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Full-Text Articles in Environmental Policy
One Question At A Time, Please!, Chris Spruce
One Question At A Time, Please!, Chris Spruce
Maine Policy Review
In the Margaret Chase Smith Essay, Chris Spruce addresses the conundrum of public referenda, championed by many as the most direct form of democracy and criticized by others for creating winners and losers without the traditional give and take of American politics. He reviews the recent history of public referenda in Maine, including the recent clear-cutting initiative. Perhaps we lose more than we gain when we oversimplify complex public issues with inherently conflicting values biases.
Options For Managing Maine’S Fisheries: Fisheries Management From An Ecological Perspective, James A. Wilson
Options For Managing Maine’S Fisheries: Fisheries Management From An Ecological Perspective, James A. Wilson
Maine Policy Review
Jim Wilson counters the concerns raised by Ralph Townsend [this issue].The current policy course set by Marine Resources Commissioner Robin Alden is based on an approach to fisheries management which redefines the sustainability problem as an ecosystem problem. Wilson argues that, within this new paradigm, questions such as “how, when, and where” to fish (or not fish) are much more central than species-specific quota setting. These questions not only change the rules under which co-management is implemented but also may improve fisheries management in ways that quota systems have failed, that is the long term conservation of species and habitats.
Maine Implements The Clean Air Act: Federalism, Environmentalism And Interest Group Accountability, Jon Reisman
Maine Implements The Clean Air Act: Federalism, Environmentalism And Interest Group Accountability, Jon Reisman
Maine Policy Review
The implementation of environmental policy initiatives often brings about a complex interplay between science and policy, public opinion, interest groups, federal and state mandates, and political machination. Jon Reisman uses Maine’s recent experience of compliance with the 1990 Clean Air Act to illustrate this complexity. In doing so, he addresses several important, but often ignored, issues, such as stakeholder participation in the policy making process, interest group accountability to implementation, and the long term consequences to the environment if these issues are avoided.