This study examined the process of information exchange between natural resource management professionals and forest owners to determine whether and how professionals could improve their ability to persuade forest owners to adopt recommended stewardship practices. Using the inductive 'grounded theory' method of qualitative research, 109 stakeholders throughout the State of Washington, USA were interviewed and asked to discuss their information sources and preferences. The study findings reveal that many natural resource management professionals may not correctly anticipate how forest owners evaluate new forest management information. Professionals in the study typically chose and evaluated new information on the basis An earlier version of this paper was presented at of established standards of scientific credibility, including peer review or the professional reputation of the individuals and institutions conducting the research or publishing the information. Most professionals expected forest owners would do the same. Forest owners with non-professional backgrounds, however, were often unfamiliar with or unimpressed by such credentials, and often used a very different evaluative screen. Willingness to adopt information was greatly influenced by their social impressions of the individuals delivering it. When a professional pressed for an 'expert to non-expert' relationship or did not establish a mutually respectful interpersonal learning atmosphere, non-professional forest owners frequently resisted not only that individual, but also the information they provided. This paper links these findings to androgogy (adult learning theory), and demonstrates that the natural resource professionals most effective with forest owners are those providing what the established literature describes as classic elements of a good adult learning environment. These elements include empathy, mutual respect, non-hierarchical information exchange, praxis, emphasis on experiential rather than passive learning, and evidence that tangible results may be expected. An improved understanding of the fundamentals of the adult learning process can be expected to enhance the effectiveness of natural resource professionals in information exchange with forest owners.

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This case study is centered in northeast Washington State and northern Idaho and focuses on the social ecology of the wild edible huckleberry. The theoretical notion of social embeddedness is the lens through which the harvest and use of this much-prized resource is viewed and analyzed. Using grounded theory as an over-arching method, qualitative data were collected over two harvesting seasons regarding who harvests huckleberries in the study area and why. Four categories of use/users were identified. The results suggest a rich tapestry of social relations surrounding this resource that belies the simplistic notion of "commercial" vs. "recreational" use. These relations include temporal, geographic, economic, and cultural dimensions. Policy implications include the need to move beyond the commercial/recreational dichotomy in regulating the harvest of berries as well as the need to link the notions of community forestry and subsistence to the harvest of non-timber forest products more generally.1 There are seven identified species of Huckleberry that occur in and around the CNF: Vaccinium membranaceum/globulare, V. myrtilloides, V. myritillus, V. caespitosum, V. scoparium, V. oxycoccus and V. ovalifolium (Barney 2001; Pattersen et al. 1985;Williams et al. 1995). Of these, V. membranaceum/globulare (which botanists now classify as a single species) is of the most interest to current-day harvesters because of the relatively large size and abundance of the berries it produces (USDAFS 2001;Barney 2001). It should be noted, however, that ethnobotanical research indicates that native people in the region traditionally harvested V. caespitosum, V. myritillus, V. scoparium as well as V. membranaceum (Turner et al. 1980).

This study focused on the role of fire both as a perceived threat and a management tool of nonindustrial private forest and tribal forest landowners or managers in two counties in northeastern Washington State. Using qualitative social research methods and a risk perception conceptual frame, we identified distinct categories of landholders with different reasons and strategies for holding and managing their forest land. We found similarities in categories of landholders and managers in each county, ranging from those who actively manage for timber production and forage, to residential and recreational users who manage for wildlife, aesthetics, or fire safety, and those who don't manage at all. We also found that landowners in the different categories tended to be concerned about different kinds of risks. There were differences between landholders in the two counties over the perception of fire as a threat and measures taken to reduce the threat of fire as well as the use of prescribed fire (broadcast burning) as a management tool. These differences can be related to landholders' experiences with fire (wild and prescribed), land tenure, financial and physical restraints, and their reasons for holding the land.

Schlosser, William E.; Blatner, Keith A.