ABSTRACT
Resource management in the wildland-urban interface will depend for success on the resolution of problems stemming from conflicting human interests. Whether the issue is how best to reduce fire hazards, objections to hunting, stream pollution from septic systems, or junk car removal, the specific points of contention are symptoms of the deeper divisions in perceptions and values of the varying human communities that live and visit in the interface. The challenges facing public resource managers in the wildland-urban interface are part of a larger set of issues about governance in contemporary American democracy. Increasingly, public sector natural resource managers are pursuing their responsibilities in ways that encourage community-building politics and active citizenship—that is, supporting civic conversation. For the dream of civic conversation joined with professional skills to become reality, many developments and changes are needed. Within the field of public administration, theorists and practitioners must continue to sort out the promises and pitfalls of the Blacksburg Group's ideas.
