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THE ROLE OF LOCAL OFFICIAL'S SOCIAL TIES IN
BALANCING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCE PROTECTION
IN NICHIGAN'S EASTERN UPPER PENINSULA

presented by

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THE ROLE OF LOCAL OFFICIALS’ SOCIAL TIES IN
BALANCING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCE PROTECTION
IN MICHIGAN’S EASTERN UPPER PENINSULA
By

Georgia Lynn Peterson

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulﬁllment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Forestry

2000

ABSTRACT
THE ROLE OF LOCAL OFFICIALS’ SOCIAL TIES IN
BALANCING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCE PROTECTION
IN MICHIGAN’S EASTERN UPPER PENINSULA
By

Georgia L. Peterson

Many rural natural resource-dependent regions of the United States have
undergone substantial economic, social, and environmental Stress over the past century.
The Eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan is one such region that has historically
depended on resource extraction activities, such as timber, as an economic base. As these
industries have declined, communities in the area are attempting to ﬁll the economic void
by turning to amenity-based opportunities such as snowmobiling, ﬁshing, and casino
gaming. Despite the promotion of new economic activities, residents are Still struggling
with poverty while at the same time experiencing a change in local development patterns.
Increasing tourism and seasonal home development are generating concerns about
recreational access, aesthetics, water quality, and biodiversity. Two seemingly divergent
concepts are used to examine how local ofﬁcials respond to these issues—social capital
and the growth machine. Social capital is a general term that attempts to deﬁne the
effectiveness of a community in reaching its economic and social development goals
through its levels of intercommunication, civic involvement and trust. The growth
machine concept also examines the relationships between local ofﬁcials, business
interests, and residents of a community. The emphasis is on local ofﬁcials and business

interests who focus on unlimited economic growth at the expense of residents and their

surroundings, making ofﬁcials unrepresentative of their constituents and their policies
socially and environmentally unsustainable.

This study examines how local residents and ofﬁcials prefer to balance economic
development and natural resource protection for the future of the Eastern UP. It also
examines the social connections and levels of personal leadership that could inﬂuence
local ofﬁcials’ preferences for this development. Conjoint analysis, which elicits
tradeoffs between preferred development and protection strategies, was used to determine
these preferences among 45 residents and 38 local ofﬁcials. Additionally, qualitative
interviews were conducted with those 38 local ofﬁcials to examine their social
connections. These ofﬁcials also were sent a followup mail questionnaire asking about
their perceived levels of inﬂuence in their communities.

Results from the conjoint survey show that local ofﬁcials are no more likely to
prefer amenity-based economic growth than residents of the region. Ofﬁcials are,
however, less likely to prefer the status quo for the future, but neither their social
connections nor their level of personal influence appear to affect their preferences.
Bivariate regression models do indicate that living in the region over 20 years decreases
the likelihood of preferring Status quo conditions. Overall, however, the results do not
ﬁnd conditions that would indicate a growth machine mentality among local ofﬁcials.
Further examination of qualitative interviews suggest that the limited connections
maintained with other ofﬁcials in the region may hamper future attempts to protect the
natural resource base while at the same time improving economic conditions for future
generations. Opening these connections would improve local community capacities to

deal with the delicate balance of resource protection and economic development.

To my parents, Ronald and Viola Peterson

iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I owe much gratitude and appreciation to my committee members, Maureen
McDonough, James Dearing, Marilyn Aronoff, and Daniel Stynes, for their support and
patience. Throughout my experience here, they have been a wonderful combination of
inspiration and guidance, willing to help whenever I felt adrift in my research efforts. I
would especially like to direct my appreciation to my advisor, Dr. McDonough, for
sharing her wisdom and strength. Thanks go also to Jeremy Fried for helping me get
started in my doctoral program and giving me a secure place to begin my work.

This research would not have been possible without the hospitality and openness
of the residents of Michigan’s Eastern Upper Peninsula. They welcomed me into their
homes, and willingly shared their thoughts and experiences with me. I will always admire
their strength of character and dedication to the land.

