Does Public Participation Really Matter in Public Lands Management? Some Evidence From a National Forest

In: Politics & policy, Band 25, Heft 2, S. 253-279

Abstract

This study offers evidence concerning the efficacy of public participation in influencing the policy outcomes of the United States Forest Service, focusing on the decisions of the Siskiyou National Forest over a nine‐year period. This study examines participants' experiences with the process and compares outcomes in this forest in relation to the level of participation which accompanied each decision. What was found was that: (1) participants tended to be quite skeptical about Forest Service motives and felt inefficacious regarding their own participation, and (2) decisions featuring increased levels of environmentalist input did seem to nudge policy decisions away from the most anti‐environmental, pro‐commodity positions, but only to a point, after which increased input seemed to accomplish little.