Community-Based Environment Protection, Citizen Participation, and the Albany Pine Bush Preserve

The Albany Pine Bush Preserve and the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission are included among the successful case studies for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) community-based environmental protection (CBEP) initiative. The U.S. EPA believes that this type of community-based environmental protection promotes (1) comprehensive identification of local environmental concerns, (2) priority and goal setting that reflect overall community concerns, and (3) development of inclusive and long-term solutions. Using interviews and document analysis, this article studies the Albany Pine Bush experience to explore the relationship between citizen participation and environmental protection. This research attempts to determine if the experiences of the Albany Pine Bush conform to the goals of the U.S. EPA CBEP efforts. Preliminary results suggest that CBEP does not meet the goals related to participation and that the U.S. EPA could strengthen the program by encouraging a wider range of participation mechanisms and building specific incentives to encourage policymakers to seek out citizen participation.