Assessing Capacity for Collaborative Land Management in a Western Tennessee Community

Human and natural alterations resulting in sedimentation, flooding, and hardwood tree mortality in western Tennessee’s Hatchie River watershed represent a landscape-level natural resource problem. Flooding and tree mortality have significant negative economic impacts on the residents of the watershed’s communities. Efforts to address these ecological problems will need to be conducted at a landscape level, across various boundaries, involving multiple private landowners. In order to succeed in a cross-boundary restoration approach, the needs of the people and the ecosystem must be addressed. Collaboration in natural resource management has emerged as one tool for discovering and maintaining a balance between community and ecosystem needs. An initial assessment of a community’s history of interactions and the range of residents’ values and needs should help to identify and address potential stumbling blocks in future collaborative efforts. Critical efforts in community collaboration should include all affected parties and should seek common ground among divergent perspectives. Such an assessment was conducted within the Richland Creek watershed, a tributary of the Hatchie River, prior to comprehensive restoration efforts. The assessment included 1) key informant interviews to gain a general understanding of community conditions, and 2) focus groups with distinct and representative populations within the community, to validate and elaborate on initial findings. The information gathered from this research—including residents’ understanding of the river system ecology and the range of values regarding natural resources—will be used to inform the future restorative work of agencies and non-governmental organizations as well as for education and support of resident landowners.