CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND PUBLIC POLICY

Natural Resources

Throughout Keystone’s history, we have worked successfully to help stakeholders resolve differences over policies and practices that advance the use and stewardship of our natural resources. Keystone mediators have helped resolve conflicts over forestry, endangered species protection, mineral extraction, power production and land development. We have worked to mediate air, land and water policy conflicts, convening dialogues on biodiversity, ground-level ozone reduction, ocean stewardship and the appropriate uses for public lands. Keystone is a trusted, honest broker, able to bring together those who have competing interests and help them find solutions that advance their individual needs and the public interest.

Projects include:

Baltic Sea Regional Advisory Committee (2009 - present)
Keystone is providing consultation and facilitation services to the countries involved in the Baltic Sea RAC. The project is sponsored by the Baltic 2020 Foundation and the University of Göteborg (Sweden) in an effort to improve science and policy-making as they affect the sustainability of the cod, herring, salmon, and sprat fisheries.
External website:	http://www.bsrac.org
Contact:	Peter Adler

Bottlenose Dolphin Take Reduction Team (2007- present)
The Keystone Center is providing consultation and facilitation services to the Bottlenose Dolphin Take Reduction Team (BDTRT). BDTRT was established by Section 118 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act to address both short and long-term goals with regard to the take reduction plan for Bottlenose Dolphins, an endangered species. Meetings take place yearly, both in person and through webinars. The BDTRT is made up of members from the National Marine Fisheries Scientists (NMFS), fishermen, academics and environmental advocates.
Project website:	members-only www.keystone.org/BDTRT/
Contact:	Doug Thompson

The Keystone Center Dialogue on the Proposed Pebble Mine (2008 - present)
The Keystone Center completed a stakeholder assessment and dialogue feasibility report to determine the prospects for stakeholder engagement for the Pebble Project, a proposed copper, gold, and molybdenum mine in southwest Alaska. Keystone documented stakeholder concerns with the development of a large-scale mine in an ecologically sensitive and productive watershed. The assessment identified the principal issues involved in the proposed mine development, including anticipated impacts on and opportunities for Alaska Native communities both favoring and opposing the mine. The Keystone Center's goal is to help stakeholders make better informed decisions about the choices before them. The assessment report recommends a multi-stage Keystone dialogue involving an independent science advisory committee to help guide the project, independent science panels to help stakeholders assess the credibility and sufficiency of baseline environmental and socioeconomic studies, joint fact-finding to explore valid scientific questions identified in the Independent Science Panels, and a project planning collaborative to engage stakeholder representatives, to the extent possible, in the development of a realistic mining scenario that can be fully evaluated by stakeholders.
Project Website:	http://keystone.org/spp/environment/natural-resources/pebble
Contact:	Todd Bryan

South Platte River Working Group (2006 - present)
The South Platte Working Group (SPWG) is a consensus-based, multi-agency group working to prioritize land acquisition and conservation, trail development, and targeted recreation enhancements along the South Platte River corridor in south Denver. The group aims to improve stream conditions along the Platte to enhance the quality of life for the aquatic, human, and natural communities in the area. The group has been awarded a $4.5-million grant from the Great Outdoors Colorado Legacy program.
Contact:	Heather Bergman

Snake River Watershed Task Force (1999 - present)
The Snake River, which flows through Keystone, Colorado, is impacted by mining activities that took place at the turn of the century. As pressures for water use in the basin increase, stakeholders have come together to gain a better understanding of the water quality issues in the basin and identify projects that can improve the water quality.
External website:	http://snakerivertaskforce.org/
Contact:	Jody Erikson

Endangered Forests and Natural Hardwoods Dialogue (2008)
The Keystone Center facilitated a confidential dialogue between a major pulp and paper company and environmental organizations to identify and map endangered forests and to define and identify natural hardwood forests throughout the company’s sourcing areas. The purpose of the dialogue was to develop specific criteria, forest types, and maps that company foresters can use to guide their sustainable forestry practices
Contact:	Todd Bryan

Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group Forest Recovery Act Modifications – Keystone Assessment Report (2008)
The Keystone Center conducted a stakeholder assessment to determine whether modifications to the Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group (HFQLG) Forest Recovery Act were appropriate for the remainder of the Pilot Project. Keystone interviewed parties involved in a long-standing conflict over implementation of the five-year Pilot Project administered by the US Forest Service pursuant to two Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendments. As part of the assessment, Keystone convened the parties to determine whether sufficient common ground existed to initiate a collaborative effort.
Contact:	Todd Bryan

