{"id":1212,"date":"2019-03-18T16:41:09","date_gmt":"2019-03-18T16:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/?p=1212"},"modified":"2021-02-23T22:46:46","modified_gmt":"2021-02-23T22:46:46","slug":"axioms-that-help-deconstruct-ecological-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/2019\/03\/18\/axioms-that-help-deconstruct-ecological-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"Axioms for Deconstructing Ecological Policy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>by\u00a0<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1177\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/2019\/01\/25\/is-science-biased-toward-natural-environments\/blog-logo\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2961\/files\/2019\/01\/Blog-Logo.png?fit=960%2C945&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"960,945\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Blog-Logo\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2961\/files\/2019\/01\/Blog-Logo.png?fit=770%2C758&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignright wp-image-1177\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/files\/2019\/01\/Blog-Logo.png?resize=95%2C94\" alt=\"\" width=\"95\" height=\"94\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2961\/files\/2019\/01\/Blog-Logo.png?w=960&amp;ssl=1 960w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2961\/files\/2019\/01\/Blog-Logo.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2961\/files\/2019\/01\/Blog-Logo.png?resize=300%2C295&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2961\/files\/2019\/01\/Blog-Logo.png?resize=768%2C756&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 95px) 100vw, 95px\" \/><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/home\/\">Robert T. Lackey<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Many of today\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/files\/2017\/07\/27.-Radically-Contested-Assertions-in-Ecosystem-Management.pdf\">ecological policy issues<\/a> are politically contentious, socially wrenching, and replete with scientific uncertainty.\u00a0 They are\u00a0often described as wicked, messy policy problems (<em>e.g<\/em>., reversing the decline of salmon;\u00a0 deciding on the proper role of wildfire on public lands;\u00a0 what to do, if anything, about climate change;\u00a0 worries about the consequences of declining biological diversity;\u00a0 making sense about the confusing policy choices surrounding notions of sustainability).<\/p>\n<p>Wicked, <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/files\/2017\/07\/13.-Ecosystem-Health-Biological-Diversity-and-Sustainable-Development.pdf\">messy ecological policy problems<\/a> share several qualities:\u00a0 (1) <em>complexity<\/em> \u2014\u00a0 innumerable options and trade-offs;\u00a0 (2) <em>polarization<\/em> \u2014 clashes between competing values;\u00a0 (3) <em>winners and losers<\/em> \u2014 for each policy choice, some will clearly benefit, some will be harmed, and the consequences for others is uncertain;\u00a0 (4) <em>delayed consequences<\/em> \u2014 no immediate &#8220;fix&#8221; and the benefits, if any, of painful concessions will often not be evident for decades;\u00a0 (5) <em>decision distortion<\/em> \u2014 advocates often appeal to strongly held values and distort or hide the real policy choices and their consequences;\u00a0 (6) <em>national vs. regional conflict<\/em> \u2014 national (or international) priorities often differ substantially from those at the local or regional level;\u00a0 and (7) <em>ambiguous role for science<\/em> \u2014 science is often not pivotal in evaluating policy options, but science often ends up serving inappropriately as a <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/files\/2017\/07\/3.-Science-Policy-and-Acid-Rain-Lessons-Learned.-.pdf\">surrogate for debates<\/a> over values and preferences.<\/p>\n<p>As if they are not messy enough, ecological policy issues may become further clouded by <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/files\/2017\/07\/Keep-Science-and-Scientists-Credible.pdf\">skepticism<\/a> about the independence of scientists and scientific information.\u00a0 Much of the available science is tendered by government agencies, companies and corporations, and public and private organizations, as well as myriad public and private interest and advocacy groups.\u00a0 Each arguably has a vested interest in the outcome of the debate and often promulgates \u201cscience\u201d that supports its favored position.<\/p>\n<p>All ecological policy problems have unique features, thus there are exceptions to every generality, but are there lessons learned that can be broadly applied?\u00a0 Like all axioms, mine are not universally true, but are applicable in most situations.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #800000\"><strong>Ecological Policy Axiom 1 \u2014<\/strong> <strong>The policy and political dynamic is a zero-sum game<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Probably the most sobering reality for the uninitiated is that selecting any proposed policy choice results in winners and losers.\u00a0 The search for a \u201cwin-win\u201d choice, which sounds so tantalizing to decision makers, is hopeless with even superficial policy analysis.\u00a0 There are always <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/files\/2017\/07\/7.-Pacific-Salmon-and-the-Endangered-Species-Act.pdf\">winners and losers<\/a> even though people running for office may try to convince the voters otherwise.\u00a0\u00a0This axiom is why policy making is sometimes described as <em>\u201cthe political process of picking winners and losers.