research seeks to increase public involvement in forestry management planning

(thunder bay - june 22, 2006) 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 researchers from the school of outdoor recreation, parks, and tourism are investigating ways to increase the effectiveness of public involvement in forest management planning in northwestern ontario.

dr. mark robson, dr. harvey lemelin, and dr. norman mcintyre are launching the second year of the three-year research project in partnership with dr. len hunt from the ontario ministry of natural resources (omnr). their research project, entitled "evaluating the effectiveness of communication processes for public involvement in forest management planning," is funded by a $100,000 grant from the living legacy trust.

past research on public participation in forest management planning suggests that several barriers hinder the effectiveness of the public involvement process. one barrier is the difficulty of effectively communicating information to the public. while forest management planning information is understood by managers, much of this information is in a form that is relatively meaningless to the general public.

this summer, the research team is interviewing people who participated on local citizens committees, attended omnr open houses and information centres, or who have a general interest in forest management planning in the thunder bay area. these interviews will help to assess the effectiveness of the current public consultation process.

the next research phase will present management scenarios using different media to help the public understand the likely effects of proposed management activities. one medium is computer visualizations of forest conditions, which is part 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 forestry student jeff moore's phd dissertation. the second medium is a visual model that simulates the behaviours of resident recreational anglers. through a carefully controlled experiment, the research team will assess whether these media enhance the public's ability to comprehend and provide input in forest management decision-making.

"this research will help to improve communication of scientific and technical information in a way that makes it more understandable, so that the public can become more meaningfully involved in forest management planning," says dr. robson, principal investigator for the project.

members of the public who have who participated on local citizens committees, attended omnr open houses and information centres, or have a general interest in forest management planning in the thunder bay area are invited to contact julie rosenthal, research assistant, at 807-343-0314 if they are interested in participating in the study.

members of the media: dr. mark robson is available for interview after may 23. he can be reached at 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 at 807-343-8057.