Building consensus: Legitimate hope or seductive paradox?

To understand how participants in a natural resource planning situation des cribed the nature of consensus, we interviewed scientists, agency planners and managers, and public representatives in two planning processes on the B itterroot National Forest in west-central Montana. While most interviewees felt the agency had included affected interests and felt that the problem c ould be resolved through public participation, disagreements about the prob lem definition occurred, Most could "live with" the decision of the agency, but some could not. People varied in their capacity to assimilate the info rmation presented at public meetings, interviewees varied in their interpre tation of whether a consensus was arrived at in the two public involvement processes investigated, but most agreed that it was an essential step in pl anning.