Ecosystem management and public participation: lessons from the field

This study explores the public participation component of the Northern Lower Michigan Ecosystem Management Project. The study was conducted to determine the perceptions of natural resource professionals about public participation and document how those perceptions change over time as a result of a nontraditional, focus group--based model of public participation. The professionals' perceptions were then compared with public perceptions about public participation processes. The results suggest that the new approaches to public participation embodied in ecosystem management are more consistent with public desires than are traditional methods, but improvements are still possible.