prepared for
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
and
Inyo County Water Department
prepared by
Susan Hill
Ecosystem Sciences
Initiation of Resource User Group Interviews
Rationale for the Survey Approach
This technical memorandum describes the procedures and rationale to collect social and cultural information and data for the Lower Owens River rewatering project. Specifically this memorandum lays out the steps necessary to conduct a social and cultural assessment of interested and affected stakeholders in the Owens Valley, California, which will then be used to design a resource user group/recreation plan for the Lower Owens River ecosystem. The scale of this portion of the study is restricted to recreational and special interest groups; grazing and irrigation stakeholders, as well as consultation with resource agencies will be assessed in a separate portion of the land management plan. This assessment will focus on gathering perceptions, attitudes, and values held for the natural resources, the significance of the resources, and awareness levels of the proposed project to rewater the Lower Owens River.
The overall purpose of this portion of the user group study is to determine what various interested groups have heard about the project, what each groups’ needs and desires are for use of the area’s natural resources, and what, if any, are potential areas of conflict of interest. This approach will allow us to understand the various human concerns and needs to use the resources of the Lower Owens River ecosystem, anticipate possible conflicts of interest, and to incorporate user groups’ recreational and special interest desires into the LORP management plan while still protecting and conserving the water resources and habitat needs of the ecosystem.
The information base will be established through initial interviews with stakeholders and special interest group leaders. The study results will provide a base of information to then allow for changes and improvements in the next portion of the study (ranch leasees, irrigators, agencies), the river and land management plans, and for growth and change in Lower Owens communities from the probable influx of new residents and recreational users. As with all other aspects of the LORP management plan, we must anticipate that the resource user group plan will be modified to improve and accomodate the various and multiple interests of stakeholders and recreationists. This technical memorandum describes the purpose, objectives, and methodology for initiation of the public contact program in regards to the LORP land management plan, of which the resource user study is a part.
With settlement of the MOU between LADWP and other stakeholders the task of initiating the resource user group/recreation plan for the LORP can begin. The purpose of the initial interviews is to get some early feedback from special interest groups and recreationists in the Owens Valley to give the recreation plan (part of the river and land management plans) some focus at this stage of project development.
It was agreed in June, 1996 that the initial contact with resource users should be made by letter; a list of potential contacts including interested and affected individuals, recreational users, and special interest groups has been developed in collaboration with Inyo County and LADWP. Both Inyo County and LADWP representatives helped to identify recreational groups, natural resource/environmental advocacy groups, and key contact persons from each group for initial contact by letter. I have also included representatives of various media organizations and of the four Paiute Indian reservations in the Owens Valley.
These initial contacts will receive a letter explaining that they will soon be contacted by telephone to set up a personal interview to assess their feelings and attitudes, as well as information and perceptions about the proposed project to rewater the Lower Owens River. The letter will also explain that the survey interview is designed to ask open questions and to seek open answers from the interviewees about their concerns, conflicts, controversies, and questions relating to the project goals. A brief description of the proposed LORP will be included in the inital contact letter. The long-term objectives of maintaining the biodiversity, quality of life, sustainable and multiple use, and connectivity of the river ecosystem will be achieved through adaptive management emerging in part from the information gathered in these initial interviews. The letter will serve two functions, to inform about the initiation of recreational and special interest input into the LORP and to insure that everyone contacted initially will receive exactly the same information, thereby reducing the risk of potential conflict and misunderstanding.
The above described initial contact interviews will be conducted strictly with recreational users and interested advocacy groups of DWP resources. Agency concerns, cattlemen/grazing concerns and issues, irrigation user concerns and issues, permitting, jurisdiction issues, air quality and water quality and allocation issues are all beyond the scope of this initial survey. Table 1 is a list of potential contacts for the initial contact letter.
