University of New Orleans ScholarWorks@UNO University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations Dissertations and Theses Fall 12-17-2011 Ecosystem Management and its Application at the Local Level: APNEP, CAMA and Local Land Use Planning in North Carolina Traci L. Birch University of New Orleans, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td Part of the Environmental Policy Commons, Urban Studies Commons, and the Urban Studies and Planning Commons Recommended Citation Birch, Traci L., "Ecosystem Management and its Application at the Local Level: APNEP, CAMA and Local Land Use Planning in North Carolina" (2011). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 1356. https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1356 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by ScholarWorks@UNO with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Ecosystem Management and its Application at the Local Level: APNEP, CAMA and Local Land Use Planning in North Carolina A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of New Orleans in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Studies with a concentration in Urban Planning and Environmental Management By Traci L. Birch, AICP B.A. Baldwin-Wallace College, 1995 M.U.R.P. University of New Orleans, 2003 December 2011 This dissertation is dedicated to my grandfather Herbert “Bud” Mattison June 8, 1916 - December 4, 2008 Without his support, even today, this would not have been possible. He would be very proud. ii Acknowledgements I cannot begin to acknowledge all of the people who have helped and supported me through this process. First I must thank my dissertation advisor Dr. Marla Nelson for her unflagging encouragement and succinct guidance. I am also immensely grateful to Dr. Renia Ehrenfeucht, Dr. Shirley Laska, and Dr. Timothy Beatley for their guidance and advice throughout. I must also thank those who supported me through hell and high water, Dr. Enrique Reyes, Jane Brooks, David Lambour and countless others who encouraged me to move forward even when it seemed impossible. I am grateful to my cohort, many of whom have gone before me and some of whom are still plodding through. Nia Davis, Selfa Furman and Richard Williams, I am living proof that you to will finish this! I would also like to thank Anna Brand, whose return to New Orleans to conduct her dissertation research provided me the needed inspiration to finish my work and find a real job. Special thanks are due to the public servants, elected officials and resource managers that took an interest in my work and provided me invaluable insight into the topic and the day-to-day workings of their jobs. These people are too numerous to mention, but their generosity has made this work possible. I would also like to acknowledge the University of New Orleans for providing the financial support necessary to carry out this research. In particular, I would like to thank Liz Sigler, David Lambour and Paulette Simon, who always made sure that I dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s. Last but not least I am grateful to my family and many friends. You have listened to my tales of woe, fed the dogs while I was out of town collecting data, and provided me words of encouragement throughout the process. It is your faith in my abilities that have made this all possible. iii Table of Contents List of Figures................................................................................................................... vii List of Tables ................................................................................................................... viii Abstract of the Dissertation ............................................................................................... ix Chapter 1: Introduction........................................................................................................1 Chapter 2: Natural and Social Environment in North Carolina...........................................4 2.1: Introduction ............................................................................................................4 2.2: Existing Biodiversity and Critical Habitats ............................................................5 2.3: Population Growth..................................................................................................8 2.3.1: Estimating Coastal Population.......................................................................8 2.3.2: Population Growth in the Coastal Zone.......................................................11 2.3.3: Impacts of Coastal Population ....................................................................14 2.4: Coastal Management ............................................................................................15 2.4.1: Coastal Area Management Act of 1972.......................................................16 2.4.2: North Carolina Coastal Area Management Act of 1974..............................18 2.4.3: The National Estuary Program ....................................................................21 2.4.4: Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program ...........................................23 2.5: Local Comprehensive Planning Framework.........................................................26 2.6: A Laboratory for Studying Ecosystem Planning and Management .....................28 Chapter 3: Planning for Ecosystems: Foundations, Theories and Evidence .....................29 3.1: Introduction...........................................................................................................29 3.2: Ecosystem Management .......................................................................................29 3.2.1: The Evolution of Ecosystem Management..................................................29 3.2.2: A Political History of Ecosystem Management...........................................32 3.2.3: Defining Ecosystem Management...............................................................35 3.2.4: Criticisms of Ecosystem Management .......................................................38 3.3: Organizational Decision Making and Systems Thinking .....................................40 3.4: Collaborative Planning .........................................................................................43 3.4.1: The Emergence of the Collaborative Planning Model.................................44 3.4.2: Collaborative Planning for Ecosystem Management...................................46 3.4.3: Collaboration for Conflict Resolution .........................................................47 3.4.4: Challenges to Collaborative Planning for Ecosystems................................48 3.5: Intergovernmental Mandates and Ecosystem Planning........................................49 3.5.1: Environmental Policy and Intergovernmental Implementation...................51 3.5.2: State Mandates and Intergovernmental Implementation .............................52 Chapter 4: Research Design and Methodology .................................................................56 4.1: Introduction...........................................................................................................56 4.2: Plans and Plan Quality: The Dependent Variable ...............................................56 4.3: Research Questions and Hypotheses ....................................................................61 4.4: Plan Quality Analysis ...........................................................................................62 4.5: Analytical Case Studies ........................................................................................66 Chapter 5: Plan Content Analysis......................................................................................68 5.1: Introduction ..........................................................................................................68 5.2: Sample ..................................................................................................................68 5.3: Scoring the Plan....................................................................................................69 iv 5.4: Plan Content Analysis...........................................................................................70 5.4.1: Overall Ecosystem Plan Quality..................................................................70 5.4.2: Plan Component and Item Scores...............................................................71 5.4.2.1: Factual Basis.......................................................................................71 5.4.2.2: Goals and Objectives ..........................................................................74 5.4.2.3: Inter-organizational Coordination and Capabilities...........................76 5.4.2.4: Policies, Tools and Strategies .............................................................79 5.4.2.5: Implementation ...................................................................................82