While using one part of the state to counteract the actions of another, supporters of off-road vehicles proffer a moral assessment which contrasts "gentlemen-type rules" with "backroom deals". Parties to the dispute have lobbied elected representatives, participated in a public forum, enacted litigation, and carried out campaigns of public admonishment. The argument centers on whether or not off-road vehicles might access the Seashore. How do the various actors involved negotiate these cleavages and inconsistencies? The paper explores disputes surrounding the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina, USA. Thus, rather than premise questions of how participatory forums might be more effective, researchers should first consider what cleavages and inconsistencies in the state that participatory forums reveal. It argues the failure of participatory forums to meet their goals reveals more generalized features of the state, namely its fractured quality and inconsistent actions. This paper examines the political ecology of a participatory environmental management setting. Overall research results indicate stakeholder support for the use of conflict assessment in effectively preparing them for the negotiated rule-making process. Here, interviews serve as the primary method by which information was collected from some of the organizations involved in the rule making. Because conflict assessment is not always attempted by mediators prior to negotiated rule making or mediation in general (Susskind, 1998), this article attempts to acknowledge the value of such an engagement to stakeholders. Prior to the inception of the process, professional mediators conducted two conflict assessments with potential stakeholders in the rule-making process, one in 1993 and a second in 1995. This conflict came to a head in September 1995 when parties interested in resolving the dispute committed to a negotiated rule-making process. Over the past several decades, the Cape Cod National Seashore has experienced a clash between interests regarding off-road vehicle use and the protectioĆ²n of piping plover habitat.
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