Erin Muench

Abstract

Government approaches to the management of the North American Great Lakes have evolved following the introduction of ecosystem management principles in the 1978 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the United States and Canada. This approach was adopted as a way to address the complexities associated with the interconnections between the air, land, and water in the Great Lakes basin and its more than 30 million inhabitants. Although there is no universally accepted definition of ecosystem management, a key element is stakeholder participation in policy formulation and implementation to validate decisions within the public sphere. In this thesis I assess public participation as an aspect of the ecosystem management approach to policy making by analyzing public participation activities associated with two programs in the Great Lakes: the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Using an outcome goals analytical framework, I evaluate the effectiveness of stakeholder participation and policy responses to the problem of aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Ecosystem management--Great Lakes (North America); Conservation of natural resources--Government policy--Great Lakes (North America); Introduced animals--Control--Great Lakes (North America)--Citizen participation; Introduced animals--Control--Government policy--Great Lakes (North America); Great Lakes (North America)--Environmental conditions

Publication Date

3-18-2013

Document Type

Thesis

Department, Program, or Center

Department of Science Technology and Society/Public Policy (CLA)

Advisor

Howard, Ann

Comments

Note: imported from RIT’s Digital Media Library running on DSpace to RIT Scholar Works in December 2013. Physical copy available from RIT's Wallace Library at QH76.5.G72 M84 2012

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

Plan Codes

STPP-MS

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