Assessing community support and the potential for community-based partnerships in the restoration of the Cache River Wetlands

Community-based ecosystem restoration efforts have emerged throughout North America, largely driven by the collective action of local stakeholders. While the need for greater integration of collaborative processes into natural resource management has been demonstrated extensively by researchers, few studies have addressed how to develop long-term conservation partnerships that are able to sustain extensive restoration projects. The ecologically distinct Cache River Wetlands are located in southern Illinois, near the convergence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. In the late 1970s, extensive wetlands drainage and land conversion for agricultural production motivated local community members to organize and preserve remnants of the wetlands and to work towards restoration of the Cache River Wetlands ecosystem. Community efforts captured the attention of natural resource management agencies and organizations, including the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, US Fish and Wildlife Service and USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service. The synergy created by these agencies in the early 1990s prompted the formation of the Cache River Joint Venture Partnership and the goal of restoring a 60,000 acre forest and wetland corridor. While several local advocacy groups have been active in restoration, managers have struggled to sustain involvement and support throughout the greater community.; This study used a qualitative research framework to: (1) Assess community stakeholder attitudes toward ecosystem restoration; (2) Identify barriers and potential incentives for enhancing meaningful community participation in ecosystem restoration; and (3) Develop partnership-building recommendations for natural resource managers in the Cache River Wetlands. Data collected through in-depth personal interviews with 25 community stakeholder representatives revealed that although study participants display favorable attitudes toward ecological restoration, stakeholders perceive community members' limited awareness of restoration programs, time constraints and regional economic depression as limiting involvement. The varied meanings that different stakeholder groups attribute to the wetlands appear to influence both attitudes toward restoration and reported levels of participation. A typology of stakeholder groups is presented based on their capacity to get involved that illustrates the potential for environmental education and outreach efforts to inspire participation. To facilitate collective community action in restoration, Cache River wetlands managers must connect restoration actions with significant community goals.