Mercatus Events

When Disaster Strikes: Creating Sustainable Land Managment Policy

Nov 13, 2007
8:30am – 10:00am
<strong>CSAC Conference Center<br /> </strong>1020 11th Street, 2nd Floor<br /> Sacramento, CA 95814

Please click here to view Dr. Nelson's paper on The National Forrest System.
Please click here to view Dr. Nelson's presentation.
Please click here to listen to an audio arvhive of this presentation.

Featuring:

Dr. Robert H. Nelson
Professor of Environmental Policy
University of Maryland - School of Public Policy

In the wake of a crisis or disaster, it is common to re-evaluate the role that public policy could have had in preventing or mitigating the effects. The recent fires in California have caused many people to question how land management policies can balance the needs of environmental preservation and growth. But before turning to a reassessment of policy, it is best to have an understanding of where policy stands and how it has arrived there. A historical understanding of policy can often glean insights to avoiding similar pitfalls in the future, as well as identify the very underpinnings of outdated or outmoded policy.

Dr. Robert H. Nelson is professor of environmental policy at the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy. He is a nationally recognized authority on land and natural resource management in the United States, with a particular emphasis on management of federally owned lands. Dr. Nelson is the author of A Burning Issue, a 2000 book on forest management, and has worked in the Office of Policy Analysis of the United States Department of the Interior.

During this breakfast course Dr. Nelson will draw on his research to answer some key questions regarding land management in California:

* What has led to our current land management policies?

* What are the consequences of these policies?

* How can state and local officials coordinate with the private and public sectors?

 * How can California take a stronger leadership role in managing its natural resources?

Capital Campus California is a partnership between the Berkeley Center for Law, Business and the Economy and the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.  For more information on this collaboration, visit Capital Campus California.