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Public environmental and natural resource agencies have become increasingly diverse in their missions and organization, often looking at forests as ecosystems that are divisible and amenable to a large number of often unrelated programmatic activities. Although compelling reasons have been suggested for holistic approaches to sustaining the physical attributes of large forest ecosystems, attention has yet to be adequately directed toward establishing a complementary institutional landscape composed of agencies and programs that are more integrated and coordinated. A national assessment of state agencies responsible for programs that influence the use, management, and protection of forests was undertaken in 2000. Influence was defined as the ability of state government agencies (entities) through policies and programs they are responsible for implementing-to change, alter or modify the way forests are used, managed or protected. The focus was on state executive branch agencies, agencies responsible for programs having a statewide effect on forests, and on four types (levels) of government agencies or entities, namely cabinet-level entities, first-tier subcabinet-level entities, second-tier subcabinetlevel entities, and governing or advisory bodies. The primary source of information for the assessment was the office of state forester and various directories of government agencies. Generalized findings of the assessment are as follows: • State governments consist of an especially rich assortment of forest-affecting agencies (more than 1,450 entities) widely distributed at various levels throughout state government. • Lead state forestry agencies are nearly all subcabinet-level entities (50 entities) and represent a very modest part of the total number of state agencies affecting forests. • State agencies affecting forests focus primarily on forest resource use and management, although providing assistance (planning and budgeting) and environmental protection (pollution control) are also important activities. • State agencies responsible for information gathering and forest resource monitoring are numerous and are widely distributed throughout state government. • First-tier subcabinet-level state agencies with moderate to substantial capacity to affect forests are numerous (more than 460 entities) and are widely situated throughout state government. • Consequences of dispersed state agencies affecting forests are numerous and largely adverse, especially public confusion over agency responsibility, absence of an integrated state program focused on forests, and lack of a unified advocate for forests within state government. • Coordination among state agencies affecting forests is modest and where occurring takes many forms, the least important of which are formal administrative structures (boards, commissions) and centralized information gathering and management systems. • Dispersed federal-state agency responsibility for forests poses challenges to intergovernmental relations, often discouraging coordination among forestaffecting entities of state government. State and federal governments are composed of departments, bureaus, divisions and commissions that are large in number and have varying degrees of influence over forests. In the future, an enormous challenge will be that of appropriately connecting agencies (within and between governments) that have responsibilities for forestaffecting programs and making such connections in manners that will sustain the holistic integrity and function of forest ecosystems however large or small they might be.
Fiscal Year: fy01 ·
Problem Area: pa98-5 ·
Theme: cctrgnas ·
Source: coop
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Citation:
<[04] Authors, primary>. <[05] Date, primary>. <[03] Title, primary>. University of Minnesota <[12] Volume>:1-119. Pages 1-119 In: <[14] Authors, secondary>. University of Minnesota<[23] Title, series>. <[28] Date, secondary>.
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Forest Economics and Policy |
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USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station |