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Case Study 1 : U.S. AGENCY PUBLIC PARTICIPATION POLICIES
How have public participation policies of U.S. natural resources agencies changed over the past decade? Jim Creighton recently completed a study for the Army Corps' of Engineers Institute for Water Resources (IWR) that looks at the public participation/ collaboration policies of federal natural resources agencies. IWR wanted to compare Corps' policies with those of other natural resources agencies. IWR was particularly interested in policies issued recently.
Creighton found that over the past decade a number of agencies have issued new policies (see below) on either public participation or "cooperative conservation." Cooperative conservation has been a major initiative of the current Administration. The primary emphasis in cooperative conservation is on joint public/ private initiatives to bring about conservation. [See web site: http://cooperativeconservation.gov/ for a more details.]
Public participation and cooperative conservation clearly overlap to some extent. While public participation stresses public involvement in decisions being made by government agencies, cooperative conservation involves joint action that would, presumably, also involve some degree of shared decision-making. Cooperative conservation, however, stresses voluntary action, in contrast to governmental regulation.
Creighton conducted interviews with a number of people in federal natural resources agencies. He found that some people in the public participation Þeld view the current Administration as not being particularly supportive of public participation. However, this may depend on what name is being used to describe the activity of "public participation."
For example, one veteran planner reported that very little discussion of public participation goes on within his agency and that the number of public participation specialists within his agency has declined. On the other hand, the management of the agency places tremendous emphasis on securing support from the local public before the agency puts any plans into operation. He believed that very good public participation was going on at the local level, but these activities were not being called public participation.
Recent Public Participation or Cooperative Conservation Policies Include:
Bureau of Land Management
(Draft) Bureau of Land Management Collaborative Land Use
Planning Philosophy and Guidelines, March 22, 2002.
Bureau of Land Management,
Part 1600--Planning, Programming, Budgeting, Subpart 1610--Resource Management Planning, Section 1610.2, Public Participation. October 1, 2004
Bureau of Reclamation
Bureau of Reclamation, Policy: Public Involvement in Reclamation Activities, January 11, 2000
Department of Energy
Department of Energy., Policy P 141.2, Public Participation and Community Relations, May 02, 2003
Environmental Protection Agency
Environmental Protection Agency, PA-2003-0005:
FRL-7508-7, Public Involvement Policy, May 29, 2003
Forest Service
Forest Service, 2005 Planning Rules, Section 219.9, Public Participation, Collaboration and NotiÞcation, January 5, 2005
National Park Service
National Park Service, Director's Order 75A,
Civic Engagement and Public Involvement, Nov. 17, 2003.
US Army Corps of Engineers
EC1105-2-100, Appendix B, Public Involvement, Collaboration and Coordination, 22 April 2000
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