ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to provide a four-year research project on the role of public participation in the management of the Great Lakes and is based on the papers and reports from the project. It outlines a conceptual framework for the analysis of public inputs to environmental resource planning. One of the most difficult--and more important problems in public participation is the analysis of public input on a systematic and objective basis in order to be able to integrate the public input into the policy-making process. Content analysis is more flexible; a large volume of public input on complex issues could be handled and the nominal data could be stored in retrievable form. The public views Great Lakes issues as a series of local problems; this has clear implications for the choice of management strategies and the role of public input. The I.J.C. has actively sought public participation in Great Lakes management.
