http://hdl.handle.net/1957/1721 http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/dspace/retrieve/6826 http://hdl.handle.net/1957/1721 Search the Channel search http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/dspace/simple-search http://hdl.handle.net/1957/9220 Title: A case analysis of Oregon's Willamette River Greenway Program <br/> <br/>Abstract: The Willamette River Greenway Program was created by an act of the Oregon Legislature in 1968 and modified by a second act in 1973. The purpose of the program was to protect the natural environment of the river from approximately the foot of the Cascade Range near Eugene, north to the Columbia River confluence, a river distance of 204 miles; while opening up additional parts of the river environment for outdoor recreation use. From its inception the Willamette River Greenway Program was immersed in controversy. Rural property owners along the river objected to the program chiefly on account of its provision for public outdoor recreation. Urban dwellers tended to support the goals of the program. However, even in their case objections were raised regarding limitations on industrial development and urban expansion along the river. This thesis examines the Willamette River Greenway Program from the middle l960s, when the idea for a greenway was first proposed, through December 31, 1978. Specific questions addressed by this thesis are (1) How and why did the program develop as it did? (2) What were the major issues? How were these issues resolved? (3) Who were the principal actors? What were their roles? (4) How might the program have been (and still be) improved to bring about a greater realization of greenway objectives? (5) What can be learned about this program that would aid in implementation of similar programs in other areas? and (5) How do these findings relate to some commonly held theories in the social, political, and environmental fields? The analysis divides the program into three broad phases: (1) State and federal grants-in-aid to local government for land acquisition along the river (1967-1972); (2) State-local partnership in Willamette River Greenway planning (1973-1975); and (3) joint State administration of the greenway program and integration with local comprehensive planning (1975-1978). Each phase is introduced by a major legislative or administrative action affecting the direction of the greenway program. The analysis concludes that the Willamette River Greenway Program has been a limited success at best. The reasons for this are complex, but in general they stem from conflicts inherent in the patterns of land ownership and land use along the Willamette River at the time the program was created; from a failure on the part of policy makers early in the program to look objectively at conditions along the river and to examine the requirements for a successful program in light of the methods advanced to satisfy the program's objectives; from neglect of the political element in the program's formative stages; from mistakes on the part of the program's principal administrative agency, the Oregon Department of Transportation; and from deficiencies in the greenway legislation and in other related legislation that might have been of assistance in furthering the objectives of the greenway program. The relationship of events in the Willamette River Greenway Program to general systems theory and dialectical theory is discussed in detail. The analysis suggests that, while each of these theories by itself is able to provide no more than a partial explanation of events in the greenway program, a synthesis of these two theories might provide a more complete explanation. <br/> <br/>Description: Graduation date: 1980 Thu, 17 Apr 1980 22:58:59 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1957/9156 Title: Land trusts in the New West : conserving and responding to local geographies? <br/> <br/>Abstract: This research focuses on the relationship between the emerging role of land trusts and rapid growth and change in the West. Teton County, Idaho, Teton County, Wyoming, and Sublette County, Wyoming, and each of their associated land trusts, are used as case studies. Each county has experienced varying levels of agricultural activity throughout their respective histories, with transformations over time bringing about the current local economies and land use patterns that exist today. Interviews were conducted with land trust staff members and city and county planning officials and integrated with an evaluation of the local geographies of each county (biophysical attributes, population dynamics, industry, policies, and residents' land management preferences) as well as broader scale regulations and economies. The end result of this project demonstrates at local and regional scales how land trusts have become major players in the land use-land tenure equation of Western communities and how their operations are unique to the cultural, physical, and economic-political geographies of their service areas. While the West tends to be lumped together as one large entity with regard to policy decisions and ideas about private property rights, this research reveals a high amount of variation in the processes occurring in and shaping relatively small areas of the Western states -- lending itself to further studies on the interaction between different scales of land patterns in the region as well