Linda P. Wagenet

Organizing Citizen Engagement for Democratic Environmental Planning

In recent years civic engagement emphasizing community involvement and collective learning has become a centerpiece of environmental management. This article explores civic participation in water resources management and whether a framework developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) fosters democratic environmental planning. We provide an overview of citizen involvement in water resource management, discuss the U.S. EPA framework, and highlight key issues with two case studies. It is widely acknowledged that lack of meaningful stakeholder and other public input in the planning process may lead to barriers to successful environmental management. Our case studies indicate that the U.S. EPA framework, while not new or especially innovative, represents a necessary commitment to civic engagement and provides a structure for organizing it. Findings from our study emphasize the importance of financial resources and strong commitment to the principle of civic engagement in order to increase and sustain the democratic underpinnings of environmental planning.

Environmental Sustainability in an Aging Society: A Research Agenda

Objectives. This article presents the results of a multidisciplinary consensus conference held to recommend a research agenda on the relationship between aging and environmental sustainability and conservation. The intersection of these two topics has important implications for the health and well-being of older persons but it has thus far received little scientific attention. Methods. The consensus conference was conducted with gerontological experts from various disciplines and environmental scientists. Using a structured methodology, participants achieved consensus on recommendations for a research agenda on aging and environmental sustainability. Results. Eight major recommendations for research are detailed in this article as well as cross-cutting research themes affecting all areas, including racial and economic diversity, geographical region, cohort, and intergenerational linkages. Discussion. Given the vulnerability of older persons to environmental threats detailed by the consensus conference, conferees recommended that research on these topics be urgently promoted, both by researchers and by funding agencies.

Assessing Water Quality Using Two Taxonomic Levels of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Analysis: Implications for Volunteer Monitors

ABSTRACT With regard to the identification of benthic macroinvertebrates, we evaluated the extent to which family-based information gathered by non-scientist volunteers compared to genus-level analysis by scientists. Volunteer monitors were trained in the techniques of family-level benthic macroinvertebrate analysis by scientists. The volunteers then sampled a local third order stream, identified specimens to the family level, and calculated metrics that led to a water quality rating based on the family-level data. The scientists examined all of the samples, identified the specimens to the genus-level, and re-calculated the metrics and the resultant water quality rating. Metrics of water quality based on family-level analysis did not always correlate well with those based on genus-level analysis. However, ratings of overall water quality were either identical or differed little between the family and genus levels of analyses.

Benefits, motivations, and barriers related to environmental volunteerism for older adults: developing a research agenda.

Interest in civic engagement focused on the natural environment has grown dramatically, as has the population of older adults. Our article explores the potential for increased environmental volunteerism among older adults to enrich the lives of volunteers while benefitting the community and environmental quality. Curiously, this convergence has been relatively neglected by researchers and program developers. We review existing literatures on trends in volunteerism, motivations, benefits, and barriers to participation, with a special focus on elements most relevant to older adults. Based on this review, we identify a number of critical areas of research, and pose key research questions.

Communities of Interest and the Negotiation of Watershed Management

The New York City Watershed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed in January 1997 was an extraordinary accomplishment. Some have called this unprecedented agreement “the legal equivalent of a Hoover Dam.” The MOA represents a special kind of accomplishment in community development – the creation of a “watershed community of interest.” This community is described in the MOA as “shar[ing] the common goal of protecting and enhancing the environmental integrity of the Watershed and the social and economic vitality of the Watershed communities.” The MOA was signed by approximately 40 upstate towns and villages, environmental groups, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), New York State, and New York City (NYC). The agreement serves as a blueprint for NYC’s watershed management strategy for water sources west of the Hudson River. It cost approximately one billion dollars over 10 years. Figure 9.1 displays a map of the watershed and highlights some of its prominent features.