ENVIRONMENTAL VALUES AND POPULAR CONFLICT OVER ENVIRONMENTAL-MANAGEMENT - A COMPARATIVE-ANALYSIS OF PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE CLINTON FOREST PLAN

Public participation in environmental management decisions has frequen tly led to conflict. This paper examines the role of environmental val ues in fueling these conflicts, based on a data base and sample conten t analysis of written public comments solicited in 1994 regarding the highly contentious Clinton Forest Plan (also known as Option 9) propos ed for management of federal forests in the US Pacific Northwest. The analysis considered whether those respondents favoring more versus les s environmental protection than was offered in Option 9 held entirely different values, identifying which antagonistic values appeared to be most fundamental and where (ii at all) values consensus occurred. It also compared values emanating from respondents within and outside the affected region, although few major differences were detected in this regard. Results suggest that strong values differences did exist amon g those preferring greater versus less environmental protection, in pa rticular as concerned the extent, form, and spatial and temporal scope of justification of their positions, their ideas of forests, and the appropriate role of people in forest management. Disagreement concerne d far more than purely environmental values: a major point of differen ce involved human benefits and harms oi the proposed forest plan. Inde ed, both sides' positions were overridingly anthropocentric and conseq uentialist-a values orientation that almost inevitably spells conflict in light of the commonly differentiated social impacts of environment al management decisions. Although public involvement in environmental management thus cannot be expected to lead to a clear and consensual s ocial directive, the Pacific Northwest case suggests that viable envir onmental management solutions that take this range of values into acco unt can still be crafted.