Mapping the Dimensions of Successful Public Participation in Messy Natural Resources Management Situations

It is not an eye-opening statement to suggest that natural resource management increasingly occurs in turbulent, contentious settings. These settings are often typified by contested or ambiguous goals and lack of scientific agreement on cause?effect relationships. These settings are termed messy problems. The research reported here asked the question, What dimensions characterize successful public participation in a messy setting? Two ecosystem-based planning projects located in western Montana served as the research context for this study. Both projects contained a number of typically contentious resource management issues, such as logging, vegetation management, and fire as a management practice. Forty-two scientists, managers, and members of the public who participated in the two ecosystem-based planning processes were interviewed to address this question. Results indicated that participants provided answers reflecting several dimensions: writing a plan and implementing it; learning; interest representation; relationship building; creating responsibility; and gaining social and political acceptability.