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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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- Keyword
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- Mitchell Center (6)
- Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions (6)
- Senator George J. Mitchell Center (6)
- Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions (6)
- Environmental law (2)
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- Adaptive governance (1)
- Adult development (1)
- Adult learning (1)
- Biodiversity (1)
- Biodiversity; conservation; Ecosystem services; Land use; small natural feature; policy (1)
- Biological diversity (1)
- Citizen science (1)
- Climate change (1)
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- Complexity (1)
- Conservation (1)
- Constructive developmentalism (1)
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- Impervious cover (1)
- Interdisciplinary research (1)
- Land use (1)
- Leadership (1)
- Materials management (1)
- Natural resource management (1)
- Natural resource policy (1)
- Residual designation authority (1)
- Spatial analysis (1)
- Stakeholder engagement (1)
- Sustainability science; stakeholder engagement (1)
Articles 1 - 9 of 9
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Managing Small Natural Features: A Synthesis Of Economic Issues And Emergent Opportunities, Dana Bauer, Kathleen Bell, Erick Nelson, Aram J K Calhoun
Managing Small Natural Features: A Synthesis Of Economic Issues And Emergent Opportunities, Dana Bauer, Kathleen Bell, Erick Nelson, Aram J K Calhoun
Publications
Small natural features (SNFs), landscape elements that influence species persistence and ecological functioning on a much larger scale than one would expect from their size, can also offer a greater rate of return on conservation investment compared to that of larger natural features or more broad-based conservation. However, their size and perceived lack of significance also makes them more vulnerable to threats and destruction. We examine the management of SNFs and conservation of the associated ecosystem services they generate from an economics perspective. Using the economic concept of market failure, we identify three key themes that explain prevailing threats to …
Citizen Science And Natural Resource Governance: Applying A Resilience Framework To Vernal Pool Policy Innovation, Bridie Mcgreavy, Aram J K Calhoun, Jessica Spelke Jansujwicz, Vanessa Levesque
Citizen Science And Natural Resource Governance: Applying A Resilience Framework To Vernal Pool Policy Innovation, Bridie Mcgreavy, Aram J K Calhoun, Jessica Spelke Jansujwicz, Vanessa Levesque
Publications
Effective natural resource policy depends on knowing what is needed to sustain a resource and building the capacity to identify, develop, and implement flexible policies. This retrospective case study applies resilience concepts to a 16-year citizen science program and vernal pool regulatory development process in Maine, USA. We describe how citizen science improved adaptive capacities for innovative and effective policies to regulate vernal pools. We identified two core program elements that allowed people to act within narrow windows of opportunity for policy transformation, including (1) the simultaneous generation of useful, credible scientific knowledge and construction of networks among diverse institutions, …
Moving Up The Waste Hierarchy In Maine: Learning From “Best Practice” State-Level Policy For Waste Reduction And Recovery, Cindy Isenhour, Travis Blackmer, Travis Wagner, Linda Silka, John Peckenham
Moving Up The Waste Hierarchy In Maine: Learning From “Best Practice” State-Level Policy For Waste Reduction And Recovery, Cindy Isenhour, Travis Blackmer, Travis Wagner, Linda Silka, John Peckenham
Publications
As Maine residents look toward the future, it is increasingly clear that more sustainable waste and materials management solutions will be necessary. A recent stakeholder engagement process involving nearly 200 industry professionals, municipal representatives and citizen groups confirmed this point. As we move together toward a more sustainable waste management system, participants in the engagement process identified an outstanding need to learn more about policies options. This article responds to that need with a review of state level policies designed to reduce waste generation and increase material recovery rates. We find there are a wide variety of state-level policy tools …
The Complexity Of The Practice Of Ecosystem-Based Management., Verna G. Delauer, Andrew A. Rosenberg, Nancy C. Popp, David R. Hiley, Christine Feurt
The Complexity Of The Practice Of Ecosystem-Based Management., Verna G. Delauer, Andrew A. Rosenberg, Nancy C. Popp, David R. Hiley, Christine Feurt
Publications
In the United States, there are more than 20 federal agencies that manage over 140 ocean statutes (Crowder et al., 2006). A history of disjointed, single sector management has resulted in a one-dimensional view of ecosystems, administrative systems, and the socio-economic drivers that affect them. In contrast, an ecosystem-based approach to management is inherently multi-dimensional. Ecosystem-based approaches to management (EBM) are at the forefront of progressive science and policy discussions. Both the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy (USCOP, 2004) and the Pew Oceans Commission (POC, 2003) reports called for a better understanding of the impact of human activities on the …
Interdisciplinary Research And Environmental Law, Caroline L. Noblet, Dave Owen
Interdisciplinary Research And Environmental Law, Caroline L. Noblet, Dave Owen
Publications
This Article considers the involvement of environmental law researchers in interdisciplinary research. Using a survey and a series of unstructured interviews, we explore environmental law professors’ level of interest in such research; the extent of their engagement in it; and the inducements and barriers they perceive to such research. We conclude that levels of engagement in such research are probably lower than they ought to be, and we therefore recommend steps that individuals and institutions could take to facilitate more and better interdisciplinary work. More generally, we conclude that some common critiques of interdisciplinary legal research rest on assumptions that …
Mapping, Modeling, And The Fragmentation Of Environmental Law., Dave Owen
Mapping, Modeling, And The Fragmentation Of Environmental Law., Dave Owen
Publications
In the past forty years, environmental researchers have achieved major advances in electronic mapping and spatially explicit, computer-based simulation modeling. Those advances have turned quantitative spatial analysis — that is, quantitative analysis of data coded to specific geographic locations — into one of the primary modes of environmental research. Researchers now routinely use spatial analysis to explore environmental trends, diagnose problems, discover causal relationships, predict possible futures, and test policy options. At a more fundamental level, these technologies and an associated field of theory are transforming how researchers conceptualize environmental systems. Advances in spatial analysis have had modest impacts upon …
Critical Habitat And The Challenge Of Regulating Small Harms., Dave Owen
Critical Habitat And The Challenge Of Regulating Small Harms., Dave Owen
Publications
This Article investigates how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the courts are implementing the Endangered Species Act’s prohibition on “adverse modification” of “critical habitat.” That prohibition appears to be one of environmental law’s most ambitious mandates, but its actual meaning and effect are contested. Using a database of over 4,000 “biological opinions,” interviews with agency staff, and a review of judicial decisions considering the adverse modification prohibition, this Article assesses the extent to which the Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the courts are relying on the adverse modification …
Urbanization, Water Quality, And The Regulated Landscape, Dave Owen
Urbanization, Water Quality, And The Regulated Landscape, Dave Owen
Publications
Watershed scientists frequently describe urbanization as a primary cause of water quality degradation, and recent studies conclude that even in lightly-developed watersheds, urbanization often precludes attainment of water quality standards. This article considers legal responses to this pervasive problem. It explains why traditional legal measures have been ineffective, and it evaluates several recent innovations piloted in the northeastern United States and potentially applicable across the nation. Specifically, the innovations involve using impervious cover TMDLs, residual designation authority, and collective permitting. More generally, the innovations involve transferring regulatory focus from end-of-the-pipe to landscape-based controls. I conclude that the innovations, while raising …
A Call To Action For Conserving Biological Diversity In The Face Of Climate Change, Malcolm L. Hunter Jr., Eric Dinerstein, John Hoekstra, David Lindenmayer
A Call To Action For Conserving Biological Diversity In The Face Of Climate Change, Malcolm L. Hunter Jr., Eric Dinerstein, John Hoekstra, David Lindenmayer
Publications
No abstract provided.