Applying Public Trust Thinking to Wildlife Governance in the United States: Challenges and Potential Solutions

Public trust thinking (PTT) promises to inspire ecologically and socially responsible wildlife governance in the United States, but its application is not straightforward. We describe eight broad challenges to comprehensive application of PTT including: increasing authority and capacity; overcoming resistance to change; achieving fair consideration of all public interests; facilitating broad public participation; and fulfilling commitments to future generations. We discuss potential solutions including: distributing responsibilities for public wildlife conservation among governmental and nongovernmental entities; adopting an expansive definition of “wildlife;” promoting an inclusive interpretation of PTT among public wildlife professionals; rejuvenating relationships between the public and wildlife agencies; and increasing public participation and accountability in decision-making processes. Efforts to address challenges in specific socioecological contexts should be led by people working in those contexts. Achieving comprehensive application of PTT will require collaboration and cooperation among governmental and nongovernmental partners, supported by diverse and engaged members of the public.     

Principles of Public Trust Thinking

Public trust thinking (PTT) offers a philosophical orientation toward natural resources and a means of addressing persistent and emerging challenges in environmental conservation. It has inspired laws and policies around the world and is receiving increasing attention among scholars and natural resource practitioners. Nevertheless, attempts to develop and implement PTT are hampered by lack of clarity: no clear single statement of principles that unite PTT’s diverse expressions exists. We address this need by synthesizing PTT literature across academic disciplines. We identify four areas that are in need of development and offer five principles that characterize PTT: (1) Human well-being is dependent on benefits provided by ecosystems; (2) Certain resources are not suitable for exclusive private ownership; (3) All beneficiaries are equal; (4) Future generations should be considered in current resource management decisions; and (5) Trustees are bound by fiduciary obligations and are publicly accountable.     

Public Trust Principles and Trust Administration Functions in the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation: Contributions of Human Dimensions Research

The public trust doctrine (PTD) is the common law basis for governments to hold wildlife in trust for the benefit of current and future generations of Americans. Wildlife as a public trust resource is the foundation of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. We examine principles that underlie a trustee’s role in the context of the PTD and governmental responsibility. We evaluate purposes of and needs for human dimensions inquiry in execution of a trustee’s wildlife stewardship responsibility. We conclude human dimensions research is essential for government to fulfill its responsibilities as trustee, particularly considering the breadth and often conflicting interests of stakeholders. Human dimensions research can serve an important function in identifying and affirming core societal values toward wildlife that underpin the PTD and in monitoring shifts in society’s values to ensure resiliency of the trustee role and relevance and legitimacy of institutional norms of wildlife resource governance.     

Landscape Conservation Cooperatives: Building a Network to Help Fulfill Public Trust Obligations

The Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) network (Network), comprised of 22 conservation partnerships spanning North America and U.S. Islands, is uniquely positioned to assist government members in fulfilling their public trust obligations to sustain natural and cultural resources for current and future generations by (a) ensuring inclusivity of broad stakeholder participation in conservation decision-making, and (b) building capacity for public trust to work in conservation, thus increasing the chance for successful and lasting conservation outcomes. In this article, we discuss the vision for the Network; challenges individual LCCs and the Network face in achieving the vision of sustaining natural and cultural resources for the benefit of current and future generations, a public trust obligation of most of the members; and ways in which member LCCs are making progress in this regard. We offer recommendations for the Network to consider to improve its ability to meet public trust obligations.