Evaluating natural resource planning for longleaf pine ecosystems in the Southeast United States

Abstract Natural resource plans play a critical role in guiding the sustainable management of forest ecosystems. However, little is known about the quality of management plans. In this study, we evaluated and compared the quality of 35 management plans from federal, state, and nongovernment groups managing longleaf pine ecosystems in the Southeast United States. We developed a plan evaluation tool consisted of five components: (1) Problem and Objective Statement, (2) Fact Base, (3) Actions and Implementation, (4) Integration with Other Plans, and (5) Stakeholder Participation, to examine to what extent plans incorporated planning best practices. We tested a hypothetical model for understanding the relationship among plan components, and our results suggested stakeholder participation predicted clear problem statements, better integration with other plans, and better actions and implementation protocols. The Fact Base component scored highest across most plans while the Actions and Implementation component scored lowest. Newer plans scored modestly higher than older plans, suggesting agencies may be learning to develop better plans over time and indicating older plans should be prioritized for revision. Plans from federal and state agencies scored higher than plans from nongovernmental organizations. Our findings suggest planners should consider incorporating more stakeholder participation, which was positively related to better actions and implementation and improved problem and objective statements.

• Publication year

  2019

• Venue

  Forest Policy and Economics

• Publication date

  2019-03-01

• Fields of study

  Business, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1016/J.FORPOL.2018.11.008
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation

  2019cited by this paper
• Evaluating Climate Change Planning for Longleaf Pine Ecosystems in the Southeast United States

  2018cited by this paper
• Legislation and policies supporting the sustainable management of forests

  2018cited by this paper
• Meta-analysis of Natural Resource Conservation Plan Evaluations

  2016cited by this paper
• Natural Resource Policy

  2016cited by this paper
• Are conservation organizations configured for effective adaptation to global change

  2015influential reference
• Modeling climate change, urbanization, and fire effects on Pinus palustris ecosystems of the southeastern U.S.

  2015cited by this paper
• Overcoming skepticism with education: interacting influences of worldview and climate change knowledge on perceived climate change risk among adolescents

  2014cited by this paper
• The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation

  2014cited by this paper
• Plan Quality Evaluation 1994–2012

  2014influential reference
• Decision Making in Natural Resource Management: A Structured Adaptive Approach. Michael J. Conroy and James T. Peterson, 2013. Wiley‐Blackwell, Oxford, UK. 456 pp. $99.95 paperback. ISBN: 978‐0‐470‐67174‐0.

  2014cited by this paper
• Challenges in Forest Management Planning

  2014cited by this paper
• Evaluating the Quality of Official Community Plans in Southern British Columbia

  2013influential reference
• Problem structuring in participatory forest planning

  2013cited by this paper
• Ecophysiological comparison of 50-year-old longleaf pine, slash pine and loblolly pine

  2012cited by this paper
• Structured Decision Making: A Practical Guide to Environmental Management Choices

  2012influential reference
• History and current condition of longleaf pine in the Southern United States

  2012cited by this paper
• Evaluating Florida's Coastal Protected Areas: A Model for Coastal Management Plan Evaluation

  2011cited by this paper
• Improving our legacy: incorporation of adaptive management into state wildlife action plans.

  2011influential reference
• Hurricane Katrina winds damaged longleaf pine less than loblolly pine

  2009cited by this paper
• Searching for the Good Plan

  2009influential reference
• Effective Protection of Open Space: Does Planning Matter?

  2009influential reference
• Stakeholder participation for environmental management: A literature review

  2008influential reference
• Evaluating local coastal zone land use planning capacities in California

  2008influential reference
• Using content analysis to evaluate local master plans and zoning codes

  2008cited by this paper
• State and Municipal Climate Change Plans: The First Generation

  2008cited by this paper
• Disturbance and coastal forests: a strategic approach to forest management in hurricane impact zones

  2007cited by this paper
• Why does longleaf pine have low susceptibility to southern pine beetle

  2007cited by this paper
• Reconciling Wildlife Management's Conflicted Purpose With a Land Community Worldview

  2007cited by this paper
• Understanding opportunities and challenges for collaborative greenway planning in New England

  2006cited by this paper
• New Directions in Conservation for the National Wildlife Refuge System

  2006influential reference
• Comprehensive strategic planning for the use and management of forest resources: The experiences of state governments in the United States

  2006cited by this paper
• Does Planning Work?: Testing the Implementation of Local Environmental Planning in Florida

  2005cited by this paper
• History and restoration of the longleaf pine-grassland ecosystem: Implications for species at risk

  2005cited by this paper
• Confronting the implications of wicked problems: changes needed in Sierra Nevada National Forest planning and problem solving

  2004cited by this paper
• Measuring the collective planning capabilities of local jurisdictions to manage ecological systems in southern Florida

  2004cited by this paper
• What Makes a Good Sustainable Development Plan? An Analysis of Factors That Influence Principles of Sustainable Development

