The federal system of government in the United States requires national, state and local governments, as well as public and private organizations, to interact to collectively resolve shared problems. In the case of natural resources, such as forests, rivers, and air-sheds, a single government cannot resolve problems that extend beyond its borders. Consequently, many governments and organizations become involved in natural resource management. The goal of this project is to explore and explain how linkages and relationships among governments and organizations relate to resource management conflicts and attempts to resolve them.
The study's research setting is interstate river compacts in the western United States. Compacts are institutional arrangements devised and adopted by states to govern the states' uses of a shared river. Interstate river basin compacts provide an excellent research setting because they operate within an intergovernmental setting, highlighting cross-scale linkages between states and local water organizations and water users. In studying compacts the researchers will first examine how conflicts over different types of water uses arise in these intergovernmental settings. Then theyl compare how compacts' management processes and conflict resolution procedures facilitate the resolution of these conflicts. They also explore how the relations between local water users and state agencies affect the ability of states to follow through with the commitments they made to one another in the river compacts. One of the major contributions of this study will be the further development of theories of natural resources governance. The interactions and relationships among factors widely considered to be central to the sustainable governance of resources have not been adequately tested empirically. Exploring and empirically testing how collective choice processes and conflict resolution mechanisms interact to address resource conflicts will provide a greater understanding of the problem solving capabilities of different institutional forms. Also, whereas many studies of natural resource governance focus on one level of governance, we will advance the literature by looking at these institutional forms within an intergovernmental context.
Broader Social Value: From a practical standpoint, this study will be of value to water management professionals, such as state water rights administrators, and local, state and federal policymakers. First, this research will provide a relatively complete, detailed, and systematic database of western interstate river compacts, which does not currently exist. Second, our analysis and evaluation of interstate river compacts will provide federal, state, and local water managers and users with important and timely information. The western United States is currently facing a sixth consecutive year of severe drought. Interstate compacts are under increasing strain. Over the next few years, western states may be faced with tough decisions about how to redesign compacts so that they better fit present circumstances. This study will provide decision makers with some of the information they will need to make those difficult decisions.
