 |
Recognize that a
disconnect in understanding exists between urban and rural Americans and
that this is creating polarization, negatively impacting resources and
contributing to a paralysis in resource management never before
experienced in American history. |
|
Recognize that this
'disconnect' is contributing to public policy problems and helping to
destabilize the socio-economics of rural America. |
|
Recognize that
leadership in the natural resource arenas includes far more then focusing
on agency employees and their “ground work”; or on legislative efforts as
separate and apart from an integrated and interrelated national policy
picture. There is an obligation for both of these entities (agencies and
national elected officials) to speak to a much larger audience i.e., the
urban public. |
|
Recognize that it is
appropriate and necessary for such entities to explain the full concept of
multiple use and resource management to urban America. This seems
appropriate because elected officials create/pass the laws and resource
agencies are required to implement them---this is a continuing
partnership. As America has grown, so has the scope of leadership which is
needed to manage resources on the ground and in the court of public
opinion. This is today’s reality. |
|
Recognize that
employing ‘comfort zone’ phrases such as ‘we have to avoid being seen as
advocating for any one industry’ are not applicable. The employment of
such ‘catch phrases’ distorts the total picture of leadership needs which
exist in today’s world. |
|
Recognize that these
entities are the perfect mechanisms to deliver on a national level the
message of sustainable multiple use. These entities should substantively
integrate the message of reconnecting America into their many public
venues and demonstrate the value of each to the other. |
BACKGROUND:
FWIT was formed for the purpose of carrying the voice of forestry-based
communities to the larger urban and political arena, i.e., Washington, D.C.
Public policies, which had been and are consistently affecting rural
communities negatively, necessitated a 'real face' be put on the receiving
end of such decisions. This effort has been relatively effective. Insight
gained into the dynamics of urban-rural arenas as they play into public
policy has been invaluable. Over the last two decades, there has been a
steady deterioration in the understanding of, and appreciation between the
urban and rural sectors of our nation. This statement is based on the
observations and first-hand experiences of Federated Women in Timber (FWIT)
members networking on Capitol Hill and nationwide since 1980. Additionally,
there are numerous natural resource/agricultural related organizations that
are experiencing increasing difficulty in maintaining their presence
anywhere near urban areas, or in receiving a balanced day in the court of
public opinion. This partial list includes farms, ranches, processing and
manufacturing plants, logging operations and sawmills. As the urban
population has grown significantly over these past decades, the voice of
rural America has struggled even harder to be heard when it comes to public
policies. We will not belabor the accepted reality that more and more urban
citizens have a drastically diminished understanding of where and how the
products they consume originate.
RATIONALE:
Policy development in the natural resource/agricultural arenas could be
drastically facilitated if the level of 'literacy of production' on the part
of the urban American public could be improved. Federal agencies and
elected officials enjoy the trust and respect of many parts of the
'public'. Messages from them would be received in a neutral fashion. They
would resonate with the public as reasonable and good for the nation. This
would greatly mitigate the constant 'special interest' rhetoric that creates
polarization and prevents learning about the issues. Familiarizing the
federal resource managers in how to communicate about their agencies’ role
in the overall national economy is going to produce professionals with skill
levels to meet 21st century challenges. This is a serious weak
link today. Elected officials also have changing roles which include a
public dialogue about the connections between production and consumption,
between urban and rural, between laws passed and benefits received. This
type of approach will, FWIT believes, help to improve both understanding and
tolerance of differences on socio-economic issues.
CONCLUSION:
If public entities are going to make public policies based upon public
opinion, the public must have reliable information to understand the
consequences of proposed actions. These partnership entities must step up
to their responsibility to help educate the public so that an informed
public can guide responsible resource management decisions.
kj/WY/03