Little Coal River Mountaintop Mining Situation Assessment (2007 - 2008)
Keystone prepared a report Mountaintop Mining/Valley Fill Issues in the Little Coal River Watershed, West Virginia at the request of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to assess the potential for collaborative efforts to explore options for addressing on a watershed scale the effects from surface coal mining. Keystone’s written assessment described the perspectives of various stakeholders (i.e., industry representatives, environmental advocates, media watchdogs, state and federal government representatives, the unaffiliated) with an interest in this issue and suggest alternatives for moving forward. Mountaintop removal mining of coal has been occurring for decades in the highlands of the mid-Atlantic region. The practice involves a number of important, and sometimes conflicting, interests from an environmental, economic and energy policy standpoint. The CPRC asked The Keystone Center (TKC) to provide neutral and independent assistance as part of a broader effort to evaluate the environmental consequences of mountaintop removal coal mining that is both scientifically sound and accurately informed by the perspectives of the key parties with a stake in the issue. In more specific terms, the CPRC requested that TKC assess the feasibility of developing a collaborative approach to mountaintop removal mining in West Virginia’s Little Coal River watershed that, if successful and acceptable to key parties, could serve as a model throughout the mid-Atlantic highlands.
Contact:	Doug Thompson
Assessment Report:	keystone.org/files/file/SPP/energy/mtmSAfnl.pdf

Bureau of Land Management, Community Assessments in North Central Colorado (2006 - 2007)
The Keystone Center facilitated a pre-planning process for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that sought to engage local governments in discussions about the future of federal public lands in north-central Colorado. This project involved sitting down with staff and elected officials from several towns, cities, and counties in the state to invite and record their views on how residents use public lands and how public lands should be managed in the future. BLM used Keystone’s final report as the basis of its pre-planning efforts and its cooperative engagement with the communities in revising the area’s resource management plan.
Contact:	Heather Bergman

Working Group on the 2006 Community Mine Continuation Agreements (CMCA) Review, Western Province, Papua New Guinea (2006 - 2007)
Keystone facilitated this dialogue to examine and make appropriate changes to a Community Mine Continuation Agreement (CMCA) Review process, the agreement that affects 50,000 indigenous people who live downstream from a copper and gold mine in Papua New Guinea. The dialogue resulted in a $350 million compensation package for families affected by the mining activities; adjustments to the agreement in order to best meet the long-term sustainable development needs of the affected people; the design and implementation of a new entity that will be managed by the affected people with input from other stakeholders; and a community health strategy. Staff spent four months on the ground and traveled up and down the Ok Tedi and Fly Rivers to help bring leaders from 152 villages into the decision-making process. Keystone teamed with Tanorama, Inc., a Papua New Guinea-based facilitation partner.
Final report:	Final report: The Ok Tedi Negotiation: Rebalancing the Equation in a Chronic Sustainability Dilemma Memorandum of Agreement: Outcomes of the 2006/2007 CMCA Review
External website:	http://www.wanbelistap.com
Contact:	Peter Adler

Keystone Roadless Area Conservation National Advisory Committee (2005 - 2006)
Keystone facilitated a federally advisory committee, chartered under FACA, to provide advice to the Undersecretary of Agriculture on forest roadless issues. The committee or thirteen stakeholders from different forestry interests worked to build consensus agreements on state petitions to preserve or modify roadless forest area designations. Preparatory work consisted of a conflict assessment and individual interviews with each member, as well as helping to establish operating protocols for the group.
Contact:	Jeremy Kranowitz

The Colorado Roadless Areas Review Task Force (2005 - 2006)
This bipartisan, thirteen-member group was created under Senate Bill 05-243 to develop recommendations to Governor Owens for the future management of Forest Service designated roadless areas in Colorado, including what uses are to be allowed in these areas. The Keystone Center designed and implemented the process, including facilitating and summarizing all the Task Force deliberative and the public meetings across the state, developing an issues assessment tool to define the critical issues and possible solutions, and communication with Task Force members between meetings. The Task Force was chaired by the Colorado Department of Natural Resources and members were appointed by the Governor, Speaker of the House, and President of the Senate.
Project page:	http://www.keystone.org/spp/environment/natural-resources/roadless
Final report:	Colorado Petition Submitted November 13, 2006
External website:	U.S. Forest Service Roadless Area Conservation Website
Contact:	Jody Erikson

Working Group on Endangered Species Act (ESA) Habitat Issues (2005 - 2006)
In response to a request from 6 U.S. Senators, The Keystone Center moderated a working group focused on the habitat provisions of the Endangered Species Act. The group sought to answer three questions posed by Senators Chafee, Clinton, Inhofe, Jeffords, Crapo, and Lincoln: 1) As currently written and implemented, is the ESA adequately protecting and conserving the habitat listed species need to recover? 2) If not, how can the ESA be improved to better conserve habitat and help species recover? 3) What specific changes and recommendations can the regulated and NGO communities jointly recommend, advocate for, and help implement? Members of the group concluded that the ESA is not protecting and conserving the habitat that listed species need to recover as effectively as it might. The group’s final conclusions and recommendations were forwarded to the Senators on February 17, 2006, and are fully described in the final report.
Project page:	http://www.keystone.org/spp/environment/natural-resources/esa
Final report:	The Keystone Working Group on Endangered Species Act Habitat Issues: Final Report
Contact:	Peter Adler