My love and gratitude go to my husband Steve. He has shared all my trials and
joys through this four year process with generosity, sensitivity, and grace. This experience

without a doubt has brought us even closer together as friends and companions.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Tables
List of Figures
Chapter I: Introduction
Chapter 11: Resource dependence and Michigan’s Eastern Upper Peninsula
Characteristics of resource-dependent communities
Concepts of economic and social sustainability
The Eastern Upper Peninsula as a natural resource-dependent region
Chapter III: Concepts of identity and social networks in rural settings
Social constructions of nature and sources of rural identity
Frouws’ utilitarian and hedonist discourses
Social capital and social networks
Classical sociological connections
The signiﬁcance of social networks
Limitations of social capital applications
Elements of social capital in rural settings
The growth machine as an exclusionary form of social capital
Local officials in the growth machine
Growth management principles and practices
Local effectiveness
Economic development in rural communities

Measuring preferences using conjoint analysis

vi

10

12

25

25

28

29

3O

33

35

37

39

41

46

47

49

Local officials, levels of inﬂuence, and opinion leadership
Sununarizing conceptual frameworks
Applying conceptual approaches to the Eastern Upper Peninsula
Research questions
Chapter IV: Methods
Eastern Upper Peninsula proﬁle
Eliciting economic and environmental tradeoffs
Selecting residents and local officials
Semi-structured interviews
Subsequent information about officials as inﬂuentials
Synthesizing results from multiple sources
Chapter V: Results
Preferences for growth and resource protection
Scenarios produced from conjoint results
Ofﬁcials’ roles and social networks in communities
Ofﬁcials’ personal characteristics and roles
Background information
Job responsibilities—elected officials
Job responsibilities—non-elected ofﬁcials
Quantifying ofﬁcials’ background information
Connecting with constituents
Public input methods

Information to the public

vii

52

55

57

60

62

63

63

66

71

72

77

8O

8O

83

86

86

86

89

92

95

96

96

Quantifying formal and informal public input methods
Connecting with other ofﬁcials
Local connections
Tribal connections
Extralocal connections
Quantifying local and extralocal connections
Overall ﬁndings of inﬂuential/opinion leader questionnaire

Identifying relationships among personal inﬂuence, social connections,
and preferences for growth

Identifying ofﬁcials’ characteristics that inﬂuence development
preferences

Qualitative evidence supporting quantitative ﬁndings
Chapter VI: Conclusions
Summary of ﬁndings
Implications
Economic concerns
Social networks
Study limitations
Suggestions for further research
Conclusions
Appendix A: Map of the Eastern UP
Appendix B: Sample fact sheet for conjoint interviews

References

viii

102

103

103

106

108

111

112

119

121

128

134

136

142

143

144

145

148

150

152

154

156

CHAPTER II

Table 1.

Table 2.

Table 3.

Table 4.

CHAPTER III

Table 5.

CHAPTER IV

Table 6.

Table 7.

Table 8.

Table 9.

CHAPTER V

Table 10.

Table 11.

Table 12.

LIST OF TABLES

Median household income in the three
counties of the Eastern UP and Michigan, 1990.

Industry employment per category as percent
of total industry output.

Days of recreation participation for the Eastern
UP, by thousands of person-days in 1990.

Proportion of age classes by county and state.

Weirnann’s (1994) Personality Strength (PS) scale.

Summary of nonresponse categories for residents
included in conjoint survey.

Distribution of officials who participated in interviews.

Initial categories for content analysis of interviews.

A summary of the dependent and independent
variables for the regression analysis.

Summary of comparisons between local ofﬁcials’
and residents’ utilities for all attribute levels

Likelihood of accepting high-growth and status quo
scenarios among local officials and residents, based
on conjoint survey results.

Background characteristics of local ofﬁcials.

14

15

17

18

55

68

73

79

81

84

96

Table 13.

Table 14.

Table 15.

Table 16.

Table 17.

Table 18.

Table 19.

Table 20.

Table 21.

Table 22.

Table 23.

Summary of public input scores, quantiﬁed from
personal interviews.

Summary of local and extralocal connection scores,
quantiﬁed from personal interviews.

Summarized frequencies of inﬂuential section of
followup questionnaire.

Factor analysis of inﬂuential variables.

Summarized frequencies of opinion leader section
of followup questionnaire.

