Pandemic-era Participation in Public Lands Governance: Lessons From the USDA Forest Service

Kristin Floress,Alice Cohen

doi:10.3389/frsc.2022.745727

Abstract

Public participation processes influencing National Forest management in the United States have shifted significantly because of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Although the United States Forest Service has used virtual participation tools in the past to support participation, the pandemic was the first time staff had to solely rely on such methods. Using the Trinity of Voice theory concepts of access, standing, and influence, we discuss how each has been and can be impacted by virtual vs. in-person public participation in federal land governance. Lessons are drawn from two peer-to-peer learning sessions among Forest Service staff in Fall 2020 and a case from the National Forests in North Carolina. Virtual participation can broaden access to processes that would primarily have taken place in-person as people were not limited by travel time or distance. Virtual methods may allow for greater use of adaptive technologies and therefore may increase participation access. Web meeting alternatives (e.g., telephone calls) can be used to increase participation access for those without reliable or affordable internet. However, planners trained in facilitating in-person meetings may not have the technical competencies necessary to ensure participants are able to effectively participate during virtual meetings, and misunderstandings that might be easily addressed in face-to-face settings can be more difficult to solve and ground rules for participation ignored more easily during virtual participation. We expect these lessons will support the work of other practitioners interested in supporting access, standing, and influence when designing virtual participation processes.

Highlights

Public participation in national forests and grasslands governance is carried out by the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USDA-FS) in accordance with federal laws and administrative rules and directives impacting the extent to which stakeholders can influence decisions and how decisions are implemented
While numerous engagement frameworks exist, in this Perspective, we describe the Trinity of Voice theory—and its key participation constructs of access, standing, and influence—and general considerations for supporting these in virtual engagement
Standing is far trickier,” (p. 24), we suggest that access may be easier to ensure than standing, but the “digital chasm” during a global pandemic is nearly impossible to close to ensure participation opportunities for those without computer technologies in their homes

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The USDA-FS, in its efforts to increase access to information and stakeholders’ ability to inform decisions, expanded its use of websites and asynchronous tools to share information that would allow stakeholders to participate in planning meetings prior to the pandemic, but accelerated these efforts in 2020 to account for lost face-to-face engagement opportunities. National Forests in North Carolina were updating a 1987 land management plan and in the middle of their public participation process when the global pandemic hit. Their planning process had already included over 300 faceto-face meetings with varying audiences, sizes, and formats over several years. The clear behavioral guidelines noted earlier accompanied by protocols for technical support to decide under which circumstances participants should be muted have aided staff leading synchronous activities

Discussion

Findings

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT