Merging public and private domains: Implications for the design and implementation of natural resource policy

Throughout the United States, social efforts to regulate privately owned natural resources generate ongoing controversy. Debates swirl regarding just how far public interests can or should extend into the private domain.Using the State of Washington's Forest Practices Act (FPA) and an associated policy tool called the 'Alternate Plan option' as examples, this study examines the possibility that a significant portion of the social controversy may be arising, not through any deeply rooted social objection to the principle of regulation, but from structural inadequacies in forest regulatory policies. The Forests Practices Rules and related policy instruments enabled by the FPA are among the most comprehensive and innovative in the United States, and provide an excellent test case for stakeholder feedback regarding policy design.The study analyzes society's changing perceptions regarding the regulation of privately owned natural resources, and the related public and private rights that pertain to them. Its findings reveal that unequal regulatory impacts among forest owners are a significant and inherent problem of private forest regulation. Primary causes of this phenomenon are identified and analyzed, and solution pathways for mitigation strategies, alternative policy tools, and improvements to the process of information exchange between natural resource management professionals and private forest owners are suggested and discussed. The study concludes with specific recommendations for a multi-faceted approach that can help policymakers modify and improve private forest regulation.