ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF POLICY CONFLICT IN THE ILLINOIS RIVER WATERSHED IN OKLAHOMA: AN APPLICATION OF Q METHODOLOGY[1]

ABSTRACT

Environmental policy formulation is a difficult business under the best of circumstances. In many cases, policymaking is complicated by factual uncertainty about the likely outcomes of policy intervention and by persistent value conflicts over desired policy ends and goals. This is nowhere more true than in formulating policy to manage adverse impacts to a watershed caused by natural and human activities. In the case of the Illinois River watershed in eastern Oklahoma, controversy over whether and how economic activities in the watershed should be regulated has effectively stifled meaningful policy reforms for three decades. As part of a test of a novel watershed management policymaking protocol funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency, a Q methodological study of stakeholders' perspectives on impact concerns and impact management preferences was conducted to diagnose the conflicts that have pre-empted policy initiatives for so long. We found that the conflicts that exist are not bipolar, but orthogonal – opening the way to potential super-optimum solutions that can satisfy everyone. This study demonstrates the power of Q methodology to assess conflict and thereby suggest strategies for its resolution.