This first effort is intended only as a rapid initial scoping and preliminary information dissemination about the objectives of the LORP. The focus of the interviews and survey questions will be only on the more significant perceptions, desires, attitudes, and questions of each group; this initial rapid appraisal will priortize issues and impacts for each group separately. The study is designed to be adequate to investigate the current concerns and potential impacts of proposed changes to the Lower Owens River system, and will be used to identify and recommend changes in current use of the resources, development of a monitoring program, a mitigation plan, a public involvement program, and possibly a public advisory panel later in the implementation of the LORP. It will also be used to identify key questions and concerns to be addressed and answered in a public presentation of the project goals and objectives at a later date in project development.
Table 1. List of potential contacts for LORP social-cultural survey (not available on the internet).
The social and cultural assessment survey instrument has been designed to assess the values that recreational and special interest groups, and interested and affected stakeholders hold for the natural resources of DWP lands and water. The scale of the study is restricted to the LORP area of Bishop, Lone Pine, Big Pine and Independence, California and the recreational and special interest groups and individuals of the Owens Valley. The interview questions are open-ended, allowing for extensive commentary about past, current, and future uses and concerns about the Owens Valley resources. Interviews will be conducted in such a way as to allow for respondees to report on their feelings of mistrust, areas of past and potential conflict, and hopes for quality of life differences for their communities as a result of the proposed project. Awareness and knowledge of the project (including rumors) and the history and significance of the LORP will also be assessed for each group or individual interviewed. A contextual analysis of the data, focusing on both quantitative and qualitative reporting of interviewees comments, will be incorporated into the LORP rewatering plan, as well as used to develop user group profiles and a question and answer booklet for a public information meeting to be held at a later date. Table 2 is an example of the questions to be asked in the interviews of resource user groups and environmental advocacy groups.
People perceive theft, destruction, or resource depletion to be occuring, and the strength of their beliefs prompts them to political and legal organization and action. In order to minimize and elminiate perceived problems, which can cause conflicts as surely as real problems, there is a need to gather various sources of information to define the character and extent of any "problem" and to justify the steps taken to manage the conflict.
Conflicts occur in a social context already vulnerable to conflict over uses and perceived abuses of public and private resources. To add to the overall source for balanced decision-making we add social and cultural assessment and data to supplement policy formation to provide a more clear, comprehensive understanding of the issues surrounding user conflicts. There is a need in any well-founded comprehensive ecosystem management plan to systematically describe the key social, cultural and economic factors in an ecosystem, how they interact, points of conflict and potential conflict at a very focused level in order to not speculate about how specific management decisions will affect specific management objectives. Qualitative data from ethnographic interviews and participant-observation compliments and enhances the holistic perspective that accompanies the ecosystem approach, assuring a much higher probability of a successful project to restore natural resources and a sustainable ecosystem for the future.
Table 2. Social and Cultural Assessment Survey/Values Assessment for LORP recreational and special interest groups - Resource User Plan - Interested and Affected Parties
Scale of study: recreational and resource user special interest groups and individuals in the LORP area - Bishop, Lone Pine, Big Pine and Independence, CA - Owens Valley
1. What have you heard about, and what do you believe the LORP is ?
2. What are your primary concerns and questions concerning the changes in the Owens Valley as a result of the LORP?
3. What are your feelings and attitudes about the plan to rewater the LOR?
4. Can you describe for me your past use of the LOR?
5. How long have you used the resources of the LOR, and when do you use them?
6. How do you and members of your groups use the resources of the LOR presently?
7. How would you like to use the resources of the LOR in the future?
8. How do you feel about other groups that use the LOR?
9. Do you ever participate in any activities on the LOR with any other organizations or groups?
10. Can you tell me if you have had any conflicts with other groups or individuals over the use of the resources of the LOR?
11. What problems have you had?
12. Are these problems restricted to certain times of the year or with particular groups, or in only certain areas of the LOR?
13. Who are the members of your groups? Do you have any printed information about your organization and its membership?
14. What values do you hold for the resources of the LOR?
15. What are you or your groups’ desires for the future of the LOR? How would you like to see the resources managed?
16. What do you believe will be the main areas of concern, conflicts, and controversies with rewatering the LOR and managing the resources?