Gregg B. Walker

Evaluating the Application of Collaborative Learning to the Wenatchee Fire Recovery Planning Effort

Abstract As a follow-up to an article published in this journal [Environ. Impact Assess. Rev. 16 (1996) 71–102.], we examine a case study application of the Collaborative Learning (CL) model to public participation in federal land decision making. As an innovation in public participation, CL combines elements of soft systems, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), and experiential learning theory in an effort to foster meaningful public dialogue within public participation. The particular case examined was a forest fire recovery effort on the Wenatchee National Forest (WNF) in Washington State. Participants responded to questionnaires before and after meetings. The questionnaires measured changes in perception of the Forest Service decision-making process, as well as responses to CL itself. The results indicate a positive response to the CL process and an increased expectation of quality in the resulting decisions. Respondents did not generally perceive a reduced probability of appeals and litigation relative to the decisions themselves, but their expectations of the “survivability” of the decisions in the face of appeals and/or litigation generally increased.

The Clinton Administration, the Northwest Forest Conference, and Managing Conflict: When Talk and Structure Collide

Management of the public forest lands in the Pacific Northwest is in crisis, caught between ecological and economic values, and the people who hold them. Recognizing this, presidential candidate Bill Clinton pledged in 1992 to hold a “timber summit”; early in his administration. The president honored that promise, chairing, along with Vice President Gore and four cabinet members, a day‐long “Forest Conference”; in Portland, Oregon, on April 2, 1993. This article examines the Forest Conference as a conflict management effort. It provides a context for evaluating the Forest Conference as conflict management, and then outlines three basic dispute resolution approaches relevant to the conference: traditional public participation, arbitration, and multiparty collaboration. Application of these approaches reveals that President Clintons “collaborative”; discourse could not be sustained by, and was inconsistent with, the arbitration‐like structure of the conference. Clintons “60‐day pledge”; of action transfor...

Argument and alternative dispute resolution systems

Alternative dispute resolution occurs outside the litigation process. The alternative dispute resolution (ADR) movement in North America has emphasized viable alternatives to the litigation framework, such as arbitration, mediation, med-arb, multi-party facilitation, non-legal negotiation, mini-trials, administrative hearings, private judging (“renta-judge”), fact finding, and moderated settlement conferences. This essay addresses argument in the dominant alternatives: arbitration, mediation, and multi-party facilitation. Prior to comparing argument in these ADR systems, each will be briefly described.

Forest landscape restoration decision-making and conflict management: applying discourse-based approaches

Forest landscape restoration (FLR) aims to regain ecological integrity and enhance human well-being in deforested or degraded forest landscapes. Despite its positive connotations, successfully implementing significant FLR will often involve considerable conflict. The purpose of this chapter is to present fundamental principles for managing FLR conflicts. The chapter portrays FLR as a social and political process in which there is no “single” correct view of reality: “good forestry” or “bad forests” are value-laden social constructions that transcend objective facts. If not recognized, this alone can lead to misunderstanding and conflict. Social constructions often emerge and evolve through public discourse – the verbal communication, talk, or conversation among people. Accordingly the discourse-based approaches to conflict management can contribute meaningfully to FLR. Examining the various discourses within a conflict situation can improve mutual understanding, reveal salient aspects of the situation, and strengthen relationships as a foundation for problem-solving. Masters of FLR conflict management must be able to: (a) read the cultural-institutional context, (b) understand people, and (c) create an environment of constructive communication, fair power distribution, and strong incentives.

Knowledge versus ignorance as bargaining strategies: The impact of knowledge about other's information level

Abstract In negotiation, knowledge of another partys payoff information level affects the behavior of bargainers. Presumably, more information is an advantage. On the other hand, naive bargainers often do well. In this experiment bargainers got different levels of information. Sellers with either no information or information and a warning got higher prices than sellers with information only. These factors did not help buyers.

Bacharach and Lawler's Theory of Argument in Bargaining: A Critique.

This essay presents and critiques Samuel Bacharach and Edward Lawlers theory of argument in bargaining. An adaptation of Wenzels (1980) and Zarefskys (1980) perspectives of argument serves as th...