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According to several recent studies, the future of the forest industry in British Columbia is in jeopardy. If present forestry management practices are continued, it is conceivable that within the next decade the timber harvest will decline, employment will be severely reduced, and government revenue from the forest resource will be significantly less than in previous decades. Public ownership of the vast majority of provincial forest land means that government policies are largely responsible for this state of affairs. However, there are relatively few academic studies of the history of those policies. The purpose of this thesis is to review the evolution one aspect of forest policy, the way in which timber is allocated in British Columbia, and to analyze the dynamics of this evolution in light of six alternative theories of the policy-making process. Forest policy in British Columbia is extremely complicated and is the result of decisions made to meet various demands at different times in history. It is only through a detailed understanding of the history of forest policy and the nature of the provincial state that planners, resource managers, and public policy-makers can attempt to resolve the current crisis in the forest industry. Public timber is allocated to private forest companies in British Columbia by a variety of tenures. The form of these tenures has changed dramatically over time. Prior to 1912, access to the forest resource was granted primarily by leases and licenses which carried few restrictions and relatively low royalties and rents. These tenures were perpetually renewable until the merchantable timber was removed. Between 1912 and 1947 the primary method of disposing crown timber was through competitive bidding on short-term timber sales. The crown not only received royalties and rental fees from these Timber Sale Licenses, but also a bid price. The Forest Branch established a minimum bid price based on the value of the end product minus the costs of production and an allowance for profit and risk. After 1947, the government attempted to regulate the harvest of timber in such a way as to guarantee a perpetual supply of timber. They did this by awarding huge tracts of public land to owners of private forest land and perpetual tenures in order for them to manage the whole property on a sustained yield basis. On the remaining majority of forest land the government set aside large areas which were to be managed by the public sector on sustained yield principles. Over time, as a result of these policies, competition for the resource was virtually eliminated and, as one consequence, the government always received the appraised upset price for timber. It appears that this has undervalued the crown's share of the resource rent. The combined effect of timber allocation policies after 1947 was to accommodate, if not encourage, the consolidation of timber rights. In order to explain the evolution of timber policy in British Columbia and to guide future policy development, the thesis examines six broad theories of how the state operates. These are categorized as follows: rationalist, pluralist, neo-conservative, neo-marxist instrumentalist, neo-marxist structuralist, and Canadian. After reviewing these theories the thesis concludes that elements of each theory can be employed to explain different policy changes over time. No single theoretical model is totally adequate to answer the question of why B.C. governments' acted the way they did. Nevertheless, the neo-marxist structuralist and Canadian theories provide the fullest explanation of the role of the state in British Columbia. It is apparent that large forest companies have had a disproportionate influence on public forest policies. Over time, the provincial state has become increasingly dependent on those companies to carry out many forest policy objectives, to provide employment arid generate tax revenues. New resource policies designed to meet the current crisis in the forest industry must recognize these two important facts. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

British Columbia is undergoing a transformation in both its forestry policy regime and its regime governing aboriginal policy. Forestry policy has evolved from what once was a closed network, dominated by the ministry of forests and the forestry industry, to a more expansive network that includes a variety of interests. British Columbia's aboriginal policy now recognizes the legitimacy of aboriginal claims to traditional territories, and has correspondingly initiated a treaty negotiation process with B.C.'s First Nations. A synthesis has emerged between aboriginal politics and the provincial forestry regime in some parts of the province. Consequently, two independant policy sectors have converged and this new policy phenomenon has been unexplored by political scientists. Clayoquot Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, is an area at the forefront of forestry policy development. This thesis, therefore, uses Clayoquot Sound as a case study of sector convergence. In doing so, this thesis explains the phenomena of inter-sector penetration and explores its consequences to policy theory.

The pressure on corporations to manage their operations in an environmentally responsible manner has increased rapidly in the last decade. These pressures are especially intense for resource-based companies. In the province of British Columbia, environmental policy, which is the basis of many forms of intervention by the provincial government, constitutes a significant constraint on the operations of forest companies. Diverse environmental group campaigns addressing issues such as preservation of temperate coastal rainforest, forest management practices, and air and water pollution by pulp and paper mills, have contributed to intensifying the environmental pressures on companies. Yet it is apparent that forest companies in B.C. which face similar competitive conditions and are regulated by the same environmental policies have responded differently. The research question addressed in this study was "Why do corporate responses to government and environmental group actions designed to protect the environment differ between corporations?" The research question was examined through the use of a comparative case study research strategy. Two B.C.-based companies which showed prima facie evidence of having divergent responses to environmental pressures were chosen for the study. Data was collected on government and environmental group actions on environmental issues for the period 1983 to 1997 to determine the substantive nature of the issues faced by corporations and to trace their evolution over the period covered by the study. Data on corporate responses between 1983 and 1997 was collected through interviews, newspaper reports, and corporate documents. The data was analyzed through a framework based on four theories of organization. Four models were specified in terms of their unit of analysis, organizing concepts, dominant inference patterns, and propositions: the rational choice model; the institutional model; the bureaucratic model; and the leadership model. The case studies demonstrated that while some government actions had distinct effects on the companies, and though one was the target of interest group actions more intensively and frequently than the other, the general operating and regulatory environment of the companies was more similar than it was distinct. Analyzing organizational characteristics with the use of the theoretical framework accounted for much of the difference in response. The rational model was not generally supported except in limited decision-making situations. The institutional model explained corporate stance in terms of the content and sources of institutional pressures. The bureaucratic model explained organizational output by illustrating how structural characteristics affected issues of goal setting and implementation of responses. The leadership model explained the extent to which changes in corporate strategy resulted from different types of leadership behaviour, subject to situational constraints. The four models were then integrated to derive some theoretical implications for academic research and some managerial implications for corporate managers.

