DETAILED ABSTRACT

Public land managers must consider a broad range of public input in developing effective and equitable land use projects. There is growing agreement that increased understanding of public views and desires will enhance honest and meaningful involvement of the public and contribute to more balanced, integrated and equitable management decisions (Kruger 2003). The challenges are to organize understanding of widely varied interests in meaningful ways and develop the best balance between a consideration of each individual’s views and that of the aggregate of the affected populations. Organized stakeholder groups are often the most common means available to the public to articulate their interests in project planning situations- through lobbying, organized letter-writing, attending public meetings, or in collaborative decision-making processes. However, individual needs may be poorly represented by stakeholder groups. Special interest stakeholder groups commonly focus on a narrow set of objectives, while their constituents are unique individuals with varied concerns, values, and life stages. Many public planning processes fail to find solutions to contentious issues, not only because stakeholder groups struggle against each other, but also because these groups cannot agree internally on acceptable management options (e.g., Marston 2001; Moseley 2001; Snow 2001). This chapter argues that an examination of human / place bonds at an individual level through survey research and market segmentation analysis clarifies mutual interests among participants in land use decisions. Results of market segmentation analysis reveal alliances within communities that reflect powerful, latent expectations and demands that enable more creative and cooperative solutions to contentious wildland planning problems