  2004cited by this paper
• Making Plans that Matter: Citizen Involvement and Government Action

  2003cited by this paper
• Implementing the Principles of Ecosystem Management Through Local Land Use Planning

  2003influential reference
• Barriers to Effective Natural Resource Planning in a "Messy" World

  2003influential reference
• Measuring the Effects of Stakeholder Participation on the Quality of Local Plans Based on the Principles of Collaborative Ecosystem Management

  2003influential reference
• Making collaboration work : lessons from innovation in natural resource management

  2002influential reference
• Restoration of the longleaf pine ecosystem on private lands in the US South: an ecological economic analysis

  2002cited by this paper
• Integrated Public Lands Management: Principles and Applications to National Forests, Parks, Wildlife Refuges, and BLM Lands

  2002cited by this paper
• Public perceptions of the USDA Forest Service public participation process

  2001cited by this paper
• Mapping the Dimensions of Successful Public Participation in Messy Natural Resources Management Situations

  2001cited by this paper
• Are We Planning for Sustainable Development?

  2000cited by this paper
• Wicked Problems and Network Approaches to Resolution

  2000cited by this paper
• The Global Decline of Reptiles, Déjà Vu Amphibians

  2000cited by this paper
• Insights and Applications Assessing Public Participation in U.S. Watershed Planning Initiatives

  1999cited by this paper
• Beyond kappa: A review of interrater agreement measures

  1999influential reference
• Do Cooperative Environmental Planning Mandates Produce Good Plans? Empirical Results from the New Zealand Experience

  1999cited by this paper
• General Plan Evaluation Criteria: An Approach to Making Better Plans

  1997influential reference
• Making Governments Plan: State Experiments in Managing Land Use

  1997cited by this paper
• Enhancing Plan Quality: Evaluating the Role of State Planning Mandates for Natural Hazard Mitigation

  1996cited by this paper
• Institutional barriers and incentives for ecosystem management: A problem analysis. Forest Service general technical report

  1996cited by this paper
• Plans Can Matter! The Role of Land Use Plans and State Planning Mandates in Limiting the Development of Hazardous Areas

  1994cited by this paper
• Introduction to the Practice of Statistics (2nd ed.)

  1994cited by this paper
• The Influence of State Planning Mandates on Local Plan Quality

  1994influential reference
• Evaluating environmental plan quality: the case of planning for sustainable development in New Zealand

  1994influential reference
• Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook

  1994influential reference
• Four centuries of changing landscape pattern in the longleaf pine ecosystem

  1993influential reference
• The rebirth of urban democracy

  1993cited by this paper
• Introduction to the Practice of Statistics

  1990cited by this paper
• Public involvement in resource planning: Toward bridging the gap between policy and implementation

  1989cited by this paper
• Urban land use planning

  1988cited by this paper
• Complexity, Wickedness, and Public Forests

  1986cited by this paper
• OLEORESIN CHARACTERISTICS AND SUSCEPTIBILITY OF FOUR SOUTHERN PINES TO SOUTHERN PINE BEETLE (COLEOPTERA: SCOLYTIDAE) ATTACKS

  1979cited by this paper
• Urban Land Use Planning.

  1957cited by this paper

• Advancing hurricane ecology to improve ecological resilience in endangered systems

  2025cites this paper
• Conservation decision makers worry about relevancy and funding but not climate change

  2023cites this paper
• Collaborating for longleaf pine: A case study

  2023cites this paper
• Prescribed fire in longleaf pine ecosystems: fire managers’ perspectives on priorities, constraints, and future prospects

  2022cites this paper
• Effects of Climate and Anthropogenic Drivers on Surface Water Area in the Southeastern United States

  2021cites this paper
• Sustainable Landscape Investment

  2020cites this paper
• REDD+ Meets Local Realities

  2020cites this paper
• Forest Certification and Forest Use

  2020cites this paper
• Forest Bioeconomy Development

  2020cites this paper
• Community Forestry in Liberia

  2020cites this paper
• An evaluation of environmental plans quality: Addressing the rational and communicative perspectives.

  2020cites this paper
• How Are Land-Use Multi-stakeholder Fora Affected by Their Contexts?

  2020cites this paper
• The Wicked Problem of Forest Policy

  2020cites this paper
• Are Some Forestry Problems Too Wicked?

  2020cites this paper
• Tackling Gender Inequality through Forest-Related Policies and Programmes

  2020cites this paper
• Index

  2020cites this paper
• Power to the Forest People

  2020cites this paper
• Forestry Crimes and Our Planet

  2020cites this paper
• Why Forests Matter?

  2020cites this paper
• Have Payments for Ecosystem Services Delivered for the Rural Poor?

  2020cites this paper
• The Wicked Problems of Indonesia’s Forests Require Effective Institutions to Resolve Difficult Trade-Offs

  2020cites this paper