Abstract:
Increasing demand for exploitation of natural resources
in federal-municipal watersheds in the Western United
States has caused conflicts involving municipalities, the
U.S. Forest Service, and community interest groups. Better
understanding of the resource management process is needed
to help resolve these conflicts.
The objectives of this study were to document and
analyze how attitudes, interest group activities, and
applicable research affected federal-municipal management
relationships in the Bull Run Watershed from 1890-1989. A
descriptive model of decision-making in natural resource
conflicts was also developed to provide a framework for
future research.
A combination of historical and applied methodology was
used in the case study. Archival searches, quantitative
and qualitative content analysis, public meeting
observation, and interviews were used in gathering data.
Conclusions were that attitudes played a major role in
the evolution of management relationships in Bull Run,
interest groups provided incentive to institutionalize
federal-municipal relationships, and research on timber
harvest and water quality in Bull Run is not conclusive
and has been used by interest groups to support opposing
positions. The decision model illustrated how these three
factors are related in resource decision-making.
