Reforming Natural Resources Governance: Failings of Scientific Rationalism and Alternatives for Building Common Ground
MIT OpenCourseWare seminar examining why a century of scientific management and administrative rationality in natural resources governance has concentrated authority among technical specialists and fueled stakeholder disenfranchisement. The course reviews alternative methods for gathering information and organizing decisions that build common ground among competing interests. Case studies include large carnivore management in the West, covering mountain lions and grizzly bears, Northeast coastal fisheries disputes, and adaptive management of the Colorado River. Materials consist of nightly readings paired with a short written assignment per session, following the seminar's discussion-based format. The course is offered free through MIT OpenCourseWare with no certificate attached, aimed at students examining environmental policy, planning, and governance debates from an institutional and political perspective rather than a purely technical or ecological one.