Project Information

Project Timeline: June 2015. This project has been completed.
Principal Investigator: Nils Peterson and Fred Cubbage, North Carolina State University
Implements Science Theme: 
4: Ecological research and modeling
5: Impacts of climate change on coastal and nearshore marine environments,

Key Points

• Communicated with both decision makers and landowners with a goal of bridging gaps between the groups
• Created a quantitative assessment method for management plans
• Used the open pine ecosystem in the Southeast as a case study for understanding conservation decision making across organizations

Overview

This project studied how restoring open pine ecosystems in the Southeast is planned. We assessed the quality of 35 management plans from federal, state, and non-governmental agencies. We found that newer plans scored higher than older plans. The type of agency also affected scores. This shows differences in agency missions and resources. The facts provided in plans usually scored much higher than their actions and implementation scores. More stakeholder participation could improve actions and implementation. 

We also studied how decisions were being made and what barriers decision makers face. We conducted 24 interviews with decision makers and stakeholders. We found challenges to collaborate between individuals, governmental and non-governmental organizations. This was mostly due to different options and values between groups on almost every factor. 

Agencies had firm objectives, while landowners were more flexible. Landowners also said it was easier to change their management plans to meet new objectives. Agencies had access to all the information they needed, while landowners said they needed more. Landowners specifically requested better economic and growth data to make better informed decisions. Sharing information could help bridge the gap between the two groups. A library of scientific data, fiscal information, and regulatory requirements may be a way to do this.