The theme of the 2012 NAEP Annual Conference—Science, Politics, and Policy: Environmental Nexus—was developed as a local initiative. Like all previous themes, there are also national and international aspects. This is a great theme for the National Association of Environmental Professionals. We pride ourselves, after all, with being a multidisciplinary association impacting all aspects of the professions. A review of membership reveals scientists, as well as lawyers and engineers. We are educators and we are policy makers. I can think of no other professional association that covers as many aspects of the environmental professions. No other single-issue association can provide the audience of NAEP with the information we need to do our job. Even the associated Certification as an Environmental Professional embodies the multidimensional aspects of the profession.

I am glad to be back on board as lead editor for volume 14 (2012) of Environmental Practice. Congratulations to my coeditor, Kelly Tzoumis, and her guest editors for publishing a diverse and robust collection of thematic issues in 2011 (volume 13). Kelly is now engaged in strategic planning for volume 15 (2013). The March issue of volume 14 was devoted to a hot button topic: green infrastructure. I am particularly grateful to my three guest editors who did the heavy lifting to bring this issue to fruition: Jeff Mengler, senior project scientist with Cardno ENTRIX in Barrington, Illinois; Jesse Elam, AICP, senior planner with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning; and Dennis Dreher, senior consultant with Geosyntec Consultants in Oak Brook, Illinois.

To enable successful public participation in environmental decision making, practitioners need to know what works, but evaluation of proposed and existing processes is often lacking. We tested three tools for evaluation—focus groups, Q method, and surveys—at two contaminated sites with extensive public participation. Each tool is evaluated based on its requirements for implementation, the information it produces, and its acceptability to stakeholders. Which tool is most appropriate depends heavily on the available resources, what is happening at the site, and the evaluator's goals.

Environmental Practice 14:101–109 (2012)

Once-extensive Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) reefs in the Hudson-Raritan Estuary (HRE) were destroyed almost a century ago as a result of human activities. However, because of improvements in water quality, the potential exists to reintroduce this ecologically extinct species to the ecosystem. For over a decade, New York/New Jersey Baykeeper has conducted oyster restoration activities in support of target ecological goals proposed in the HRE Comprehensive Restoration Plan (CRP). The critical research question is whether existing conditions at a proposed restoration site can actually support long-term Eastern Oyster survival. To determine the feasibility of restoring this native species in Keyport Harbor, New Jersey, juvenile oysters were placed in research field plots, and survivorship and growth were monitored. Data from the first reported oyster restoration research in the New Jersey (NJ) portion of the HRE indicate that oysters could indeed be reintroduced into the ecosystem. After 11 months in situ, research oyster survival rates as high as 60% were observed. Qualitative tissue observations indicated female oysters produced eggs that appeared normal and were ready for spawning. Biodiversity of species collected from the field plots was two- to threefold greater with adult research oysters present, suggesting that oysters increased the density and abundance of other marine species. Sediment deposition patterns indicated that the presence of oysters in support structures may reduce the degree of topographic relief caused by winter storm energies. The research ended abruptly on August 9, 2010, when New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection rescinded the project permit because of concerns that research oysters were beginning to reach New Jersey's market size of 2.5 inches. Although initial data suggest that oysters can survive and reproduce in Raritan Bay and the potential exists to achieve oyster restoration goals included in the CRP, the project also highlights the current lack of agreement between shellfishery regulators and restoration practitioners with respect to oyster reintroduction in waters where shellfish harvesting is currently prohibited. Different shellfish management approaches are used in New England states (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut), where local control is an important management tool, and in Chesapeake Bay states (Maryland and Virginia), where federal involvement is relatively high. Situated between these two distinct shellfish-producing regions, New Jersey and New York have not supported aggressive reestablishment of historic Eastern Oyster populations in the HRE, and unlike adjacent states, have not developed long-term oyster aquaculture plans. The reluctance to support oyster restoration is due to concerns related to human health and ecological questions. Examples of best management practices currently employed in neighboring states offer potential solutions to address regulatory concerns and could form the basis for developing a productive long-term strategy to reestablish Eastern Oysters in the HRE.

Environmental Practice 14:110–129 (2012)

The global Slow Movement, a response to negative effects of speed on everyday life, seeks to reconnect people and their social and ecological environments. Slow Food and Cittaslow (Slow Cities) are allied Slow Movement networks operating in over 150 countries, including the United States (US). These two networks involve the interrelationship of numerous place-based factors important to social-ecological resilience: local and regional food markets, recovery and protection of biodiversity and local ecologies, support for cultural traditions, agricultural policy reform, climate adaptation planning, economic development, social inclusion, quality of life in the built environment, and the politics of land development. This article presents the philosophical underpinnings of Slow Food and the associated membership requirements of Cittaslow by using the example of Sonoma Valley, California, the first certified Cittaslow in the US (2009). The article then describes Sonoma Valley's Cittaslow Pollinator Stewardship Collaborative to show how the nascent organization has begun its work by facilitating the participation of environmental professionals in community life. In its first year, Cittaslow Sonoma Valley has used a combination of pleasure and responsibility to increase both the visibility of environmental concerns and the opportunities for diverse residents to act locally and globally on issues integrating environmental and economic support. Because it offers a different approach to environmental responsibility, the Slow Movement may be of particular interest to environmental professionals who are concerned about societal response to the complexity and uncertainty of global environmental change.

Environmental Practice 14:130–142 (2012)

Canada has seen some community approaches to watershed management similar to network governance, citizen advisory boards, and participatory action mechanisms. These collaborative approaches are highlighted in scholarship, but are limited by context as implementation is not utilized well beyond local situations. The successes of Nova Scotia wetlands are generalizable, as they provide applicable knowledge about natural resource governance with limited federal guidelines, numerous exclusionary authorities, and new regional development tactics that are beneficial for many. In practice, this case study specifically explains the role of earnest, local, and inclusive participation that is well coordinated with multiple civic agencies.

Environmental Practice 14:143–153 (2012)

Recent Department of Defense priorities are transforming the nation's military bases. As the result of base closures and reuse/redevelopment initiatives, many bases are rapidly changing, potentially affecting valuable cultural and historic resources. A creative approach to protecting and mitigating the loss of resources is examined in the Garrison Historic District on Joint Base Lewis–McChord (JBLM). JBLM, which is located in the Puget Sound region of Washington State, is the largest military base west of the Mississippi. The mitigation project, funded by the United States (US) Army Corps of Engineers (hereafter, Corps), demonstrates the tangible benefits of creatively repurposing historic and culturally significant facilities. These benefits include increasing awareness and appreciation of historical and cultural resources, improving public access to information, and encouraging reuse and recycling of districts and facilities.

Many consider the 1973 Endangered Species Act (ESA) to be the workhorse of environmental protection in the United States (US). The 1973 ESA was passed by Congress with nearly unanimous support and was part of President Richard M. Nixon's far-reaching environmental agenda. Much has changed in ESA political and public support. In 2010, the Western Governors Association referred to the “nonsensical policy” in implementing the ESA (Silva, 2010), and Congress delisted a population segment—the western gray wolf (Canis lupus)—by amendment (US House of Representatives, 2011, p. 290). It is nothing short of astonishing to compare how different the discussion was at the genesis of the three ESAs as compared to now (Doremus, 2010).