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This dissertation examines how trust develops in landscape level collaborative natural resource management efforts. I took a case study approach to research four projects in the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP). I conducted qualitative analysis of interviews, notes and observations from site visits and archival documents to understand the role and function of trust within my four case studies. The results are organized into five chapters: an introduction chapter, three manuscripts intended for stand-alone publication (Chapters 2-4), and a conclusion chapter. Chapter 2 reports on the development and function of trust within the four collaboratives I studied. Chapter 3 discusses the roles of facilitators and coordinators for engendering and maintaining trust. Chapter 4 examines three of the four case studies and compares the observed trust outcomes to the literature on traditional forms of public involvement. Finally, Chapter 5 synthesizes the findings from Chapters 2-4. These results provide useful information about the types of trust that contribute to successful collaborative efforts, as well as identify some of the practices and structures that engender those types of trust. / Ph. D.

Vertical integration has received much attention in the last 25 years and there are well-known theories that explain this behavior. However, the one common thread that runs through virtually all of this research is the assumption of private property rights. Very little attention has been paid to how firms behave when the property rights structure under which they operate changes. The commercial fishing industry is a prime example of an industry where property rights have shifted. Due to problems of over-fishing and over-capitalization, economists have championed the conversion of fisheries from common property or open access resources, to private property through the use of quota programs. Research shows that quota management is effective in reducing capitalization in fisheries, yet there are questions about other effects the programs might have. Among these is a concern over increased vertical integration. Some argue that this is leading to a loss of the independent fisherman that is a part of U.S. history, much like family farms. There is also concern that increased vertical integration is in turn leading to decreased competition in these markets; by owning the quota that is required to fish, processors are increasing their power over the market for unprocessed fish. In response to these and other concerns, the United States Congress imposed a moratorium on the implementation of individual transferable quota-style (ITQ) programs in 1996. Speculation aside, however, there is no empirical evidence to confirm or refute that the use of quota management actually leads to increased vertical coordination. Three fisheries are used as case studies to analyze what affects the decision to vertically coordinate in commercial fisheries. The traditional reasons for vertical integration are to lower transaction costs or to foreclose a market. But now a new factor, shifting property rights, is also considered. Results indicate that the individual characteristics of the fishery are more important than the management or property rights regime itself. This gives some direction to designing management programs that meet our desire to reduce over-capitalization and over-fishing, yet avoid increasing vertical coordination, all the while minimizing the loss of resource rent in the fishery. / Ph. D.

This thesis seeks to highlight the importance of a geographic and culturally specific knowledge base to guide natural resource management and governance policy, particularly within the West African context. In order to demonstrate the level of complexity that may exist within this realm, the Kedougou region of Senegal is used as a case study. Traditional Method of Subsistence (TMoS), Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), and ethnic diversity are considered in order to validate the need to go beyond a superficial involvement of community within models such as Community-based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM). Focus groups were conducted for this case study in order to identify areas of similarity and difference that exist along ethnic lines. Two areas of concern that all ethnic groups agreed upon was a depletion of water resources and a diminished growing season that leads to an annual food shortage in the region. Three primary areas of difference were found to coincide with traditional ethnic boundaries in the region: traditional religious belief, wealth accumulation and social hierarchy. The findings of this research demonstrate that while areas of cohesive community concern may serve as a focal point for CBNRM programs, it is also important to consider areas of ethnic difference which hold the potential to significantly influence sustainable and equitable resource management. For example, while traction methods for intensified agriculture are identified as important by all ethnic groups represented in this thesis: (A) traditional agricultural ethnic groups already have experience with these methods, and may only need access to assistance such as micro-credit opportunities, (B) the pastoral ethnic groups already have an abundance of traction animals, and so equipment may be what is primarily needed, while (C) the horticultural group may not have access to the land necessary for optimal traction agriculture. It is therefore suggested that CBNRM programs must be structured around community variables found along cultural lines in order to be of value to government and non-government conservation programs and policy formation in the region.

