Item B: Ordinance Concerning Goal 5 Natural Resources Study

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ary'data drawn from the Federal census, labor, and social service agencies, and socioeconomic numbers such as board feet produced per acre per year, and employ- ment statistlcS- After the scientific assessment that led to the Northwest Forest Plan in 1993, social scientists could dearly see that much useful information about communities affected by natural resource policy was not being gathered. . Approaches are needed that recognize aspects of lived experience, including mean- ings, symbols, metaphors. myths, and tradi- tions, as well as provide additional opportu- nities for dialogue: Kruger says. Such Infor- mation can improve social assessments so decislonmakers have a deeper understand- ing of how their decisions will affect communities. Resource managers can use this type of information In building produc- tive long-term relations with communities. Traditional survey techniques can fail to draw out this rich layer of knowledge. In relying on numerical or quantitative data, the Inaccessible and unquantifiable infor- mation about how lives are shaped and experiences drawn are Ignored, she adds. _.....LjN;r>....,fjA.,.j.~.ijEll.~~.ii;'~;i~,(-r..I()jN$.... . There Is a need to take a critical look at the traditional roles of researcher and manager and the relation of each to the community. Technical assessments <lone solely by professionals deny dtlzens the opportunitY for collective involvement. a factor that has been identified with qualitY of life. " . Collaborative arrangements with schools and local communities hold potential benefits for all parties. with residents empowered to Identify issues and concerns, develop a vision for the future. and plan to achieve objectives. . The Forest Service, by any management decision. affects a community's sense of place. and thus has a responsibility to provide opportunities for civic engage- ment. Such opportunities can help stabilize the sense of community and connection to place. Furthermore, it Is dlsempowering to a community to have outsiders come into their midst briefly, decide what the impor- tant, defining information Is, collect It, and leave. When people feel disrespected in this way, Kruger suggests. they are not only more likely to disagree with an assessment, but also less Ilkely to buy in to critical natu- ral resource decisions that directly affect their places and their lives. 'Scientlsts who conducted the social assess- ment for the Northwest Forest Plan noted that people will not support what they do not understand and cannot understand what they have not been Involved in:' Kruger points out. The resulting report of the Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (FE MAT) recommended that communities conduct their own "self- assessments." No guidance was provided on how to proceed, or what such an assess- ment might entail, she says. To explore this unknown. researchers needed to engage with a community interested in participat- ing in such an experiment. TAKING THE OPPORTUNITY TO SELF-ASSESS ~e Big Bottom Valley (as It is known by local residents) encompasses the three small unincorporated towns of Randle, Packwood. and Glenoma. Washington. It is united by the White Pass School District. Residents of the area had felt that current census data being used to determine social service needs was more representative of the social service needs of the '-5 corrfdor to the west than those of their own communitY. living adjacent to economically thriving neighbors did not give the smaller. rather depressed communltles the representation for financial assistance they felt they needed wlth the implementa- tion of the Northwest Forest Plan. A confluence of issues had brought White Pass to a threshold of readiness for assess- ment, Kruger says. The school superintend- ent. for various reasons. was Interested in doing something that would Involve students more in their communitY, as well as involve community members in the school. A grassroots group. including some service agencies. was already meeting to try to identify what could be done for this economically depressed community after changes in the timber industry had taken their toll. And the coordinator of the nearby Cispus Adaptive Management Area (AMA) was committed to anything that could help improve relations between the USDA Forest Service and the surrounding commu- nities. Adaptive management areas are special experimental management areas set up on Forest Service lands under the auspiCes of the Northwest Forest Plan. Thus the stage was set for an area that had no legal governmental structure to depend on, but shared the White Pass School District. ~14l'<rt IlIIN_r""",s_ 0-" lMd ""- . _ PoritSonlce .r__ 11=""- - NllljcrilDods The Cispus A.daptive Management .4:"", includes 143.900 acres of mountainous land in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in the South Washington Cascades Province. The three towns of Packwoad, Randle, and Genoma participated in a self- assessment process. W R I T E R'S PRO F I L E Sally Duncan is a science comnnmkatioP18 planner and writer specializing in/orest resource isme8. She lives in Corvallis, Oregon. ~ 11