The Humboldt Bay Initiative: Integrating People and Natural Resources in Northern California

Abstract

The case presented in this chapter provides a prototype for using collaborative processes in large-scale conservation. The most important lesson of the chapter is that developing a program that addresses real-world social and environmental problems in ways that truly meet the common interest is both slow and time consuming. The Humboldt Bay Initiative (HBI) is composed of scientists, resource managers, and community members who came together to address the environmental problems of Humboldt Bay and its surrounding lands. The initial impetus for the group’s formation was frustration with the existing arena for addressing natural resource issues in the region. The arena featured polarized public discourse, fragmented jurisdictions, and decision making that was insufficiently contextual, both socially and biophysically. In its place, the group adopted an ecosystem-based management approach that is not only rooted in ecological science but also recognizes the importance of using governance mechanisms to solve environmental problems. Its successes to date have relied on strong leadership and robust collaboration among stakeholders. Its future depends on developing an institutional structure that enables it to interface with policy makers despite the fact that the current governance and constitutive structures are not designed to allow an independent group such as HBI to integrate easily into the decision-making processes.