ABSTRACT
Public involvement provides a vital forum for the public effectively to voice its role as a goal-setting body; but to obtain and effectively use public input in making resource management decisions is a problem for agency administrators at every level of government. This chapter describes five integral processes necessary for public involvement and elaborate some of the controversial issues involved. Public agencies have changed the way they make decisions about the use of natural resources. The increasing tendency for citizens to challenge resource decisions at public meetings, in court cases, and through legislative proposals indicates that some segments of the public feel excluded from policy making. Public sentiment, expressed and gathered as citizens participate in decision processes, is a particularly important input because it helps identify the values that people attach to the alternative goods and services that national forests might provide. Evaluation is the interpretation and weighing of all data collected and analyzed—relative to a decision or recommendation.
