Graduation Date
Fall 2024
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Science degree with a major in Natural Resources, option Forestry, Watershed, & Wildland Sciences
Committee Chair Name
Erin Kelly
Committee Chair Affiliation
Community Member or Outside Professional
Second Committee Member Name
Mindy Crandall
Second Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Third Committee Member Name
Jennifer Marlow
Keywords
Forest Policy, Private Forests, California, Oregon, Negotiation, Public involvement, Policy levers
Subject Categories
Forestry
Abstract
California and Oregon have long and dynamic histories of forest practice regulation on privately owned lands. Private lands remain connected to the larger environment despite arbitrary property boundaries, thus management decisions made on those lands impact ecosystem services across landscapes. Because forests have public trust resources such as clean water, there are policy tools that facilitate public involvement in private forest land decision making.
This study compares the trajectories of policy changes governing private corporate forest landowners in California and Oregon. Interviews with environmental advocates, agency members, and forestry professionals, along with document analysis, provide key insights to how private forest lands in these states have been regulated, and who has participated in the adoption of regulations. I trace how groups gain access to the regulatory process through various means, or “levers” – that is, how groups exogenous to the forestry sector have gained access to forestry decision-making. I employ Hall’s social learning framework (1993) to track policy change and to distinguish the levers available in each state. Hall’s notion of policy change includes first and second order changes, which are incremental changes that primarily maintain the status quo, and third order changes, or paradigm shifts, that create substantive change, including new policy tools.
Compared to Oregon, California experienced an early paradigm shift in 1975 when the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) began governing private forest practices. Since that time, CEQA has continually shaped and constrained private forestland practices in California. Conversely, Oregon, which lacks a state environmental policy act like CEQA, underwent a paradigm shift much later in 2022 with the passage of the Oregon Private Forest Accord. By tracing the shifting regulatory landscape in two states, this research provides useful insights, such as identifying how diverse groups can work together to manage environmental conflicts, and how public groups gain access to decision-making on private lands.
Citation Style
APA
Recommended Citation
Anderson, Claire E., "Evolution of Regulations Impacting Landowner Decision Making: A Comparison of Private Forest Policies in California and Oregon" (2024). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 816.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/816