceptual discussion, how GIS technology might contribute to, or detract from, confrontational environmental policy discussions, in particular the process of designing and structuring decision problems. In natural resource management this has tended to be a largely science-driven exercise at the expense of input from nonscientific stakeholders. Our case study findings suggest that using GIS can, with time, open the door to making environmental assessments more collaborative, story-making processes, with implications for natural resource management of many kinds. Although epistemological and power differences between scientists and lay audiences remain, they can be offset through various kinds of collaboration. Such efforts could contribute to a new phase in technology diffusion that we call development of faith.

Correlates and Consequences of Public Knowledge Concerning Ocean Fisheries Management

Abstract Because everyday citizens and nonexpert stakeholders are either directly or indirectly involved in ocean health restoration plans and engage in activities that may place fisheries at risk, it is important to understand the scope and depth of their policy-relevant knowledge. Using a mail survey of more than 3000 Pacific Northwest U.S. citizens, we investigated levels of coastal and ocean policy-relevant knowledge, information sources associated with higher levels of policy-relevant knowledge, and relationships between knowledge and support for Pacific fisheries restoration. We found that citizens knowledgeable about ocean conditions were most supportive of ocean and coastal protection; that somewhat malleable situational factors are important predictors of knowledge; and that some sources of information are more directly connected to knowledge than others. This study concludes that public knowledge is a critical component of support for ocean and coastal management and that there are effective means for enhancing public knowledge.

Challenges of Interdisciplinary Research: Reconciling Qualitative and Quantitative Methods for Understanding Human–Landscape Systems

While interdisciplinary research is increasingly practiced as a way to transcend the limitations of individual disciplines, our concepts, and methods are primarily rooted in the disciplines that shape the way we think about the world and how we conduct research. While natural and social scientists may share a general understanding of how science is conducted, disciplinary differences in methodologies quickly emerge during interdisciplinary research efforts. This paper briefly introduces and reviews different philosophical underpinnings of quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches and introduces the idea that a pragmatic, realistic approach may allow natural and social scientists to work together productively. While realism assumes that there is a reality that exists independently of our perceptions, the work of scientists is to explore the mechanisms by which actions cause meaningful outcomes and the conditions under which the mechanisms can act. Our task as interdisciplinary researchers is to use the insights of our disciplines in the context of the problem to co-produce an explanation for the variables of interest. Research on qualities necessary for successful interdisciplinary researchers is also discussed along with recent efforts by funding agencies and academia to increase capacities for interdisciplinary research.

Exploring stakeholders’ attitudes and beliefs regarding behaviors that prevent the spread of invasive species

The Theory of Planned Behavior was used as a framework for investigating recreationists’ attitudes, subjective norms, and behavioral control beliefs pertaining to behaviors that reduce the spread of invasive species. A series of focus groups comprised of gardeners, fishers, hunters, and boaters was convened in Oregon, USA. Findings indicate six belief barriers to changing leisure behaviors. These are the attitudes that: (1) behaviors, such as using pesticides, may be worse for the environment than invasive species; and (2) the fight against invasive species is a losing battle. Also, the norm beliefs that: (3) invasive species management is a low priority for many institutions; and (4) the general public does not know and does not care about invasive species. Finally, the behavioral control beliefs that: (5) one does not know enough about invasive species preventive behaviors to be effective; and (6) recommended preventive behaviors are too difficult to perform. Understanding the beliefs that inhibit behavior changes can help inform the creation of effective campaigns to engage stakeholders in finding solutions to halt the spread of invasive species, as well as provide a foundation on which to build additional research. Findings suggest that the first steps to overcoming these belief barriers include developing targeted education and communication to influence existing norms and beliefs.

Ideology and scientific credibility : environmental policy in the American Pacific Northwest

In the later years of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century, there has been an increasing emphasis among many decision-makers, interest groups, and citizens about the importance of science-based environmental policy. The assumption is that scientists can facilitate the resolution of public environmental decisions by providing scientific information to policymakers and the public, and by becoming more directly involved in policy arenas than they have traditionally been. However, at the same time, there are those who question the value of science, especially for ideological reasons. This study empirically examines the impact of ideology on attitudes toward science, scientific research, and scientists among various environmental policy participants. The data utilized to investigate these orientations were collected from surveys of five different groups involved in environmental policy and management in the Pacific Northwest including ecological scientists at universities and federal agencies; natural resource and environmental managers of state and federal programs; members of interest groups (e.g., environmental groups, industry associations, etc.); the “attentive public” (i.e., citizens who have participated in the environmental policy process); and the general public. Preliminary results reveal significant differences between liberals and conservatives in their orientations toward science, with self-identified liberals generally more likely to see science and scientists as objective and conservatives having a contrary view.

Public understanding of science and technology embedded in complex institutional settings

We use a constructivist analysis to describe how citizens learn and integrate highly technical scientific information about a new technology (bioremediation) within the context of a risk-based relationship with a federal agency in their own backyards. We engaged members of the general public in a workshop process where they produced a consensus report that describes how bioremediation works, characterizes the scientific issues not yet addressed, and sets the problem within the context of institutional arrangements for the production of knowledge. On the basis of their social roles in their communities, they applied new knowledge to their own experiences and worked at ways to translate their understanding of the technology into information that could be used in their multiple roles as learners in the workshop, as well as citizens and family members outside the workshop.

Gender Differences in Support for Scientific Involvement in U.S. Environmental Policy

Many studies have documented gender differences in attitudes toward and experiences with science. Compared to men, for example, women are less likely to study science and to pursue careers in science-related fields. Given these findings, should we expect gender differences in support for scientific involvement in U.S. environmental policy? This study empirically examines the relationship of gender to attitudes toward science and preferred roles of scientists in environmental policy among various environmental policy participants. Data collected in 2006 and 2007 from national surveys of four different groups involved in environmental policy and management suggest that social context, including education and occupation, shapes the way that gender matters. Specifically, we find that gender is less important among scientists and managers than among interest groups and the general population regarding attitudes toward science and views about preferred roles of scientists in environmental decision making.

You Never Miss the Water till the Well Runs Dry: Crisis and Creativity in California

Water resource management in California is a complicated business. The San Francisco Bay Delta in northern California supports the state’s largest habitat for fish and wildlife and provides a nursery and migration corridor for two-thirds of the state’s salmon. It also contains Suisun Marsh, the largest contiguous salt-water marsh in the United States. The systems that were built to serve California’s increasing population — dams, canals, pipelines, and so on — attempt to regularize and borrow water from these natural systems.1 Indeed, two-thirds of California’s residents, the majority of whom are in southern California — some 600 miles away — receive some or all of their drinking water from the San Francisco Bay Delta, and its waters irrigate over 200 types of crops which, between them, produce 45 per cent of the United States’ fruits and vegetables. Huge quantities of water are also moved (by federal, not state, projects) across the desert from the Colorado River. In addition to all these transfers, water that originates in the Owens Valley comes east through the mountains to Los Angeles, and some of southern California’s water comes northwards from Mexico.