Opinion leader scores for the four most frequently
reported issues among ofﬁcials.

Factor analysis of opinion leadership variables.
Results of the bivariate regression models,
measuring each independent variable’s inﬂuence

on the dependent variable.

Summary of model that explained the greatest
Amount of variance based on adjusted R2 value.

Pearson correlation table of independent variables.
Uniqueness and commonality of the four

independent variables of the regression equation
that explained the greatest amount of variance.

103

113

114

115

116

119

120

123

125

126

127

CHAPTER H

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

CHAPTER III

Figure 4.

Figure 5.

CHAPTER IV

Figure 6.

Figure 7.

Figure 8.

CHAPTER V

Figure 9.

LIST OF FIGURES

The three counties of the Eastern Upper Peninsula:
Chippewa, Luce, and Mackinac.

Population density per square mile of residents
in the Eastern UP.

Percent of respondents who support the given

strategies for future development in the Eastern UP.

Proposed relationship of social connectedness

and personal inﬂuence if preferences for economic
development are found to be higher than residents
among local officials.

Proposed relationships between personal
characteristics of local ofﬁcials if preferences for
economic development are found to be higher than
residents among local ofﬁcials.

Selected attributes (underlined) and associated
levels for each.

An example of proﬁle Comparisons in Sawtooth’s
ACA.

Sample questions for measurement of inﬂuential
and opinion leadership among local officials.

Proposed relationships between independent
variables and dependent variable.

xi

13

13

22

61

61

67

71

74

121

CHAPTER I:
INTRODUCTION

Many rural natural resource-oriented regions across the nation have historically
been considered idyllic in their lush and beautiful settings. A substantial proportion of
these areas, however, contain less than ideal economic and social conditions. Many have
for the past century had to struggle with issues related to poverty and environmental
destruction related to overexploitation of particular natural resources. Once the desired
resources in these areas become more accessible elsewhere, the extractive industry moves
on, leaving local communities with few other opportunities. The loss of jobs and reliable
income can lead to substantial underinvestment in social infrastructure and a general loss
in bright young people who must move elsewhere to ﬁnd promising careers. Some of
these areas have turned to other industries such as tourism, while others have become
bedroom communities for larger city centers. These are, however, only partial solutions
when addressing the issues rural resource-dependent regions face.

Both rural sociologists and economists have attempted to provide solutions for
how these issues may be addressed in a local community. Economists have examined
phenomena related to individual rational decision making in relation to job acquisitions
and personal skill and knowledge development. The term that describes this concept,
human capital, accompanies other economically rational behavior traits attributed to
individuals. The generalized perspective is that individuals will not invest in personal
growth and development if it does not pay off in terms of improved job opportunities in
the local area. Additionally, individuals will rationally decide to move to a different area

if better career opportunities present themselves there. On the more macro level,

economists have attempted to understand why rural poverty persists despite efforts by
government and industry to change those conditions. One suggestion is that assistance
programs have focused primarily on agriculture, even though only about one-ﬁfth of rural
counties have a dominant agricultural industry (Humphrey et al., 1993). Other economists
focus on corporations that rely on low-income wage workers. These corporations will not
ﬁnd it in their rational interest to invest in schools or other training in the local area.
Regardless of the theory behind these viewpoints, the primary focus is usually on
economic recovery, often ignoring potential social or environmental impacts of those
efforts.

Sociologists in turn have examined rural poverty from the perspective of industry,
government, or class dominance. Internal colonialism is one such concept that focuses on
the impacts of large public agencies or private industrial ﬁrms. These entities often make
decisions about management of local resources from a remote location without ever
understanding or relating to the local repercussions of their decisions. Structural
conditions in these cases exist to prevent local areas from infringing on the control or
proﬁt gained by these companies. Other rural sociologists have instead focused on the
agency of individuals or communities to change their circumstances. They have
attempted to understand why some communities do manage to overcome the odds and
become relatively successful on an environmental, social. and economic basis. What
social conditions or arrangements allow this to take place? Moreover, are there actions or
steps that can be taken by communities to improve their chances of improving their
situation? If so, how can all interest groups in that area be assured of having an

opportunity to provide their input in the process? Some studies in the rural sociological

ﬁeld have attributed success at the community level to the ability of local ofﬁcials and
their constituents to mobilize and address the unique forms of poverty that they have
historically had to face (Flora et a1, 1991). An important ingredient in this “grassroots”
recipe is a set of well-established connections between these ofﬁcials, local individuals
and organizations both within and outside the community (Aronoff, 1997; O’Brien et a1,
1998). Efforts are often centered on ﬁxing economic, social and/or environmental
problems while at the same time maintaining the character of the area that attracted its
residents in the ﬁrst place.