British Columbia is undergoing a transformation in both its forestry policy regime and its regime governing aboriginal policy. Forestry policy has evolved from what once was a closed network, dominated by the ministry of forests and the forestry industry, to a more expansive network that includes a variety of interests. British Columbia's aboriginal policy now recognizes the legitimacy of aboriginal claims to traditional territories, and has correspondingly initiated a treaty negotiation process with B.C.'s First Nations. A synthesis has emerged between aboriginal politics and the provincial forestry regime in some parts of the province. Consequently, two independant policy sectors have converged and this new policy phenomenon has been unexplored by political scientists. Clayoquot Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, is an area at the forefront of forestry policy development. This thesis, therefore, uses Clayoquot Sound as a case study of sector convergence. In doing so, this thesis explains the phenomena of inter-sector penetration and explores its consequences to policy theory. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

The pressure on corporations to manage their operations in an environmentally responsible manner has increased rapidly in the last decade. These pressures are especially intense for resource-based companies. In the province of British Columbia, environmental policy, which is the basis of many forms of intervention by the provincial government, constitutes a significant constraint on the operations of forest companies. Diverse environmental group campaigns addressing issues such as preservation of temperate coastal rainforest, forest management practices, and air and water pollution by pulp and paper mills, have contributed to intensifying the environmental pressures on companies. Yet it is apparent that forest companies in B.C. which face similar competitive conditions and are regulated by the same environmental policies have responded differently. The research question addressed in this study was "Why do corporate responses to government and environmental group actions designed to protect the environment differ between corporations?" The research question was examined through the use of a comparative case study research strategy. Two B.C.-based companies which showed prima facie evidence of having divergent responses to environmental pressures were chosen for the study. Data was collected on government and environmental group actions on environmental issues for the period 1983 to 1997 to determine the substantive nature of the issues faced by corporations and to trace their evolution over the period covered by the study. Data on corporate responses between 1983 and 1997 was collected through interviews, newspaper reports, and corporate documents. The data was analyzed through a framework based on four theories of organization. Four models were specified in terms of their unit of analysis, organizing concepts, dominant inference patterns, and propositions: the rational choice model; the institutional model; the bureaucratic model; and the leadership model. The case studies demonstrated that while some government actions had distinct effects on the companies, and though one was the target of interest group actions more intensively and frequently than the other, the general operating and regulatory environment of the companies was more similar than it was distinct. Analyzing organizational characteristics with the use of the theoretical framework accounted for much of the difference in response. The rational model was not generally supported except in limited decision-making situations. The institutional model explained corporate stance in terms of the content and sources of institutional pressures. The bureaucratic model explained organizational output by illustrating how structural characteristics affected issues of goal setting and implementation of responses. The leadership model explained the extent to which changes in corporate strategy resulted from different types of leadership behaviour, subject to situational constraints. The four models were then integrated to derive some theoretical implications for academic research and some managerial implications for corporate managers. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

This essay offers a study of old growth forest policy in British Columbia and the American Pacific Northwest and, in so doing, attempts to contribute to the sparse comparative environmental literature that uses Canada as a case study. Specifically, the essay addresses the question of why old growth forest preservation policy divergences so dramatically between British Columbia and the American Pacific Northwest. After establishing that American Pacific Northwest and British Columbia old growth forest preservation policy diverges, the author employs a chronological methodology to reconstruct the current old growth preservation policy outcomes in both jurisdictions. The author then identifies a series of variables that affect old growth forest preservation policy in both jurisdictions, and examines each as a force of divergence. The essay discusses the different influences of two non-institutional variables-science and economics-and two institutional variables-federalism and legalism-on American Pacific Northwest and British Columbia old growth policy. The essay concludes by discussing the question of how each variable works with one another to produce this instance of policy divergence. The author finds that all four variables collaborate with one another and contribute to the divergence. However, the essay concludes that the major determining factor in this case of policy divergence is the interplay of the two institutional variables.

This essay offers a study of old growth forest policy in British Columbia and the American Pacific Northwest and, in so doing, attempts to contribute to the sparse comparative environmental literature that uses Canada as a case study. Specifically, the essay addresses the question of why old growth forest preservation policy divergences so dramatically between British Columbia and the American Pacific Northwest. After establishing that American Pacific Northwest and British Columbia old growth forest preservation policy diverges, the author employs a chronological methodology to reconstruct the current old growth preservation policy outcomes in both jurisdictions. The author then identifies a series of variables that affect old growth forest preservation policy in both jurisdictions, and examines each as a force of divergence. The essay discusses the different influences of two non-institutional variables-science and economics-and two institutional variables-federalism and legalism-on American Pacific Northwest and British Columbia old growth policy. The essay concludes by discussing the question of how each variable works with one another to produce this instance of policy divergence. The author finds that all four variables collaborate with one another and contribute to the divergence. However, the essay concludes that the major determining factor in this case of policy divergence is the interplay of the two institutional variables. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate