ANALYZING THE HUMAN IMPACT OF BLM

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ANALYZING THE HUMAN IMPACT OF BLMS DECISIONS

• Meeting of BLMs Colorado Resource Advisory
  Councils
• Grand Junction, Colorado
• February 2009
• Rob Winthrop and John Cossa
• Division of Decision Support, Planning NEPA
• Bureau of Land Management, Washington, D.C.

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How to obtain and convey information on the human
context and consequences of BLM actions. . .
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. . . that is valid, cost-effective, and relevant
to management challenges?
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What are the social sciences?

• The social sciences comprise a group of
  disciplines that study human life in its social
  context, each with distinctive methods and
  theory, and specific areas of relevance for
  resource management.

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• Economics examines how resources are allocated
  under conditions of scarcity, primarily through
  market transactions.
• Sociology focuses on the organization and values
  of social groups.
• Cultural anthropology describes social life as
  shaped by distinctive systems of meaning, such as
  those guiding the subsistence economies of many
  Native Alaskan communities.

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• Human geography examines how the characteristics
  of land and resources shape human activity, from
  local to global scales.
• Political science is concerned with systems of
  governance, authority, and decision-making.
• Decision science is an interdisciplinary subject
  that develops tools to structure defensible
  decision-making, typically involving complex
  criteria under conditions of uncertainty.

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STRATEGIES FOR STRENGTHENING BLMS SOCIAL SCIENCE
CAPABILITIES
gtgt Clarify Mandates ltlt
Link to Management Activities
Conduct a Needs Assessment
Take Corrective Action
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Federal Land Policy and Management Act

• How should lands and resources be used?
• Achieve multiple use while preserving a range of
  environmental and social values.
• Seek consistency with state local plans.
• Example How can Oregon BLM provide a sustainable
  supply of timber and other forest products that
  will help maintain the stability of local and
  regional economies? (WOPR Goal 2)

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National Environmental Policy Act

• What are the effects of management actions?
• Analyze alternatives, considering social and
  economic impacts.
• Example If commercial oil shale production
  returns to the Green River Basin, how many
  workers from outside the region will be needed?

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Government Performance and Results Act

• Are BLMs plans and programs effective and
  efficient?
• Determine program effectiveness, including
  cost-benefit or cost-effectiveness.
• Example In achieving fire management goals, is
  it more cost-effective to emphasize fuels
  treatment or fire suppression?
• Example Based on visitor intercept surveys of
  customer satisfaction, are BLMs recreation
  programs achieving their objectives?

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Social and Environmental Accountability

• Do BLMs actions support the long-term viability
  of environmental and social systems?
• Work with public and private partners to ensure
  sustainable land use policies at a large scale.
• Example What biological, economic, and
  institutional factors encourage rangeland
  fragmentation?

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STRATEGIES FOR STRENGTHENING BLMS SOCIAL SCIENCE
CAPABILITIES
Clarify Mandates
gtgt Link to Management Activities ltlt
Conduct a Needs Assessment
Take Corrective Action
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Preparing resource management plans

• Identify the implications for communities and
  user groups for alternatives under
• Western Oregon Plan Revision
• Farmington RMP
• Kobuk Seward Peninsula RMP

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Implementing projects

• Identify and help mitigate the social and
  economic impacts of projects such as
• Jonah Infill Drilling EIS
• Southern Nevada Water Authority EIS
• Oil Shale / Tar Sands Programmatic EIS

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Managing recreation demand

• Manage conflicts between forms of recreation
• Assess the values and attitudes of different
  recreational users

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Supporting tribal, state, and local development

• Coordinate BLMs plans with the land use
  planning and management programs of . . . the
  States and local governments within which the
  lands are located FLPMA 202(c)(9)

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Managing wildland fire risk

• Anticipate residential growth patterns
• Assess community attitudes toward fuels
  treatment

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Managing subsistence resources

