On July 1, 2008, Jim Montgomery and I became co-Editors-in-Chief of Environmental Practice, alternating as lead editor for different periods of time. Together, we comprise a combination of science and policy that appears to fit the journal's mission. This editorial is my voice and is written from a policy standpoint as I begin to look toward the calendar year's end, reflecting upon where the United States is going with respect to environmental issues and, internationally, with regard to leadership. As Environmental Practice's last editorial for 2008, I will make some predictions for 2009 as well.

Recognize the bold, red, stylized sphere, with a single small wave, on the cover of Environmental Practice and shown here in black and white? It is the logo of the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP). We are the only professional association authorized to call it ours, the only organization legally entitled to allow its display. Our logo symbolizes the tool of imagination, mankind's genius for inventive solutions. It is offered here as a reminder of who we are—the “now” NAEP—and as a lead-in for this Point of View on who we are becoming, the “next” NAEP.

Citizen participation and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) both have long and storied histories in environmental practice. Arnstein's ladder for citizen participation depicts a continuum of possibilities for public involvement in land-use planning, with nonparticipation at one extreme and full control at the other. This typology was published in 1969, but examples across the full spectrum can still be found in land-use and environmental planning today. The National Environmental Policy Act, enacted one year after publication of Arnstein's article, requires public involvement for environmental assessments of all federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. We employ Arnstein's typology to evaluate citizen participation in decisions about habitat protection in northern New York. This area has been identified as a critical location in the eastern North American flyway for migratory waterfowl. Initiatives to protect habitat reflected little public involvement before the implementation of NEPA, but substantial involvement afterwards. Before NEPA, residents were simply informed of agency actions. After NEPA, citizen participation caused a land acquisition plan to be withdrawn and replaced by a voluntary partnership program. Recently, a second acquisition proposal also was suspended, in part as a consequence of citizen input. These case studies demonstrate how citizens have utilized NEPA to participate in environmental decision making.

Environmental Practice 10:140–151 (2008)

Environmental justice policy goals encompass the fair treatment and the meaningful involvement of all people in environmental policy formation and implementation. Few studies consider how new environmental justice programs foster meaningful involvement; this study addresses this gap by examining seven years of an environmental justice small grants program implemented by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). We frame our research in the theory of environmental discourses, dividing policy implementation among adherents with a managerial, pluralist, or communitarian perception of remedies to environmental injustice. We hypothesize that EPA awards will emphasize the managerial and pluralist discourses. Our study's empirical foundation included a content analysis of documents on 736 small grant awards. We supplemented this data with 23 interviews of grant recipients and four interviews with EPA officials. During seven years, more than half of the grants (58%, or 501) funded programs to primarily increase environmental justice information in the recipient community. Grants for technical capacity came in a distant second (21%, or 186) of the programs funded by EPA. Organizational efforts were the third most frequent award, representing 14% of all grants. Finally, only 7% of awards funded an initiative to expand public participation in environmental decisions. The EPA policy objectives included the goal of building participatory capacity in the design and implementation of local environmental decisions; however, funded programs emphasized efforts to generate and disseminate information, instead of building civic capacities for citizens to use information in meaningful ways. We conclude that environmental justice practitioners should better balance technical and informational efforts with “civic-minded” capacity-building programs.

Environmental Practice 10:152–163 (2008)

Between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 2006, 53 federal executive branch entities made available to the public 2,236 final environmental impact statements (EISs). The US Forest Service, the Federal Highway Administration, and the US Army Corps of Engineers prepared 51% of these documents. We evaluated the individual performances of these three entities and that of all other EIS-producing entities combined. The number of final EISs made available annually from 1998 through 2006 was comparable to the 20-year average calculated from US Environmental Protection Agency data. We determined the time required to prepare 2,095 of the final EISs made available during our study period. The time to prepare an EIS ranged from 51 days to 6,708 days (18.4 years). The average time for all federal entities was 3.4 years. Average times differed significantly by year and by entity. The time for all entities to prepare their EISs increased during our study period by an average of 37 days per year; most of this increase was associated with the preparation of draft EISs. The percentage of EISs completed within three years or less from publication of the Notice of Intent decreased throughout the study period. The decrease was matched by an increase in the percentage of EISs completed within four to eight years from publication of the Notice of Intent. Our data indicate that various attempts to “streamline” the EIS preparation process have either failed or have yet to take effect.

Environmental Practice 10:164–174 (2008)

Seventy percent of Nevada's 2.7 million residents live in or around Las Vegas. By 2026, the state's population is expected to rise to over 4.3 million, of which 3.3 million will be in Clark County, which includes the city of Las Vegas. But isn't Las Vegas in a desert? Where is it going to get enough water to support its burgeoning and thirsty population?

Belarus is an Eastern European country previously known as a republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). In 1991, Belarus established its independence after the dissolution of the USSR. The current political state still retains many of the pre-dissolution social and political positions; the country still maintains many of its old ways of life.