The goal of this workshop series is to teach you to think more effectively and therefore act more responsibly in decision making about natural resources. This workshop series devotes time to the study of three frameworks (Social Process, Decision Process, and Problem Orientation) that can help practitioners better understand the natural resource issues they face, and therefore make better decisions. Case studies are used to build substantive as well as analytical knowledge. All workshops will employ a combination of lecture, small group exercises and group discussion to further reinforce the material.

Natural Resource Decision Making Tools
A Series of 3 Workshops for Natural Resource, Policy and Planning Professionals
September 7, 2005 - Raleigh, NC: The Social Process
October 6, 2005 - Raleigh, NC: The Decision Process
November 2, 2005 - Raleigh, NC: Problem Orientation

About the Workshop Series
The goal of this workshop series is to teach you to think more effectively and therefore act more responsibly in decision making about natural resources.   This workshop series devotes time to the study of three frameworks (Social  Process,  Decision  Process,  and  Problem Orientation) that can help practitioners better  understand the natural resource issues they face, and therefore make better decisions. Case studies are used to build substantive as well as analytical knowledge. All workshops will employ a combination of lecture, small group exercises and group discussion to further reinforce the material.
The Social Process:  All natural resource issues are embedded in a social context. The Social Process is a framework that lets you systematically understand the social context of the issue. We will investigate the social process using a case study addressing the proposed Outlying Landing Field in eastern North Carolina.
The Decision Process: The Decision Process identifies the functions and activities involved in decision making. Careful delineation of decsion-making aspects in any policy process can enable observers, analysts, or participants to understand what is going on and where improvements might be possible. We will use the case study of the federal Healthy Forests Initiative to explore this process.
Problem Orientation: Too often people jump immediately to recommend solutions to natural resource problems that arise. Analyzing and understanding problems fully before proceeding to solutions is imperative to avoid prescribing inappropriate, infeasible and/or misguided policy alternatives. Sound Problem Orientation forces you to be realistic in your recognition of the scope of the issue and its varying contours of complexity and tractability. The case of the NC Wetlands Restoration Program/Ecosystem Enhancement Program will be expolored in this sesssion.

Who Should Attend?
This workshop series is designed for local, state and national policy makers and planners, as well as any natural resource professionals who want to better understand how natural resource decisions are made, how to make these decisions more effectively and how to more actively engage in the process and have an impact on the decision.

About the Instructor
The workshop series will be instructed by Dr. Toddi Steelman, Associate Professor of Environmental and Natural Resource Policy in NCSUs Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources. She holds a masters degree in Public Affairs from Princeton University and a doctorate in Environmental and Natural Resource Policy from Duke University. She is the co-author of Collaborative Environmental Management: What Role for Government? and Adaptive Governance: Integrating Science, Policy and Decision Making.  She teaches courses on Environmental Regulation, Current Issues in Natural Resources, Collaborative and Community Based Environmental Management, and Natural Resource Governance.  
For more information about this workshop:  View the course brochure at www.ncsu.edu/feop/programs.html or call 919-515-9563.

Becky Townsend, Coordinator
Forestry & Environmental Outreach Program
NC State University
becky_townsend@ncsu.edu