Natural & Cultural Resources
Featured Cases:
The Challenge
Natural and cultural resources— from minerals to timber, fisheries to wilderness areas to traditional tribal uses to historic properties —are measured across a host of values: economic value, ecosystem services benefits, and values more difficult to quantify, including people’s sense of place, identity, culture, history, and morals. People may prioritize these values differently or sometimes disagree sharply about what is right and good. What are the criteria for determining whose culture, history, and assets should be preserved and at what cost? What is the proper balance between human activities that utilize natural resources and those that may harm them? How can people ensure protection of wildlife and natural habitats while also fostering economic development? The broad range of stakeholders involved in decision-making along with overlapping management mandates and responsibilities adds additional layers of complexity.
Our Approach
CBI mediators apply our proven consensus-building skills and frameworks to help natural and cultural resource managers:
- Gain the skills necessary to identify and involve key stakeholders
- Engage and integrate stakeholder perspectives into planning and management decision-making
- Use sophisticated tools to consider and weigh risks, trade-offs, and uncertainties
- Explore contested views of history while still moving forward with decisions
- Negotiate and resolve conflicts among stakeholders with different values and interests
From developing a Habitat Conservation Plan for the Edwards Aquifer in greater San Antonio Texas to formulating a management plan for the future of historic Dune Shacks on the Cape Cod National Seashore, CBI has helped parties explore values, history, and options and generate actionable plans informed by robust technical analysis.
Areas of Expertise
- Natural resource management and planning
- Cultural resource management and planning
- Interpretation of natural and cultural resources
- Air quality and toxics management
- Wildlife, endangered species, and habitat conservation plans
- Natural resource damage assessment and valuation