USDA Forest Service Handover Memo

The Forest Service’s handover memo process enables an outgoing agency leader to share information with their replacement. The challenge of rotating Forest Service line officers is a well-known barrier to community and forest‐level collaboration. It takes time to develop good relationships, and when a key agency contact is transferred, a collaborative effort can stall out […]

Bringing Social Values to Wildlife Conservation Decisions

Sustainable conservation of wildlife is contingent upon the human context in which it occurs. Humans regularly exert a powerful influence on the survival and persistence of species, yet social-science information is used only sporadically in conservation decisions. Using data obtained from a survey of 46,894 US residents, we developed and applied a spatially explicit “sociocultural […]

America’s Wildlife Values: The Social Context of Wildlife Management in the U.S.

The purpose of the America’s Wildlife Values Project was to assess the social context of wildlife management in the U.S. to understand the growing conflict around wildlife management. It is the first study of its kind to describe how U.S. residents within and across all 50 states think about wildlife, and how changing perspectives shape […]

Elements of an Effective Apology

An apology is a powerful means of reconciliation and restoring trust. However, sometimes even well-intentioned apologies can exacerbate a conflict. It may be helpful to consider what elements to include in a statement of apology to make it most effective and constructive. © 1999 Marsha L. Wagner, Columbia University

Interest-Based Problem Solving

What is the difference between positions and interests? Positions are typically publicly stated outcomes that someone seeks and may be fairly extreme or absolute. Interests, by contrast, are reasons behind the positions, are initially not openly expressed, and may be far more nuanced than positions. Moving a dialogue beyond merely exchanging positions and into the […]

Understanding Collaboration

In her classic book, Collaborating, Barbara Gray defines collaboration as “a process through which parties who see different aspects of a problem can constructively explore their differences and search for solutions that go beyond their own limited vision of what is possible.” Collaboration contributes significantly to effective and sustainable public land management. Understanding the expectations, […]

Collaboration in NEPA Handbook: A Handbook for NEPA Practitioners

One of the primary goals of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is to encourage meaningful public input and involvement in the process of evaluating the environmental impacts of proposed federal actions. This once innovative feature of the 1970 landmark legislation has become routine practice for some NEPA review processes. However, the full potential for […]

Governing by Network: The New Shape of the Public Sector

By Stephen Goldsmith and William D. Eggers. Washington, D.C. Brookings Institution Press, 2004. A fundamental, but mostly hidden, transformation is happening in the way public services are being delivered, and in the way local and national governments fulfill their policy goals. Government executives are redefining their core responsibilities away from managing workers and providing services […]

Field Guide to Developing Partnerships

With the recently documented loss of 2.9 billion birds over 50 years in North America, unprecedented and creative partnerships are needed more than ever to advance bird conservation goals. Many bird conservation outcomes align with broader societal goals, such as water quality and human health, creating opportunities for meaningful and productive partnerships that advance goals […]

Partnering with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Partnering with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: A Guide for Communities, Local Governments, States, Tribes, and Non-Governmental Organizations provides a general introduction to the programs and processes available for non-Federal partners and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) representatives to work together to address the Nation’s water resources problems. The Guide includes an overview […]

Principles of Risk Communication

A Guide to Communicating with Socially Vulnerable Populations Across the Disaster Lifecycle (April 2020) This document is intended to be used as a high-level guide for advancing risk communication best practices. It synthesizes academic research and available guidance on the topic of hazards and disaster risk communication. It draws from an array of evidence-based recommendations […]

Finding New Ground: Beyond Conflict to Consensus

Conflict is at the heart of life. It impacts relationships of the heart, the home, the community, and at work. Most flee from it, some embrace it, but few learn how to master conflict and productively transform it into a consensus. Author Robert Chadwick is one of those few. For over forty years, he has […]