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This dissertation uses the logic embodied in Strategic Fit Theory, the Natural Resource-Based View of the Firm (NRBV), strategic human resource management, and other relevant literature streams to empirically demonstrate how the environmental orientation of a firm's strategy impacts their environmental performance and resultant financial performance through the firm's Information Technology hiring practices. Specifically, it was hypothesized that firms with a strong relationship between the environmental orientation of their strategy and their green computing hiring practices will achieve higher environmental performance, and, as a result, higher levels of financial performance than firms lacking such fit. The organization's environmental orientation was measured via content analysis of the annual report texts (ARTs). Environmental performance was measured using KLD's award-winning environmental performance metrics. I triangulated across efficiency, effectiveness, and market-based metrics to capture a more holistic measure of the firm's financial performance using data from Compustat/Research Insight. The firm's green computing hiring practices were measured utilizing a web content data mining application that pulled job ads for computing graduates and then extracted the environmentally-oriented skills identified in such ads using content analytic techniques. Various control variables were employed to eliminate possible alternative explanations of my research findings. A number of statistical and analytical techniques were used to assess the nature and strength of the relationships in my theoretical model as are articulated in the proposed hypotheses. The sample size of firms is fairly large, thus increasing the statistical power of the empirical tests. Previous empirical testing of the relationship between environmental strategy and financial performance is still in the developmental stages and has produced mixed results, partly because important intervening mechanisms, such as green computing hiring practices, has not received adequate attention in the empirical literature. The combination of using a large sample of real world firms, a powerful combination of qualitative and quantitative methodological techniques to tap into key trace evidence not available through other methodological techniques, and leveraging an award-winning environmental data set has enhanced the robustness of the empirical findings in addressing this important gap in the literature. The results of the analyses show that there is a strong relationship between an organization's environmental posturing and its environmental performance. Additionally, this effect is mediated by the organization's environmental hiring practices, indicating that implementing the organization's environmental strategy through its hiring practices is important in achieving improved environmental performance. The current research also shows that there is a strong and positive relationship between an organization's environmental performance and financial performance. Surprisingly, these relationships are not significantly impacted by the organization's industry affiliation, which broadens the generalizability of the results of this study.

Grass-roots conservation efforts, implemented at the local level, have become increasingly popular within the U.S. and abroad. The conservation and natural resource literature has touted these initiatives as more effective when compared to top-down management efforts. As localities are given more responsibility for managing their own natural resources, their ability to do so effectively has become a major concern. I sought to determine the capacity of these community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) groups to contribute to successful ecosystem management in the state of Illinois, with three primary objectives: to determine the primary components of capacity within a CBNRM organization (chapter 2); to identify the relationship between the levels of capacity in a CBNRM organization and the quality of natural resource management planning conducted by the group (chapter 3); and, to evaluate the effects of resource management plans (RMPs) produced by CBNRM groups on the ecological integrity of the prescribed area. This multi-disciplinary project necessitated reliance on the principles of both sociology and ecology, as required by explorations of socio-ecological systems. This dissertation is an attempt to model the success of CBNRM initiatives by examining changes in ecological integrity and attainment of conservation goals. It is my intent that this model can be used by CBNRM groups in Illinois and other contexts to best meet their goals, and by organizations seeking to assist CBNRM groups as an investment guide to determine what type of assistance is most likely to lead to environmental change. I found motivation, leadership, respect, mutual interest/shared values, outreach/education, marketing, communication, planning, funding and equipment/supplies were the most important drivers of CBNRM group capacity. Additionally, my results show that capacity varied significantly among groups with low, moderate and high RMP success, and that group capacity was predictive of the degree of RMP success. Lastly, I found bird indicators increased, especially at the 7-8 year post-RMP mark, providing some evidence of the utility of CBNRM initiatives in affecting positive environmental change.

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The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1970 required public input in any federal planning process or action. Consequently, natural resource planning can be characterized as more of a complex situation in recent years due to the increasing involvement of the number of constituents who want to be heard. Likewise, the public wants to know their ideas have been heard and considered. Unfortunately, there is very little information available which identifies how the BLM handles and analyzes public scoping comments that are required under NEPA. The purpose of this research is to identify the handling and analysis methodology used by BLM employees in large-scale natural resource plans, as well as gain insight into the experience and satisfaction of BLM employees in recent planning processes. The information gleaned from this study illustrates that through adjustments to the handling and analysis process, it is possible to maintain a supportive and accommodating relationship with the public by listening to their concerns and encouraging continued participation in natural resource planning, as well as adding credibility to the planning process overall through consistent handling and analysis.

