John R. Parkins

Natural disturbances are fundamental to the healthy dynamics of boreal forest landscape ecosystems. Yet, there are concerns that the cumulative impacts of all types of human and natural disturbances may be increasing in frequency and magnitude, threatening human communities and ecological integrity. Amidst these concerns, forest managers face increasingly difficult trade-offs in balancing social, economic, and ecological outcomes. While existing research on public perceptions often isolates a single disturbance type (e.g., insects), such narrow focus limits our understanding of how the public weighs competing management alternatives. To address this gap, we conducted a factorial survey experiment (i.e., vignettes) in western Canada to evaluate the public’s acceptance of common forest disturbance options. Results indicate that insect and disease outbreaks are preferred to wildfire and harvest events. Support for disturbance changed depending on socio-demographic characteristics (male and/or rural), factual knowledge of Canadian forests, concern for safety and economic impacts, and acceptance of Indigenous partnerships. Although most respondents identified Indigenous communities as crucial partners in maintaining healthy forests, respondents were less willing to support direct Indigenous management of disturbances, such as wildfire. We discuss the implications of these findings in light of evolving public preferences and increasingly risk-prone forest landscapes.

Wind energy development can be polarizing with opposition coming from rural regions that are most affected by new wind farms. Local opposition can become further entrenched through political ideologies, where one's perspective on wind turbines becomes a litmus test for one's political position. With these concerns in mind, we utilize results from a survey of large-scale agricultural landowners in Alberta, Canada, to answer the following question. To what extent are self-declared political positions consistent with views on wind energy development? Results indicate that wind energy acceptance is not politically polarized nor even polarized among Alberta's rural landowners. Instead, the sample reveals fragmented, moderate, and likely malleable opinions about wind energy. Within a jurisdiction that is politically conservative and fossil fuel dependent, these results have largely positive implications for future wind energy development in the province.

Advances in public participation are stimulated by multiple drivers, including public concern for environmental degradation, conflict between forest users, Indigenous rights, and international agreements. Yet, with many notable advances, innovation has stagnated, and the quality of participatory processes in forest management is highly variable. The body of evidence to date demonstrates weaknesses in the design and implementation of participatory processes. With examples from Europe and North America, in this chapter we note that public engagement is often mostly about legitimating predefined plans and policies, narrow technical discussions that malign the inherently political nature of forest management, and participants that are not representative of the general public. To move beyond these challenges, we propose several changes, including technological innovations such as web-based and emerging social media platforms and institutional innovations such as episodic and punctuated modes of engagement that are part of an overall participation plan.

This study uses data from a vignette experiment (n=401) of large-scale agricultural landowners in western Canada to quantify attributes that enhance acceptance of wind farms on their own land or in their municipality. Analysis addresses the role of community relationships and procedural fairness in the development of wind power. Random effects models indicate that landowners are more accepting of wind power if such projects include local and/or cooperative ownership, compensation payments to neighbouring landowners, and community involvement in the development process. Results suggest that perceived injustices could be lessened if fairness considerations extend beyond monetary gain.