Cross-boundary cooperation: A mechanism for sustaining ecosystem services from private lands

Abstract

T he need to conserve and manage at and across multiple spatial scales to sustain critical ecosystem services (e.g., food, fiber, amenities, clean water) is an accepted tenet of modern resource management (MEA 2003; Palmer et al. 2004; Foley et al. 2005). Moreover, this “multiscalar” perspective is evident in plans and, in some cases, practice on public lands and some large private landholdings (Schulte et al. 2006). However, most private lands—particularly those in relatively small landholdings <101 ha (<250 ac)—present a significant challenge to extending this perspective for two reasons: 1. Private landownership is a dominant part of our land base. Ten million individuals and families own over 35% of all US forestlands, with concentrations exceeding 85% in parts of the eastern United States (Butler 2008). In addition, many ecologically important sites are on, span, or are connected to these small private landholdings (Scott et al. 2006; Ruhl et al. 2007). 2. The perceptions, rights, policies, and institutions associated with private land are entrenched (willingly or not) in an “ownership-centric” framework that is largely driven by and evaluated using parcel-scale metrics (e.g., number of plans, conservation easements). Researchers and practitioners have increasingly emphasized the need for cooperative, multiscalar management…