Abstract
Two things my 32 years in public land management have taught me. First the complexity of the job has increased dramatically as resources decrease. The public lands have resources that the public depends on water, food, fiber, energy, recreation and aesthetics and the demand for these resources is increasing as are the conflicts and climate change will not make it any easier. The second thing is that the people who work for these agencies are professional, dedicated and committed to the stewardship of these resources. However many no longer feel they are making a contribution in spite of their best efforts. Much like the public they feel they are not listened to. People need to know they make a difference and the agencies mission is important. Both seem to have been lost. This chapter suggests some ideas that will help address this issue.
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Notes
- 1.
“I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them but to inform their discretion.” This quote from Jefferson describes well the need to move from a top down government control of natural resources to Community Based Ecosystem Stewardship as previously defined.
- 2.
Note the observation of a citizen that the federal agencies are irrelevant in Chap. 22, ms. p. 11.
- 3.
Refer to Chap. 22 for a more complete discussion of the barriers, challenges, and progress with regard to federal agency/citizen stewardship collaborations.
- 4.
The reader can access a short history of the consensus building process at http://cbuilding.org/publication/case/protecting-lesser-prairiechicken-and-sand-dune-lizard-new-mexico
- 5.
Chapter 22 discusses this issue at great length.
- 6.
Michael Hulme, University of East Anglia RSA Journal.
- 7.
An example of the mistrust of science by citizen groups is described in Chap. 1.
- 8.
This phrase is attributed to Carl Moore, a facilitator and community organizer.
- 9.
Buckminster Fuller.
- 10.
John Wooden.
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Whitley, R. (2012). Thoughts on How to Implement Citizen Based Ecosystem Stewardship – Experiential Knowledge from 32 Years in Governance. In: Karl, H., Scarlett, L., Vargas-Moreno, J., Flaxman, M. (eds) Restoring Lands - Coordinating Science, Politics and Action. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2549-2_18
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