Recent inspections conducted on levee safety in the U.S. that participate in the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Levee Safety Program under Public-Law 84-99 have shown that the overwhelming majority (>95%) of these levees have at least some deficiency associated with them, and many being identified as having an unacceptable safety rating (≈30%). In the U.S., many levees were constructed using funding from the federal government, but the responsibility of operation and maintenance of the levees were turned over to local government bodies. Given the local funding of levee maintenance, the socioeconomic characteristics of these levee-protected communities may be useful in identifying which communities may not have the economic, social, and / or political capital to maintain their levees to an acceptable safety standard. Using the lens of socio-hydrology, this study examines the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of levee-protected communities and their relationship to the safety rating of their levee system. Using GIS, socioeconomic data were compiled for each of the evaluated Illinois levee systems from the US Census and the USACE’s National Levee Database (NLD). In addition to socioeconomic data, the NLD contained information on a levee’s age, protection level, estimated value of structures within the levee-protected area, ownership, inspection status, safety rating, and other structural details. The value of levee-protected agricultural lands was also assessed using a soil productivity index used by the state of Illinois to assess taxes on farmland. This information was compiled to investigate the potential differences of socioeconomic characteristics of communities with unacceptable to those with an acceptable levee rating. To assess the differences between the compiled socioeconomic information, the Independent Samples U-Test was implemented to quantify differences between communities with an acceptable verse unacceptable safety rating. In this study, 71 levee systems were identified with a levee safety rating and socioeconomic data from which to perform the statistical comparison between levee systems with an acceptable versus unacceptable safety rating. Of these 71 levees systems, 28 had an unacceptable and 43 had an at least minimally acceptable safety rating. The results from the Independent Samples U-Test showed that five variables with substantial variance (α ≤ 0.2, 80% CI) between the levee safety ratings were, the age of the levee, property value per structure, the average soil productivity index, per capita income, and the percentage of population being black. Using these substantial variables, a binary logistic regression model was created to see if they could be used to realistically predict the levee system’s safety rating. The regression model was able to accurately predict 84% of the ‘acceptable’ group while only correctly predicting 25% of the ‘unacceptable’ group resulting in an overall accuracy of 61%. The inability of this model to predict a levee system’s safety rating underscores the complexities in trying to determine which socioeconomic factors are important for identifying a given levee system’s safety rating. This finding also suggests there are potentially other variables which may be more robust predictors of a community’s ability to adequately maintain their levee. Future research should investigate these complexities in identifying which communities can adequately maintain their levee system.

Since the 1980s, approaches to managing forest resources in the US and around the world have been shifting from the conventional sustained yield approach towards ecosystem management. Ecosystem management is a resource management paradigm that seeks to employ a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach to landscape scale conservation, as well as the integration of socio-economic and biophysical considerations with the overall goal of enhancing the health and resilience of coupled social-ecological systems. While the role of natural resource conflicts as drivers of the transition towards ecosystem management has received some research attention, the potential roles of ecosystem management in emerging natural resource conflicts have not been adequately explored. The effective implementation of ecosystem management requires adaptive governance mechanisms capable of integrating diverse stakeholder values and knowledge systems across scales. The absence of such institutional mechanisms could contribute to the emergence of wicked problems – a class of problems that defy clear definitions and definitive solutions. Using the Shawnee National Forest as a case study, the purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the role of natural resource conflicts in the transition towards ecosystem management, as well as the consequences of ecosystem management on emerging resource conflicts. The study also aimed to assess the extent to which the approaches and strategies used in managing natural resource conflicts meet the institutional requirements for managing wicked problems. In this regard, semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2021 among 24 key informants representing the US Forest Service and relevant stakeholder groups, such as environmental groups, recreationists, and local businesses. The interviews were preceded by a review of documents to understand the context of changing forest policies and evolving conflicts in the Shawnee National Forest since the 1980s. The data were analyzed with the NVivo software using a deductive coding approach. The results showed that the transition towards ecosystem-based forest management in the Shawnee National Forest was primarily triggered by conflicts between environmental groups and the US Forest Service over timber harvesting. Although the institutional framework for alternative dispute resolution existed at the time, these conflicts were largely managed through the national legal system. Since the transition to ecosystem management with the adoption of the 2006 Forest Plan, new conflicts have emerged, this time, mostly among various recreational groups. The lifting of the injunction on timber harvesting and the increased focus of the US Forest Service on active forest management as part of forest restoration efforts appear to have set the stage for the potential re-emergence of conflicts over timber harvesting. Regarding conflict management, the use of alternative conflict management techniques, such as negotiation and mediation have received increased attention since the adoption of the 2006 Forest Plan, although the effectiveness of these processes has been hampered by various institutional and attitudinal constraints, including conflicting procedural requirements, limited capacity, and lack of agency commitment towards meaningful stakeholder engagement. Meanwhile, the fear of lawsuits continues to shape forest management decisions on the Shawnee National Forest. These findings highlight the inadequacy of the national legal system in managing wicked problems and they highlight the need for investments in effective institutional mechanisms for conflict management, such as adaptive governance.

This paper discusses the promotion of car ecotourism and its impact on Glacier National Park. Coinciding with the creation of the park's flagship Going-to-the-Sun Road from 1921 to 1932, both the state and the private sector presented the image of the newly commodified automobile as a vehicle to explore nature with. Historically, national parks have served the interests of the middle and upper classes, by suppressing marginalized communities, primarily through forced relocation in order to clear the lands for creation of the parks. The public's conception of the “wilderness” drastically changed during the time the car was commodified, as nature itself was repainted as a place of solitude and contemplation as opposed to savagery, through promotions which emphasized the pleasure of a scenic drive. This new conception of the landscape contrasted with the preexisting idea that nature is for the “uncivilized.” In the following decades, the car's status as a means by which to connect with nature and “escape civilization” only increased, directly as a result of public roads such as Going-to-the-Sun and their marketing. This study analyzes the themes prominent in promotional materials distributed by both the automobile industry and the state, which promote the status of the car as a central way to experience the wilderness, through a case study of Glacier National Park.

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No description available.