This thesis seeks to highlight the importance of a geographic and culturally specific knowledge base to guide natural resource management and governance policy, particularly within the West African context. In order to demonstrate the level of complexity that may exist within this realm, the Kedougou region of Senegal is used as a case study. Traditional Method of Subsistence (TMoS), Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), and ethnic diversity are considered in order to validate the need to go beyond a superficial involvement of community within models such as Community-based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM). Focus groups were conducted for this case study in order to identify areas of similarity and difference that exist along ethnic lines. Two areas of concern that all ethnic groups agreed upon was a depletion of water resources and a diminished growing season that leads to an annual food shortage in the region. Three primary areas of difference were found to coincide with traditional ethnic boundaries in the region: traditional religious belief, wealth accumulation and social hierarchy. The findings of this research demonstrate that while areas of cohesive community concern may serve as a focal point for CBNRM programs, it is also important to consider areas of ethnic difference which hold the potential to significantly influence sustainable and equitable resource management. For example, while traction methods for intensified agriculture are identified as important by all ethnic groups represented in this thesis: (A) traditional agricultural ethnic groups already have experience with these methods, and may only need access to assistance such as micro-credit opportunities, (B) the pastoral ethnic groups already have an abundance of traction animals, and so equipment may be what is primarily needed, while (C) the horticultural group may not have access to the land necessary for optimal traction agriculture. It is therefore suggested that CBNRM programs must be structured around community variables found along cultural lines in order to be of value to government and non-government conservation programs and policy formation in the region.

abstract: Conflict over management of natural resources may intensify as population growth, development, and climate change stress natural systems. In this dissertation, the role of policy networks implementing Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) is examined. As explored here, policy networks are groups that come together to develop and implement terms of HCPs. HCPs are necessary for private landowners to receive Incidental Take Permits (ITPs) from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) if approved development activities may result in take of threatened or endangered species. ITPs may last up to 100 years or more and be issued to individual or multiple landowners to accomplish development and habitat conservation goals within a region. Theoretical factors in the implementation and policy network literatures relevant to successful implementation of environmental agreements are reviewed and used to examine HCP implementation. Phase I uses the USFWS Environmental Conservation Online System (ECOS) database to identify characteristics of policy networks formed to implement HCPs within the State of California, and how those networks changed since the creation of HCPs in 1982 by amendment of the 1973 Endangered Species Act. Phase II presents a single, complex, multiple-party HCP case selected from Phase I to examine the policy network formed, the role of actors in this network, and network successes and implementation barriers. This research builds upon the implementation literature by demonstrating that implementation occurs in stages, not all of which are sequential, and that how implementation processes are structured and executed has a direct impact on perceptions of success. It builds upon the policy network literature by demonstrating ways that participation by non-agency actors can enhance implementation; complex problems may better achieve conflicting goals by creating organizational structures made up of local, state, federal and non-governmental entities to better manage changing political, financial, and social conditions; if participants believe the transaction costs of maintaining a network outweigh the benefits, ongoing support may decline; what one perceives as success largely depends upon their role (or lack of a role) within the policy network; and conflict management processes perceived as fair and equitable significantly contribute to perceptions of policy effectiveness. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Public Administration 2015

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Master of Science / Department of Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resources / Ted Cable / National parks reach out to millions of people each year by offering a number of recreational and educational experiences. People are exposed to new ideas and experiences in a national park that they may not get anywhere else. At Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka, Kansas, the National Park Service (NPS) compels visitors to step into the shoes of African American students in a segregated elementary school through the use of interpretive exhibits. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the interpretive exhibits at Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site. Most visitors sampled (91%) were visiting for the first time, indicating that the site does not have many repeat visitors. Race and the American Creed, the 30 minute film that plays in the auditorium, was found the most impactful exhibit by 34.3% of visitors surveyed. Expressions and Reflections, the temporary exhibit in the Kindergarten room, was the second most impactful exhibit, at 21.6% of visitors surveyed. The least impactful exhibit was the film Pass It On, at 0.9% of visitors surveyed. As a whole, visitors were most impacted by dynamic exhibits with a clear theme, while static exhibits and those that did not have a clear theme were not as impactful. This research will help guide Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site staff as they contemplate future changes in the interpretive exhibits.

