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Guest editorial
by MFRII.YN B. REEVES
First Vice President and
Natural Resources Director
league of Women Voters of Maryland, Inc.,
and Member Citizens Steering Committee,
Public Participation Program, Citizens
Program for the Chesapeake Bay, Inc.
As I see the current trend in environmental programs I am becoming increasingly concerned that public participation may become a systematized bureaucracy trapped in policy pronouncements and procedural minutiae that interferes or postpones problem solving. As I read the excellent book of essays on the state of the art of public participation prepared for this Conference it seemed as if we have a discipline. Have we now reached the point that college catalogs will list Public Participation 101 as a three hour course which “identifies essential elements and provides an overview of the present state of knowledge and research of citizen participation”? Is public participation becoming an end unto itself instead of a means of solving problems? Are we creating professionals who will undermine volunteer efforts? Is government setting the goals and objectives of public interest groups by the programs it emphasizes and the funding it provides for public participation efforts? I do not know the answers to these questions but as I prepared for this presentation I became concerned about the extent of government involvement in public participation programs.
Public participation is not yet a systematized science so I must define what I think it is. First I reject the use of the word “citizen” which is used for this Conference and prefer to refer to this as public participation. Citizenship is universal, government officials and agency personnel are also citizens. It is not a question of them and us. The word ‘‘public” denotes the representation of diverse interests and groups for its is the organizations which have special interests which generally send individuals to participate and represent them. Public participation in its simpliest form is public service. In a democracy we participate in the governmental process in a number of established ways, i.e. by voting, serving on juries, paying taxes, assisting fire departments and rescue squads, etc. Some seek public office and participate by representing pthers. Some seek to influence legislation by
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