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #800000\"><strong>Ecological Policy Axiom 2 \u2014 The distribution of benefits and costs is more important than the ratio of total benefits to total costs<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Benefits are the consequences of a policy option or decision that are categorized as <em>good<\/em> outcomes.\u00a0 Benefits are sometimes measured solely in terms of money, but are more broadly encompassed by <em>all<\/em> the desirable things that are most likely to happen.\u00a0 Conversely, the costs are the <em>undesirable<\/em> outcomes that are likely to happen (often, but not always, measured in monetary terms).<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #800000\"><strong>Ecological Policy Axiom 3 \u2014 The most politically viable policy choice spreads the benefits to a broad majority with the costs limited to a narrow minority of the population<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Democracies operate on delegated compromise validated by periodic voting.\u00a0 To gain sufficient political support (votes) for a proposed policy, it is prudent for the decision maker to spread the benefits across a sufficiently large number of people to garner majority support.\u00a0 The corollary is that those (including future generations) who bear the costs should be a minority and the smaller the better.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #800000\"><strong>Ecological Policy Axiom 4 \u2014 Potential losers are usually more assertive and vocal than potential winners and are, therefore, disproportionately important in decision making<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>With many ecological policy questions, those who bear the costs, the losers, have a disproportionately greater influence on the decision making process.\u00a0 While policy analysis tends to evaluate the rationality of competing policy arguments, the political process tends to weigh breath and vigor in support of each competing policy option.\u00a0 Issues of perceived fairness are important in the political process, but difficult to quantify in policy analysis.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #800000\"><strong>Ecological Policy Axiom 5 \u2014 Many advocates will cloak their arguments as science to mask their personal policy preferences<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Technocrats, as I apply the label, are individuals with scientific training who are responsible for implementing law or ecological policy.\u00a0 There is an understandable impulse by technocrats to insert what they <em>think<\/em> is or <em>should<\/em> be the appropriate public policy goal or option.\u00a0 For example, should <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/files\/2017\/07\/8.-Societal-Values-and-the-Proper-Role-of-Restoration-Ecologists.pdf\">ecological restoration<\/a> be aimed at recreating the ecological condition that existed at the beginning of the Holocene, just prior to 1492, or at the end of last week?\u00a0 The answer requires making a value judgment \u2014 a policy choice that is necessarily a political judgment \u2014 and it is not a scientifically derived decision.\u00a0 Ecologists and other scientists should assess the feasibility and ecological consequences of achieving each possible restoration target.\u00a0 Selecting from among the choices, however, is a societal enterprise.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #800000\"><strong>Ecological Policy Axiom 6 \u2014 Even with complete and accurate scientific information, most policy issues remain divisive<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The lament that \u201cif we just had some better science, we could resolve this policy question\u201d is common among both scientists and decision makers.\u00a0 Calls for more research are ubiquitous in ecological policy debates.\u00a0 In most policy cases, even if we had complete scientific knowledge about all aspects of an issue, the same rancorous debate would emerge.\u00a0 Root policy differences are invariably over values and preferences, not <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/files\/2017\/07\/21.-Defending-Reality.pdf\">science and facts<\/a>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #800000\"><strong>Ecological Policy Axiom 7 \u2014 Demonizing policy advocates supporting competing policy options is often more effective than presenting rigorous analytical arguments<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Scientists and policy analysts become frustrated when they fail to recognize that political debates are partly logical argument and partly image.\u00a0 Negative images are often considered more effective in swaying people than positive ones.\u00a0 In fractious ecological policy debates, proponents often spend more energy <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/2014\/09\/21\/is-science-the-key-to-resolving-environmental-policy-disputes\/\">demonizing their opponents<\/a> than sticking to rational policy analysis.\u00a0 My experience is that such tactics are often effective in policy debates;\u00a0 many people are moved by negative arguments.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #800000\"><strong>Ecological Policy Axiom 8 \u2014 If something can be measured accurately and with confidence, it is probably not particularly relevant in decision making<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In my experience, most scientists prefer to talk about things that they can measure with some degree of confidence.\u00a0 Fish population abundance, recruitment rates, optimal habitat, toxicity levels, and field surveys are within our comfort zone.