• Give priority to customary uses of fish,
  wildlife, and other renewables (ANILCA)
• For effective management, obtain detailed
  knowledge of local economies and social systems

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Meeting environmental justice mandates

• Identify disproportionate adverse impacts to
  low-income, minority, or tribal populations
  (EO 12898, 1994)

Four Corners Power Plant
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Supporting effective public participation

• Describe affected groups
• Survey attitudes and uses
• Identify strategies to reduce barriers to
  participation, such as language

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Assessing socio-economic trends

• Assess social and economic trends that can
  provide early warning of management challenges

Job Growth Mesa County, Colorado
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STRATEGIES FOR STRENGTHENING BLMS SOCIAL SCIENCE
CAPABILITIES
Clarify Mandates
Link to Management Activities
gtgt Conduct a Needs Assessment ltlt
Take Corrective Action
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Social Science Needs Assessment

• In 2006 the BLM initiated a national social
  science needs assessment.
• An oversight committee of managers and program
  staff was established to guide the assessment.
• The committee selected an external team of seven
  social scientists to conduct the assessment.
• The external team has reviewed documents,
  conducted a phone survey of over 1,200 BLM staff,
  and interviewed 90 resource advisory council
  members. (Since Wyoming has no RACs, a comparable
  sample was selected.)

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• The assessment teams tasks
• describe BLMs current social science
  capabilities
• define what social science capabilities are
  needed, based on internal and external input and
  the teams professional judgment
• identify and prioritize deficiencies.
• The oversight committee will use these findings
  to prepare an action plan for strengthening BLMs
  social science capabilities, within realistic
  budget constraints.

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Findings of interviews with Resource Advisory
Council members
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Participating Resource Advisory Council members
by stakeholder group and RAC category
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Importance of social and economic issues in
advising the BLM
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Have RAC members worked with BLM to address
social and economic issues?
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Has the BLM adequately addressed the economic,
social, and EJ effects of its decisions?
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Is the BLM supportive of community development
objectives?
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Overall satisfaction with BLMs economic and
social analysis for resource management decisions?
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Findings of telephone survey of BLM employees
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Value of social science information . . .?

• At the state or Washington Office level, for
  policy decisions 46 indicated high or very
  high (five-point scale)
• At the district office level, for EISs RMPs
  66 indicated high or very high
• At the field office level 61 indicated high
  or very high

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How well is social science information used. . .?

• For project implementation 23 indicated well
  or very well (five-point scale)
• For land use planning 38 indicated well or
  very well
• For trend monitoring 19 indicated well or
  very well
• For meeting local and tribal community
  development objectives 30 indicated well or
  very well

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Factors posing a barrier to using social science
information across the BLM . . .?

• Competing priorities 28
• Lack of funding 25
• Not a priority for managers 13
• Insufficient training 9
• Sources of social and economic information 6

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How would you improve the use of social science
without new staffing?

• Training existing staff 24
• Contract with outside agencies 9
• Conduct surveys of public opinion, more s/s
  research generally 8
• Increase awareness of social science 6
• Increase communication with public through
  scoping and collaboration 5
• Develop manuals, toolboxes, guidelines 5
• No opinion 15

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STRATEGIES FOR STRENGTHENING BLMS SOCIAL SCIENCE
CAPABILITIES
Clarify Mandates
Link to Management Activities
Conduct a Needs Assessment
gtgt Take Corrective Action ltlt
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Moving forward, what further advice do you have
for improving BLMs use of social science
information?
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Thank you for your assistance!
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• For further information, contact
• Dr. Rob Winthrop
• Senior Social Scientist
• Division of Decision Support, Planning, and NEPA
• Bureau of Land Management
• 1849 C Street, NW (Mail Stop 850LS)
• Washington, D.C. 20240
• 202-557-3587 robert_winthrop_at_blm.gov
• soc-econ rpt to RACs 1b Winthrop Cossa
  2-8-09.ppt