Collaborative Ecosystem Planning Processes in the United States: Evolution and Challenges‪.‬

Abstract Natural resource planning in the United States has witnessed a marked shift toward collaboration in the last thirty years. This shift has been promoted by changes in the perceived legitimacy of agencies as expert decision-makers, a change in the availability of information and the perceived nature of the problems facing managers, and a significant broadening of political power in the U.S. combined with legal tools that gave outside groups access to decision making. The net effect of these changes has been to create a broad set of highly diverse processes that differ in scale, involvement, and level of formality and institutionalization. While hundreds of such collaborative processes are currently underway in the United States, their evolution has been challenging. Agency officials have found it difficult to sort out and play the variety of roles they are called upon to perform in these processes. The attitudes of leaders and line personnel have been problematic. Many environmental groups have been extremely cautious and concerned about the move to collaborative processes. AII have been asked to invest significant time and staffing--scarce resources in a time of fiscal restraint. Few have the skills to adequately lead, or participate in, collaborations. The U.S. experience suggests the need to: build personal and institutional capacity to enable these processes to bear fruit; maintain legal structures that provide incentives to key parties to participate in collaborative planning; and evaluate the progress of these processes, both to adaptively manage them and assess their impact on social relationships and environmental outcomes.