U.S. Geological Survey Informatic Node Strategic Planning (2005 - 2006)
Keystone helped workgroups develop strategic plans to guide USGS’s biological taxa data collection, management and dissemination. Through conference calls and day-long strategic planning meetings, Keystone helped the groups focus on gap analysis, screening criteria, and consensus recommendations.
Contact:	Jeremy Kranowitz

Northwest Colorado Stewardship (2003 - 2006)
The Keystone Center worked with Northwest Colorado Stewardship (NWCOS), a Colorado community organization and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the collaborative adaptive management process of the Resource Management Plan for the Little Snake Resource Area. The mission of NWCOS is to foster a working relationship among a diverse range of interests and empower the affected public to provide input into the decision-making process for public land management, in order to promote sustainable and healthy communities, economies, and ecosystems on a landscape scale.
External website:	http://www.nwcos.org
Contact:	Heather Bergman

Sustainable Slopes - The Environmental Ski Charter for Ski Areas (1998 - 2000)
This was the first time the ski industry convened a national effort to lay out a set of environmental standards for ski areas. Keystone provided facilitation for four regional meetings and solicited input from close to 200 individuals representing environmental organizations as well as government agencies and user groups. Over ten partnerships between NSAA, environment groups, user groups, and agencies have also been established to help implement the goals of the charter and 160 resorts signed the charter.
External website:	http://www.nsaa.org/nsaa/environment/sustainable_slopes/
Contact:	Sarah Alexander

Copper Mountain Collaborative Front-end Loaded Process (CFLIP) (1999)
The Keystone Center documented, consulted and provided facilitation for this innovative approach to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementation at ski areas. The process was piloted at Copper Mountain in hope of using it elsewhere in the Rocky Mountain region.
Contact:	Sarah Alexander

Department of Defense Commander's Guide to Biodiversity (1996)
The 25 million acres of land under Department of Defense (DoD) management today are among the most important of all federal land holdings, based on their wealth of natural biological resources. In many instances, the lands and waters upon which our Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps have trained and operated for decades represent prime ecological assets because of their pristine quality, diversity, and beauty.
Final report:	Please call 970-513-5835 and ask for report #57.
Contact:	Mike Hughes

Managing Conflict in Protected Areas, Published by IUCN, the World Conservation Union (1996)
The handbook was written for staff of protected areas around the world (including parks, wilderness areas, research areas, and other types of protected landscapes) who encounter conflicts of all kinds. The handbook can also be a resource for other interested parties who want to play a constructive role in protected area conflicts.
Final report:	Please call 970-513-5835 and ask for report #61.
Contact:	Sarah Alexander

The Keystone Center National Policy Dialogue on Ecosystem Management (1994 - 1996)
Keystone facilitated a 50-member dialogue among federal, state and local resource management and regulatory agencies, economic development interests, the environmental community, private property advocates, tribes, scientists, congressional staff and others concerned with ecosystem management. The participants reached consensus, issued a series of policy recommendations and issued a final report which is widely utilized by resource managers. The report provides a consensus view of the definition of ecosystem management, makes national-level recommendations, and contains suggestions for implementing ecosystem management at the local level.
Final report:	Please call 970-513-5835 and ask for report #60.
Contact:	Mike Hughes

Keystone Center Policy Dialogue on a Department of Defense Biodiversity Management Strategy (1993 - 1996)
The Keystone Center Policy Dialogue on Department of Defense (DoD) Biodiversity Management developed policy guidance for enhancing and protecting DoD lands in ways that are integrated with the military mission.
Final report:	Please call 970-513-5835 and ask for report #54.
Contact:	Mike Hughes

French Gulch Opportunities Group (1995 - 2001)
The French Gulch Opportunities Group (FROG) involved community members, local, state, and federal regulators, and the property owner to resolve issues resulting from mining waste in Summit County, Colorado. Based on the consensus agreement of the group, the surface waste has been cleaned up and adjacent property has been sold to subsidize part of this effort.
Contact:	Mike Hughes

U.S. Man and Biosphere Strategic Planning (1994 - 1995)
A seven-person ad hoc commission, chaired by Ambassador Elinor Constable, provided direction to the U.S. Man and the Biosphere program for the 21st Century.
Final report:	Please call 970-513-5835 and ask for report #52.
Contact:	Mike Hughes

U.S. Coast Guard Marine Environmental Protection Forum (1993 - 1994)
Coast Guard leadership and senior representatives of the environmental community met to build better relationships and discuss a range of marine environmental issues including emergency response, transportation management, and compliance with international law in an effort to work more effectively together to protect the marine environment.
Final report:	Please call 970-513-5835 and ask for report #51.
Contact:	Mike Hughes

National Ecosystem Management Forum Meeting (1993)
The Keystone Center, with support from the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, convened the National Ecosystem Management Forum. The Forum focused on the role of science in ecosystem management initiatives, how science and on-the-ground experience affect policy, and how policy affects on-the-ground initiatives.
Final report:	Please call 970-513-5835 and ask for report #54.
Contact:	Mike Hughes