Title

How Public Lands Governance Supercharges the Rural-Urban Divide in Oregon and Beyond

 Abstract

Features of the policymaking process shapes whether groups that lose out in the policy arena accept policy outcomes, as well as the policymakers and institutions responsible for formulating them. Processes that are inclusive, wherein relevant stakeholders are given the opportunity to meaningfully participate, greatly enhance policy acceptance, durability, and legitimacy. Our research investigates these dynamics in the American west, where the management of natural resources on public lands is a salient policy arena. We find that anger and dissatisfaction with public land governance is particularly acute in corners of the rural west. Digging deeper, we find that much of this acrimony is driven by a feeling that rural communities are systematically ignored in the policy making process. The deep-seated resentments sowed by this neglect leads many rural Westerners — with these dynamics being particularly strong in Oregon — far beyond simple disapproval of individual policies: indeed, they want to burn the entire system down.

Presenters

B. Kal Munis - Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Montana State University

Patrick Hunnicutt - Assistant Professor, School of Planning, Public Policy and Management, University of Oregon

Seminar hosted by the Institute for Policy Research and Engagement and School of Planning, Public Policy and Management.