U.S. Representative Mike Simpson touted his collaboration efforts regarding the CentralIdaho Economic Development and Recreation Act (CIEDRA). He stated he had worked hard to bring together different stakeholders representing local ranchers, local, state, and federal government officials, recreationists, wilderness proponents, and other interested groups and individuals to work toward resolving the public land use issues facing the Boulder-White Clouds area in Central Idaho. On its face it appeared to be a perfect example of collaborative decision making. Yet, CIEDRA failed every time it was introduced in Congress. Analysis of the process utilized by Simpson reveals that the CIEDRA collaboration was unsuccessful because there was, in fact, no collaboration. The necessary steps for collaborative decision making were not followed and ultimately, when resistance to the collaborative efforts was encountered early on in the process, a conscious switch was made to "shuttle diplomacy" which was ultimately unsuccessful.
The Multiple Streams Theory literature identifies mechanisms to open policy windows in the problem and political streams. A proposed policy deemed inevitable by stakeholders appears to open a policy window in the policy stream allowing policy entrepreneurs to successfully position the inevitable competing policy as the lesser of two evils. For over a decade, U.S. Representative Mike Simpson (R-ID) unsuccessfully introduced legislation to create additional wilderness, solidify existing recreational uses, provide local economic relief, and provide relief for ranchers in the Boulder–White Cloud Mountains area in central Idaho. The Obama administration’s proposal of a competing policy, the unilateral creation of a national monument pursuant to the Antiquities Act, appears to have opened a policy window that allowed Simpson to successfully propose his policy solution as the lesser of two evils. Policy entrepreneurs may use this method when faced with a policy proposal seen as inevitable but not necessarily best.
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