RE: KILLERS of PUBLIC PARTICIPATION-- ELECTED OFFICIALS

[Marianne Thaeler <mthaeler@aol.com>]

Ah, local politics in the vast areas of the rural west!
Local governments, towns, villages, cities and counties are dependent on payments in lieu of taxes (property taxes) for the support of schools and local units of government.

Therefore, there is a love/hate relationship. Local officials will do nothing but knee jerk, what ever you want to do is OK, and the residents have a fear and sometime loathing of the "feds".

The best solutions for citizen participation is to encourage the formation of local government boards, which will advise the local elected officials on the potential impacts or lack there of in the language local people understand. 

As an urban resident who has worked with rural residents and interest groups, ranchers, hunters, etc. I found I could work well with them if I and others like me, including some government employees, keep people informed from the very beginning of any process and deliver information that they can verify, to gain trust. 
Just one perspective.
Marianne Thaeler
City of Las Cruces, New Mexico, Environmental Quality Advisory Committee and
Member U.S. Army Fort Bliss RAB