as how communities are approaching the challenges of New West landscapes. <br/> <br/>Description: Graduation date: 2009 Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:55:06 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1957/9120 Title: The Columbia Basin project, Washington : concept and reality, lessons for public policy <br/> <br/>Abstract: A million acre tract of land within the "Big Bend" of the Columbia River in south-central Washington became the locale for an important public area planning experiment and geotechnic enterprise in the late 1930's and early 1940's. The Columbia Basin Project (CBP) of the Bureau of Reclamation was conceived to irrigate and populate the area. In 1939, Harlan H. Barrows, a geographer and consultant to the Bureau, devised an integrated regional pre-development study program, the Columbia Basin Joint Investigations (CBJI), which attempted to assess the physical, economic, and social impacts of the CBP on the Columbia Basin. Study teams were named and a major investigational effort (300 persons representing 40 agencies, Federal, state, local, and private) was carried out from 1939 to 1942. World War II, however, slowed the CBJI, delayed the Project's settlement for about a decade, and unleashed forces that brought sweeping changes in American agriculture. Irrigation began via the main canal system in 1952. This notable planning effort, given the normal difficulties with the involvement of so many agencies and people and the advent of World War II, produced many beneficial results. The very poor follow-up program, however, has nullified many of those benefits and has lead to several negative, even deplorable, aspects of actual Project development. The standards of geotechnics ("making the earth more habita.ble") were utilized to appraise the physical, economic, and social habitabilities of the Project area. The physical habitability of the Project area is under duress. Massive drainage problems developed early and are important because remedial costs greatly exceed estimates and because the three irrigation districts in agreeing to a higher construction obligation were able to gain the right to unrestricted leasing and renting of Project lands. This has led to serious subsidy problems. The number of settlement opportunities, a measure of economic habitability, provided at mid-point in acreage development (500, 000 acres) is 800 or one-tenth of the number planned. Types of farming and farm sizes are significantly different than planned for the Project. Several facets of social habitability were significantly improved, among them recreation, transportation, and public facilities. The Project is a dismal failure in the Bureau's attempt to provide the base for population expansion. Rural and urban growth reached about onefourth the number planned for the area. All Project towns, except Othello, lost population in the decade 1960 to 1970. The attempt by the Bureau of Reclamation to integrate the Columbia Basin Project into the land, economy, and community of the Columbia Basin presents a fascinating case for continuing study and evaluation. <br/> <br/>Description: Graduation date: 1974; Presentation date: 1973-07-11 Tue, 10 Jul 1973 22:58:59 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1957/9109 Title: Biological diversity and third world development : a study of the transformation of an ecological concept into natural resource policy <br/> <br/>Abstract: This work examined the transformation of the concept of biodiversity into natural resource policies of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the World Bank through 1988. The study identified several groups as playing key roles in the transformation process. These were nongovernmental environmental organizations, the scientific community, and the U.S. Congress. As a framework for analysis, a Process Model is presented which depicts the process that transforms a scientific concept into natural resource policy. As a result of this research, modifications to the original Process Model are proposed. Though this study focuses on the scientific concept of biological diversity, it is suggested that the Process Model may be more broadly applied to other resource issues which follow the model's general steps of concept formulation, value identification, legislation development, and policy formulation. Several conclusions are reached from this study. One is that though there was little agreement about the concept of biodiversity within the scientific community, three broad themes evolved. These themes are ecosystem diversity, species diversity, and genetic diversity. Second, NGEO members did not adopt scientific concepts of biodiversity, but rather developed value positions with respect to biodiversity. These positions were presented to lawmakers the result being that biodiversity legislation was narrowly focused and did not fully reflect the three major diversity themes developed within the scientific community. Finally, policies developed by agencies responsible for implementing biodiversity legislation reflected Congressional intent and were equally narrowly focused. One consequence is that only selected major biodiversity themes are dealt with in agency policy, and this is reflected in agency funded programs to conserve biological diversity. <br/> <br/>Description: Graduation date: 1991; Presentation date: 1991-03-12 Mon, 11 Mar 1991 22:58:59 GMT