This report describes fishing-oriented communities on St. Thomas and St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI).  It also describes social and economic implications of the Hind Bank Marine Conservation District south of St. Thomas.  Notably, the social context of this project was one in which commercial fishery participants were then expressing both dissatisfaction with fishing regulations and fatigue from repeated involvement in externally implemented fisheries research.  IAI field staff were able to successfully complete research in this setting by: (a) using existing data and analyses wherever possible, (b) documenting fishing infrastructure and residence patterns in an unobtrusive manner, (c) working closely with local public officials who were in a position to facilitate interaction with local fishery participants and discuss their own knowledge of fishing and community life in the study area, (d) interacting with fishermen in a informal manner in their home communities, harbors, and places of commerce, and (f) observing and documenting local fisheries-related public meetings.  The research led to identification of five areas in which fishing and related social and economic activity was particularly extensive: the Northside, East End, and Southside districts of St. Thomas; and the East and West End districts of St. John.  Area closures, including the Hind Bank MCD were found to have displaced certain established harvesters, some of whom had moved their operations to adjacent areas.  Although this shift in fishing effort initially caused gear conflicts and crowding, the problems were worked out by the fishermen over the course of time.  The most enduring effects of the closures involve heightened tension between fishermen and external resource management agencies active in the region.

A social assessment prepared for the Supervisors Office, Kootenai National Forest in Libby, Montana. The report was prepared as part of the process of revising the existing Forest Plan for the Kootenai National Forest. A major objective of the report is to describe public perceptions regarding forest management issues and the social, cultural, and economic factors that influence these perceptions. The study for this report used multiple data collection methods, including archival and ethnographic techniques. The report describes the socioeconomic characteristics of communities surrounding the Kootenai National Forest, past studies relevant to the assessment of current conditions, public assessments of natural resources in the region, and concerns about specific forest management issues, including ecosystems management. The report concludes that stakeholders in the region share many values about natural resources, but they also have important differences in their perceptions about the use of these resource. These shared and common values in combination with changed socioeconomic conditions from the recent past result in diverse views about forest management practices.