It's as if the regulation season has changed from fall to winter, and we have donned neither our overcoats nor our boots. Environmental devolution is similar to that occurring in the better known and studied area of welfare reform. With welfare reform, states were given block grants and a larger role in designing and implementing the legislation's guidelines. How well these decisions are made will have a huge impact on the effectiveness of national laws designed to protect the environment. We are already seeing widespread acceptance of local development plans that purportedly protect habitat for endangered species such as the California gnatcatcher and Red Cockated Woodpecker.
Serious questions remain regarding what happens if endangered populations continue to decrease.
It is clear that the local groups are currently wrestling with more than a full plate of local decisions that have major environmental implications. This is particularly true regarding land use issues like sprawl and urban disinvestment, potentially the 800-pound gorilla of environmental issues. On the other hand, the opportunity exists to strengthen the environmental movement both nationally and locally. Armed with quality policy analysis and collaboration, not only could we avoid losing ground but actually turn these trends to our advantage. After all, an informed, engaged public, represented by strong community-connected groups will have a big impact on how local decisions are made.