ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND ORGANIZATIONAL INCENTIVES IN THE US-FOREST-SERVICE

In 1989, the U.S. Forest Service revised its administrative appeal reg ulation, placing explicit emphasis on negotiations between Forest Serv ice officers and appellants. This article examines why it would be in the interests of a large federal bureaucracy to formally endorse negot iation, a type of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process, throug h codified regulation. The article begins to pll a gap in the dispute resolution literature by analyzing the role of organizational interest s in ADR processes. Examining the U.S. Forest Service's use of ADR to resolve forest plan appeals in the middle to late 1980s shows that the agency was able to protect timber harvesting-a central organizational interest referred to as core technology-through a variety of strategi es. The article concludes by addressing the possible evolution in the Forest Service's core technology and the implications of this evolutio n for the future of ADR in the Forest Service.