Barriers and Bridges to U.S. Forest Service—Community Relationships: Results from Two Pilot Tests of a Rapid Social Capital Assessment Protocol

Abstract

Successful management of national forests in the United States requires ForestService personnel to collaborate with the public, including individuals living in communities near national forest lands. Collaboration enables agency personnel to build long-term trusting and reciprocal relationships with local communities through their ongoing planning processes. However, frequently agency personnel do not have the tools or data necessary to measure the strength of relationships that exist between the agency and local communities. A rapid social capital assessment protocol is presented that can be used by agency personnel and social scientists as a tool for gauging the existence and strength of Forest Service-community relationships. The utility of the protocol is illustrated by describing findings from two pilot tests conducted in communities near the Tombigbee National Forest in Mississippi and the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina. Barriers to effective Forest Service-community relationships are highlighted and opportunities for social capital development, such as utilizing local news outlets, are presented.

Social capital in small-scale forestry: A local case study in Southern Sweden

“…Smith (2012) examined the significance of good relationships between local communities and forest officers. Trustful relationships have been found to play a key role in community-based conservation models (Baral, 2012), joint forest management (D'Silva and Pai, 2003), and multifunctional forestry within multi-ethnic communities (Bizikova et al, 2011).…”

“…Trust in advisors and face-to-face interactions are significant for the success of communication (Hujala and Tikkanen, 2008). Besides, understanding of local situations (Baral, 2012) and celebrating local identities (Smith, 2012) are key to trustful relationships. The Swedish forestry model is beneficial, since it allows advisers to take into consideration personal objectives of the owner and not just to follow the rulebook.…”

Addressing Policy Challenges to Woody Biopower Production: Social Acceptance, Biomass Certification and Limited Policy Support

“…This is particularly true for harvesting operations on public lands where local and national stakeholders have used the courts as a means to prevent undesirable forest management activities (Miller, 2014). The concept of mixed use and mixed benefit has become embedded in national forest management policies, often requiring public comments on proposed forest service policies (Leach, 2006;Smith, 2012). Social acceptance has been identified as a major factor in the success of bioenergy facilities with biomass source selection being critical to the public's perspective of the project (Brohmann et al, 2007;Rösch & Kaltschmitt, 1999;Upreti, 2004).…”