Paul V. Ellefson

Regulatory programs and private forestry: State government actions to direct the use and management of forest ecosystems

Implemented in the context of a long history of intense public debate, forestry practices applied on private forestland are regulated in some form by 38 states. State regulatory activities can involve many agencies implementing numerous regulatory laws or a single forestry agency administering a comprehensive regulatory program. Regulatory programs are designed to protect resources such as soils, water, wildlife, and scenic beauty. Program administration often involves rule promulgation, harvest plan reviews, coordination of interagency reviews, and pre‐ and postharvest on‐site inspections. Forest practice rules usually focus on reforestation, forest roads, harvest procedures, and wildlife habitat protection. Emerging regulatory trends include growth of state and local regulation, use of contingent regulations, specification of forest practice standards in law, collaborative program implementation, conflicting multigovern‐ment regulatory authority, inflexible rules limiting adoption of new technology, leg...

Public agencies and bureaus responsible for forest management and protection: an assessment of the fragmented institutional landscape of state governments in the United States

Abstract Public environmental and natural resource agencies have become increasingly diverse in mission and organization. Although holistic approaches for sustaining the physical attribute of large forest ecosystems have been advocated, attention has yet to focus on complementary organizational landscapes composed of integrated and co-ordinated public agencies. Results of a 2000 assessment of state agency conditions in the USA indicate that state government agencies affecting forest conditions are dispersed over all sectors and levels of state government; a states lead forestry agency is often only a small piece in the puzzle of state agencies affecting forests; state agencies affecting forests engage primarily in forest resource use and management activities, yet some state agencies affect forest conditions by aggressively implementing responsibility for fisheries and wildlife, water pollutant management, and parks and recreation; consequences of fragmented state agency responsibility for forests are generally adverse, especially public confusion over agency roles and lack of integrated resource management; co-ordination among state agencies affecting forest conditions is modest and takes many forms; and the counterpart to state level agency diversity is the plethora of federal agencies that affect forest conditions, a situation that often deters state ability to integrate management of forests.

BMP compliance monitoring programs in the Eastern United States

An important aspect of a best management practices (BMP) program is providing credible information on the extent to which BMPs are being applied within the state. This paper, summarizing the responses of a survey to states about their BMP monitoring program, indicates nearly three of four states in the eastern U.S. have monitoring programs to determine if voluntary or mandatory forest practices are being applied. BMP compliance monitoring programs vary extensively among states in such areas as: the agency(s) responsible for undertaking the monitoring, the types of practices monitored, reasons for establishing the monitoring program, and the frequency and costs of compliance monitoring implementation. The survey found that information from compliance monitoring is used to modify forest practice rules or guidelines, redirect education and training programs, and inform policy makers and the general public of forest practice application rates. Major issues associated with implementing compliance monitoring programs as indicated by the survey include: specifying the types of information to be gathered, selecting harvest sites, accessing private property, determining monitoring responsibility, and reporting and using the information collected.

Economic Evaluation of a Federal Natural Resources Program: The Case of the Forestry Incentives Program

A major federal natural resources program, the Forestry Incentives Program, was evaluated. The program s internal rate of return ranged from 8.3% to 10. 9%, depending on which costs are included. The retention of forest practices established 8 years prior was excellent. Evaluation challenges include dispersion of program benefits throughout the rural United States, evaluating benefits accruing many years in the juture (75- 100 years), and multiple-agency involvement in program administration.

Conceptual and Empirical Themes regarding the Design of Technology Transfer Programs: A Review of Wood Utilization Research in the United States

Transfer of technologies produced by research is critical to innovation within all organizations. The intent of this paper is to take stock of the conceptual underpinnings of technology transfer processes as they relate to wood utilization research and to identify conditions that promote the successful transfer of research results. Conceptually, research utilization can be viewed from multiple perspectives, including the haphazard diffusion of knowledge in response to vague and imprecise demands for information, scanning of multiple information sources by individuals and organizations searching for useful scientific knowledge, engagement of third parties to organize research results and communicate them to potential users, and ongoing and active collaboration between researchers and potential users of research. Empirical evidence suggests that various types of programs can promote technology transfer (venture capital, angel investors, business incubators, extension services, tax incentives, and in-house entities), the fundamental effectiveness of which depends on research results that are scientifically valid and consistent with the information needs of potential users. Furthermore, evidence suggests preference toward programs that are appropriately organized and governed, suitably led and creatively administered, and periodically evaluated in accordance with clear standards of success.

Intergovernmental Roles and Responsibilities Involving Nonfederal Forests in the United States: An Assessment of Federal and State Conditions

Federal roles and responsibilities involving 206 million hectares of nonfederal forests in the United States are often implemented in partnership with state governments. These intergovernmental relations were examined with the assistance of state and federal agency executives. Federal roles are expressed by an estimated 187 federal programs, most of which are concentrated in the Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Preferred federal roles include providing financial support, monitoring area and condition of federal forests, and providing technical advice and assistance to states. Obstacles to effective state–federal working relationships include cumbersome administrative procedures, lack of common vision for nonfederal forests, and inadequate resources of various kinds. Overwhelming views are that state–federal working relationships are positive.

Statewide Strategic Forest Resource Planning Programs: Evaluation Based on Context, Process, Outputs, and Performance

Strategcc planning of forest resources is an increasingly common government activity in the United States. Lacking clearly defined products of planning programs and experiencing limited conceptual foundations for analysis, attempts to evaluate the costs and benefits of strategic planning becomes a very difficult exercise. Statewide forest resource planning programs imple mented by state governments were evaluated in 1986. Chent-based perspectives were sought with regard to the context within which planning was undertaken, the nature of planning process used, the outputs/benefits of planning, and the overall performance of planning programs.

Evaluating state regulation of private forest practices: What accomplishments at what costs☆

Abstract This paper summarizes research evaluating the cost and effectiveness of comprehensive state forest practice laws. These laws regulate forest management on private lands in seven of the United States with the goal of protecting a wide range of forest resources. Forest practice laws impose significant administrative costs on states and significant compliance costs on landowners and timber operators. Total state administration costs for 1984 are estimated at

Organizational Effects On Policy Implementation in a Geographically Dispersed Natural Resources Organization

10.1 million and total private sector compliance costs are estimated at

Going into partnership to manage a landscape

120.5 million, for a total regulation cost of