g common ground from our different points of view to ensure an economic, social, and environmentally sound future for us all” (Smith 990).
It is difficult to begin a description of the issue and value conflicts that are involved in the Catron County matter because nearly all stakeholders are in conflict about a course of action or a fair means of resolving their many disputes. Forest health and deforestation included a host of issues, including depletion of wildlife, decimation of old-growth regions, loss of employment and profit for loggers and the timber industry, and the pressures resulting between the Forest Service, local residents and the Environmental Protection Agency and other environmental groups like the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity (SWCBD). When it comes to grazing, most of these groups are affected and involved in conflict, but this time around the loss of jobs and profits accrues to the ranchers and cattle industry. While there are differences among the stakeholders, the formation of the CCCG did highlight mutual interests of them all “The need for economic development and diversification, the maintenance of rural lifestyles and values, the importance of sound land stewardship, and the importance of participation in the decisions that affect the county” (Smith 990).
The outcome of this cooperative collaboration included the defining of goals and the formation of an agenda that included the most urgent needs of the members, including the establishment of youth projects to benefit the youth of the community. However, the complexity of issues, myriad agencies and government regulations involved in the process, and outright conflicting perspectives made progress slow and difficult to come by. The CCCG often found itself limited by federal regulations it felt were beyond its control, and action progressed but at such a minimal degree that the group reformulated its mission statement to include “t...