Natural Resource Policy                 Dr. Jerry Johnson    
Political Science 450                       Office 994-5164    jdj@montana.edu

Texts:
The Law and Policy of Ecosystem Services
Ruhl, Kraft, & Lant  2007

The context for Natural Resource Policy are the public lands of the rural western United States and specifically the area known as the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). Our discussion and reading will be closely connected to the states, towns and communities of the west and the twenty-two counties of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming adjacent to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.

Study Area:
The study area for the class includes portions of the Madison, Gallatin, and Henry's Fork Watersheds. The region includes major watersheds in the western portion of the Rocky Mountains. Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, seven national forests, and dispersed private lands as well as a host of other Federal and state jurisdictions. This region is known as the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem – the historical range of the grizzly bear in this part of the world.

Portions of the GYE are nature reserves dominated by natural disturbances that operate at scales typical of presettlement times (i.e. wildfire). Other areas enjoy some of the fastest growing human populations in the western states. This unique landscape is an ideal laboratory for a full spectrum of natural and social science study with respect to disturbance of landscape patterns as a context for policy study of natural resources on multiple-use lands.

The course is divided into three sections:
•    The first will be an overview of the traditions and theories of thinking about natural resources. This section will focus on how and why we think of the natural world the way we do.
•    The second section is a close look at the tools and concepts that make up the policy-making framework for natural resources thinking – the legal framework, institutional, and economic. This section will introduce the concept and theory of ecosystem services and micro economic theory as a way of thinking about public land policy.
•    The third and final part of the course is to examine several specific trends in policy – the actors, the changes, and the policy science of these issues.

In addition, I have scheduled several guest speakers. They are written into the class schedule but times may change. You must attend class in order to keep up on changes in the written schedule.

Context:
The bias for this class is that natural areas matter. As such, rational policy making would suggest that greater ecosystems (such as the Greater Yellowstone) are worth conserving from many points of view including human well-being, inherent social and economic worth, and ecological service provision. The bias such policymaking must take is hinged on the question: Are species and ecosystems fragile? Two theories exist: one says yes - ecosystems and the organisms in them are an intricately balanced network of dependencies and interactions. As such, a threat or loss of one member of the community may upset the balance and bring the whole system crashing. Evolution then is part of that balance and is a slow process taking millions of years. Species evolve to replace inefficient species or at the least better adaptations allow for increased competition. If this is the case, policy must reflect recognition of this delicate balance. Man caused disturbances (eradication of wolves and bears) are inherently bad since they are sudden and uncontrolled anthropocentric events the system cannot adapt to.

The other view is that ecosystems are amazingly resilient and very adaptable to change. There are in fact many species in systems that compete for biological niches and the loss of one will not threaten the integrity of the system. The community is a collection of species; some may be redundant, and each copes as best as it can exploiting whatever it can. Evolution in this case is the process of becoming clever enough to make a living out of whatever is available. In the case of the eradication of wolves in the region as late as 1970, coyotes filled some of the niche left open when wolves were gone. Policy in this case might make the argument that while we have a role to play in the management of greater ecosystems, they can function very well even given our development and significant change in the landscapes.

The other bias of the course is that the West as a region matters. We will explore this the first night of class.

COURSE OUTLINE AND READING LIST (With Hyperlinks to reserve reading)

Week Topic                Reading
1 Intro. to class, class format
2 Natural resource policy issues - trends, history
Gifford Pinchot (1910) - The Birth of Conservation
John Muir (1901) – A Voice in the Wilderness http://california.sierraclub.org/hetchhetchy/hetch_hetchy_muir_scb_1908.html
William O. Douglas (1972) – Mineral King and “Standing” for Trees
Leopold – The land Ethic      http://www.luminary.us/leopold/land_ethic.html
3 Natural Resource Policy Tools
Laws   Keiter – Ecosystems and the Law: Toward an Integrated Approach
Ruhl, Kraft, & Lant chapts 1-3
4 Guest: Dick Dolan    American Prairie Foundation    http://www.americanprairie.org
5 No Class 
6 Natural Resource Policy Tools
Economic Theory    Ruhl, Kraft, & Lant chapts 4-6
7 Mike Phillips    Turner Endangered Species Fund
8 Environmental Values and Valuing the Environment
The Role of Institutions    Ruhl, Kraft, & Lant chapts 16-18
9 Spring Break – no class
10 Forestry, Fire, and Public Lands
Charles Wilkinson. Forests for the Home Builder First of All
From: Crossing the Next Meridian: Land, Water, and the Future of the West   Chapt. 4

Suggested Reading:
An excellent scientific paper on fire ecology and policy:
Turner, M., Romme, W., Tinker, D. (2003). “Surprises and Lessons From the 1988 Yellowstone Fires”. In: Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. Vol. 1, No. 7, pp. 351–358.
11 Mining on Public Lands: Law And Reform Of The Hardrock Mining Act Of 1872    
Introduction: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070624/2mining.htm

Pro-Mining Perspective from the CATO Institute
Mining Law http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-300.html

Pro-Reform of the Mining Law from Earth Justice http://www.earthjustice.org/our_work/policy/2007/page.jsp?itemID=30984990
12 The New West
Tom Power – Thinking About Natural Resource-Dependent Economies: Moving Beyond The Folk Economics Of The Rear View Mirror

Johnson, J.D., and Rasker, R. (1995).  The Role Of Economic And Quality Of Life Values In Rural Business Location

Johnson, J.D., Maxwell, B.M., Aspinall, R. (2003). Moving Nearer to Heaven: Growth and Change in the Greater   Yellowstone Region, USA. 

Suggested Reading:
Kenneth M. Johnson and Calvin L. Beale
The Rural Rebound: Recent Nonmetropolitan Demographic Trends in the United States
http://www.luc.edu/depts/sociology/johnson/p99webn.html
13 Sprawl and Tourism
   
Johnson, J.D (2004) Impacts of Tourism-Related In-Migration: The Greater Yellowstone Region In: R. Buckley Environmental Impacts of Ecotourism. Buckley, R.C. 2003. Case Studies of Ecotourism. CAB International Oxford.

Johnson, J. D. (1998). The New West Boom Towns, the Ecological Trap, and Migration. Montana Policy Review. 8(1).

Suggested Reading:
Riebsame, W.E., Gosnell, H. and Theobald, D.M. 1996 "Land Use and Landscape Change in the Colorado Mountains I: Theory, Scale and Pattern" Mountain Research and Development vol. 16(4).
14 Wrap up and pick up final exam