\u00a0 We can put confidence limits on these numbers;\u00a0 we can duplicate the data gathering year after year;\u00a0 we can often forecast future conditions with some degree of confidence.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><strong>Ecological Policy Axiom 9 \u2014 The meaning of words matters greatly and arguments over their precise meaning are often surrogates for debates over values<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In my experience, many citizens get frustrated in ecological policy debates because the advocates of various competing choices often seem to argue over semantic nuances rather than getting on with making decisions.\u00a0 The precise meaning ascribed to key words is important and is often the battleground over what policy option is ultimately selected.\u00a0 The debate over definitions is really a policy debate.\u00a0 How should pivotal words such as \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/files\/2017\/07\/20.-Values-Policy-and-Ecosystem-Health.pdf\">ecosystem health<\/a>,\u201d \u201csustainability,\u201d \u201cdegraded,\u201d \u201cbiological integrity,\u201d \u201cendangered,\u201d \u201cwild,\u201d and \u201cimpaired\u201d be defined?\u00a0 Definitions chosen will lead (at least in the mind of the uninformed) to a particular policy option.\u00a0 Thus, the debate over what might appear to be semantic nuances is really a <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/2019\/01\/25\/is-science-biased-toward-natural-environments\/\">surrogate debate<\/a> over values and policy preferences.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Many of today\u2019s ecological policy issues are contentious, socially divisive, and full of conundrums.\u00a0 They are, however, typical of those that professional natural resource and environmental scientists will confront, both now and for the foreseeable future.\u00a0 Those of us who provide information to help inform the participants involved in ecological policy debates need to be cognizant of and appreciate the importance of scientific information, but we also must recognize the reality that <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/2019\/02\/12\/does-the-public-expect-too-much-from-science\/\">scientific information<\/a> is just one element in complex political deliberations in a democracy.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #008000\"><strong>***************<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by\u00a0 Robert T. Lackey Many of today\u2019s ecological policy issues are politically contentious, socially wrenching, and replete with scientific uncertainty.\u00a0 They are\u00a0often described as wicked, messy policy problems (e.g., reversing the decline of salmon;\u00a0 deciding on the proper role of wildfire on public lands;\u00a0 what to do, if anything, about climate change;\u00a0 worries about the&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/2019\/03\/18\/axioms-that-help-deconstruct-ecological-policy\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4014,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1237562],"tags":[150863,140586,1237561,1324,716983,205490,150862,150858,150861],"class_list":["post-1212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ecological-policy","tag-biological-integrity","tag-conservation","tag-conservation-biology","tag-ecology","tag-ecosystem-health","tag-environmental-management","tag-environmental-protection","tag-environnmental-science","tag-restoration-ecology"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p94BFg-jy","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1190,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/2019\/02\/12\/does-the-public-expect-too-much-from-science\/","url_meta":{"origin":1212,"position":0},"title":"Does the Public Expect Too Much from Science?","author":"Robert Lackey","date":"February 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Robert T. Lackey More than two decades ago, while Deputy Director of EPA\u2019s national research laboratory in Corvallis, Oregon, I presented a talk to a group of community activists about why salmon populations along the West Coast have dropped to less than 5% of their historical levels. \u00a0I\u2019ve given\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ecological Policy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ecological Policy","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/category\/ecological-policy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/files\/2019\/01\/Blog-Logo.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1168,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/2019\/01\/25\/is-science-biased-toward-natural-environments\/","url_meta":{"origin":1212,"position":1},"title":"Is Science Biased Toward Natural Environments?","author":"Robert Lackey","date":"January 25, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Robert T. Lackey In science, when you see the words \u201cnatural,\u201d \u201chealthy,\u201d \u201cdegraded,\u201d and \u201cbiological integrity,\u201d\u00a0 all these terms, and many others, have embedded assumptions about what someone or some organization regards as a desirable value choice, a preferred policy choice. These and similar words have no place in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ecological Policy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ecological Policy","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/category\/ecological-policy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/files\/2019\/01\/Blog-Logo.