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Forestry at the Urban Fringe
The following is an abstract from Kearstin Edward's M.S. thesis
entitled "Forestry at the urban fringe: Issues, stakeholders and conflict
potential in Oregon's Soap Creek
Watershed."
Soap Creek Watershed
Increasing land fragmentation, environmental regulations and neighbors' concerns pose significant challenges to forest owners at the urban fringe, whose properties are physically caught between rural landscapes and continually expanding urban centers. Using Oregon's Soap Creek Watershed as a study site, we paired qualitative and quantitative methods to identify stakeholders, their opinions about contentious forest management issues and options for minimizing conflict at the urban fringe. Primary stakeholders included non-industrial private, corporate and public forest managers; residents and recreationists. The following are key findings from our research:
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Active forest management
was seen as an important factor that protected the rural character
and amenities of an area experiencing residential growth.
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Residents were the most likely
to hold different categories of forest owners to different management
standards, expecting more information from corporate owners than individual
private owners and higher management standards on public lands.
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Land use zoning and forest
practice regulations reduce conflict by delineating acceptable land
uses and activities consistent with those uses.
-
Clearly defined and consistent
procedures for incorporating public
knowledge and concerns into land management decisions are essential
to reducing conflict over procedural and relational issues that often
accompany resource management.
- Prior notification of management intentions in combination with frequent and consistent interactions with neighbors has the potential to build social capital and reduce active opposition of forest management practices.
To read more about this research, The Valley Library at Oregon State University has a bound copy of Kearstin Edwards' thesis dissertation (call number: LD4330 2002.E37).
College
Forests 
College of Forestry
OSU
Forestry Extension Service
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