Sustainable development is the modern rhetoric to guide environmental or natural resources management. There are many ways to do this and one concern the wider utilization of economic instruments, such as taxes or levies. Although such levies are becoming common in Australia and worldwide, the role of the taxes or levies is still limited. In many cases, these taxes/levies -although environmentally related- have a fiscal rather than a purely environmental motive, for example, the Natural Resources Management (NRM) Levy in South Australia. In South Australia, under the NRM Act 2004, all property owners are required to pay the NRM levy. Local governments collect the levy and distribute it to the relevant NRM board. The NRM boards have selected to calculate the levy on the basis of property value or simply applied a flat rate. The percentage of property value or the amount of the flat rate can vary amongst local government areas. How a tax or levy is designed should be determined by its ultimate purpose. Taxes or levies for fiscal and/or redistributive reasons should be designed in a way securing stable inflow of revenues, such as, levying on the values of property. However, this approach is often in sharp contrast with the goal of environmental taxes or levies which aim to change resource consumption behaviour. This study evaluates the NRM levy policy in South Australia using one NRM region and focussing on the urban community. The justification of this research is that few analyses of the effectiveness of environmental taxes or levies have ever been carried out, although the implementation of these measures has increased significantly during the last decades. There are fewer studies analysing the impacts of the tax or levy base method. This is the first study on this NRM levy policy from the perspective of the urban community who actually pay it. This study employed the Theory of Reasoned Action (Ajzen & Fishbein 1980) to examine the relationships between community attitudes to the levy policy and water consumption behaviour. Data was collected through a web-based survey with 770 respondents who answered 59 questions. The key findings show that governments are perceived to have the main responsibility for water resources management by respondents. However, there is huge information void towards the NRM levy policy. Community has few complaints about the levy level but strongly prefers to have a levy calculated on the volume of water consumed. Respondents also indicated that they would use less water if the levy were calculated on the volume of water consumed. The study makes contributions to relevant theory and policy analysis. Theoretically, the results show that the theory of reasoned action has limited strength in explaining the present research context. Practically, the study provides recommendations for policymakers and practitioners in South Australia, other Australian States, and internationally. The clear implications of the results suggest that if a tax or levy aims to change water consumption behaviour then it should be based on the volume of water consumed not on property value.

Sustainable development is the modern rhetoric to guide environmental or natural resources management. There are many ways to do this and one concern the wider utilization of economic instruments, such as taxes or levies. Although such levies are becoming common in Australia and worldwide, the role of the taxes or levies is still limited. In many cases, these taxes/levies -although environmentally related- have a fiscal rather than a purely environmental motive, for example, the Natural Resources Management (NRM) Levy in South Australia. In South Australia, under the NRM Act 2004, all property owners are required to pay the NRM levy. Local governments collect the levy and distribute it to the relevant NRM board. The NRM boards have selected to calculate the levy on the basis of property value or simply applied a flat rate. The percentage of property value or the amount of the flat rate can vary amongst local government areas. How a tax or levy is designed should be determined by its ultimate purpose. Taxes or levies for fiscal and/or redistributive reasons should be designed in a way securing stable inflow of revenues, such as, levying on the values of property. However, this approach is often in sharp contrast with the goal of environmental taxes or levies which aim to change resource consumption behaviour. This study evaluates the NRM levy policy in South Australia using one NRM region and focussing on the urban community. The justification of this research is that few analyses of the effectiveness of environmental taxes or levies have ever been carried out, although the implementation of these measures has increased significantly during the last decades. There are fewer studies analysing the impacts of the tax or levy base method. This is the first study on this NRM levy policy from the perspective of the urban community who actually pay it. This study employed the Theory of Reasoned Action (Ajzen & Fishbein 1980) to examine the relationships between community attitudes to the levy policy and water consumption behaviour. Data was collected through a web-based survey with 770 respondents who answered 59 questions. The key findings show that governments are perceived to have the main responsibility for water resources management by respondents. However, there is huge information void towards the NRM levy policy. Community has few complaints about the levy level but strongly prefers to have a levy calculated on the volume of water consumed. Respondents also indicated that they would use less water if the levy were calculated on the volume of water consumed. The study makes contributions to relevant theory and policy analysis. Theoretically, the results show that the theory of reasoned action has limited strength in explaining the present research context. Practically, the study provides recommendations for policymakers and practitioners in South Australia, other Australian States, and internationally. The clear implications of the results suggest that if a tax or levy aims to change water consumption behaviour then it should be based on the volume of water consumed not on property value.