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2132,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/2024\/11\/24\/the-emergence-of-religious-ecology\/","url_meta":{"origin":1212,"position":2},"title":"The Emergence of Religious Ecology","author":"Robert Lackey","date":"November 24, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Robert T. Lackey Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences Oregon State University Robert.Lackey@oregonstate.edu \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 An especially muddying factor in unraveling ecological policy disputes is identifying the role of religious views in shaping scientific information. \u00a0These days, religious, ethical, or moral values are often embedded in \u201cscience\u201d to form a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ecological Policy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ecological Policy","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/category\/ecological-policy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2961\/files\/2024\/11\/Definitions-of-Key-Words-in-Ecological-Policy-Management-Science-Gray-Lackey-2024-1-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2961\/files\/2024\/11\/Definitions-of-Key-Words-in-Ecological-Policy-Management-Science-Gray-Lackey-2024-1-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2961\/files\/2024\/11\/Definitions-of-Key-Words-in-Ecological-Policy-Management-Science-Gray-Lackey-2024-1-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2961\/files\/2024\/11\/Definitions-of-Key-Words-in-Ecological-Policy-Management-Science-Gray-Lackey-2024-1-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2961\/files\/2024\/11\/Definitions-of-Key-Words-in-Ecological-Policy-Management-Science-Gray-Lackey-2024-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2961\/files\/2024\/11\/Definitions-of-Key-Words-in-Ecological-Policy-Management-Science-Gray-Lackey-2024-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2371,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/2025\/08\/01\/how-do-scientists-lead-people-into-the-trap-of-assuming-that-natural-is-preferred-policy-wise\/","url_meta":{"origin":1212,"position":3},"title":"How Do Scientists Lead People into the Trap of Assuming that &#8220;Natural&#8221; is Preferred Policy-wise?","author":"Robert Lackey","date":"August 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Robert T. Lackey Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences Oregon State University \u221e\u221e\u221e\u221e\u221e\u221e In disciplines such as environmental science, fisheries and wildlife management, and environmental management, I am concerned that the scientific enterprise has become captive to a particular worldview, a preferred policy preference \u2014 the idea that \u201cnature\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ecological Policy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ecological Policy","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/category\/ecological-policy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2961\/files\/2025\/08\/Blog-Artwork-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2024,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/2023\/12\/24\/seminar-columbia-river-basin-how-would-ending-fishing-and-closing-hatcheries-change-wild-salmon-and-steelhead-abundance\/","url_meta":{"origin":1212,"position":4},"title":"PACIFIC SALMON COMMISSION SEMINAR \u2014    Columbia River Basin: How Would Ending Fishing and Closing Hatcheries Change Wild Salmon and Steelhead Abundance?*","author":"Robert Lackey","date":"December 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Robert T. Lackey Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences Oregon State University Corvallis, Oregon\u00a0 97331 *********************** https:\/\/media.oregonstate.edu\/media\/t\/1_xoz803bc *********************** Seminar Summary: The overall public policy goal of restoring Pacific salmon wild runs in the Columbia River Basin appears to enjoy widespread public support.\u00a0 Billions of dollars have failed to reverse\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ecological Policy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ecological Policy","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/category\/ecological-policy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2199,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/2025\/02\/01\/sweetheart-and-sue-and-settle-lawsuits-a-case-study\/","url_meta":{"origin":1212,"position":5},"title":"&#8220;Sweetheart&#8221; and &#8220;Sue and Settle&#8221; Lawsuits:  A Case Study","author":"Robert Lackey","date":"February 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Robert T. Lackey Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences Oregon State University February 1, 2025 What is the proper role of government employees when their personal policy preferences differ from those of their employer?\u00a0 Specifically, is it acceptable for government employees to play a role in sweetheart or sue\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ecological Policy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ecological Policy","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/category\/ecological-policy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2961\/files\/2025\/02\/image-4.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4014"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1212"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1679,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1212\/revisions\/1679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/lackey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}