The purpose of this study is to examine the potential relationship between
economic development preferences and the social networks that exist among local
ofﬁcials in a rural resource-dependent region. The structural conditions that help to shape
decision making processes may illuminate what priorities exist in local development and
resource protection efforts. Local ofﬁcials in particular are considered to be either the
connection that helps to solve a community’s problems or the barriers to alternative
solutions. They can be the conduits that allow the ﬂow of information and resources, or
the members of an elite club that prevent individuals or groups from voicing opinions that
run counter to their preferred direction. The types and levels of connections forged
between local ofﬁcials (whether elected, appointed, or agency personnel), their
constituents, and outside agencies and organizations help determine the effectiveness of
local efforts to improve economic and social conditions. An overt focus on only
economic development may ultimately unravel the social and environmental character of
a rural resource-dependent community. Understanding development attitudes and

preferences of local ofﬁcials and their constituents, and how these preferences relate to

each other, will help to determine whether development strategies will help or hinder a
community’s economic, social and environmental sustainability.

The Eastern Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan is a classic example of a rural
region rich in natural resources with a historically high dependence on the timber
industry for its economy. Timber harvesting in recent decades has declined substantially,
and signiﬁcant government facilities including an air base and mental hospital have
closed down. These types of withdrawals have left the area scrambling to ﬁnd
commercial or amenity-based industries to ﬁll the economic void. Some types of
recreation and tourism, including snowmobiling, ﬁshing, and casino gaming, have
helped. The job opportunities that accompany many of these industries, however, are
primarily seasonal or minimum-wage. The development of seasonal and second homes
has also increased in recent decades, which has introduced its own set of problems and
opportunities. Maintaining the relatively pristine beauty of the region, and respecting
resident senses of identity with the land, while at the same time introducing sustainable
job opportunities is an ongoing struggle for local decision makers.

This dissertation examines these issues in the Eastern UP from the perspective of
local ofﬁcials at regional and local levels. This research will apply both social network
and community leadership concepts to determine if they truly help to explain similarities
and differences in development and conservation attitudes between local ofﬁcials and
their constituents. P0tential patterns in social relationships, sense of leadership, and
development attitudes may help explain the role of local ofﬁcials in economic growth and
development in a rural natural resource-dependent region. Chapter II reviews the general

characteristics of natural resource-dependent regions, and concepts related to economic

and environmental sustainability in those areas. It also provides a detailed description of
the study area, including its social, environmental and economic conditions. Chapter 111
reviews the various theories related to rural poverty, including its causes and effects. It
then turns to the application of various social capital concepts that attempt to address
these concerns. The social capital section also includes a general description and history
of the concept, its classical roots, its drawbacks, and previous applications. This chapter
also explores the possibility that a community considered to have high social capital may
contain characteristics of a “growth machine” (Molotch, 1976) if it beneﬁts a given social
network of local elites at the expense of others. Chapter IV, the methods section,
describes in detail the use of conjoint analysis to determine residents’ and local ofﬁcials’
preferences for future conditions and economic development in the Eastern UP. It also
describes an additional set of personal interviews conducted with local ofﬁcials that
examine their connections with their community and outside the region. This chapter
concludes by describing a follow-up questionnaire sent to these ofﬁcials, asking
additional questions regarding self-perceptions of their leadership and inﬂuence in their
respective communities. Chapter V synthesizes the results of these data gathering efforts,
beginning with a direct comparison of economic development and growth preferences
between local ofﬁcials and residents. Scenarios of possible future conditions, using
combinations of the conjoint attribute levels, are then created to determine whether a high
growth scenario is preferred by local ofﬁcials. A qualitative analysis of the ofﬁcials’
interviews is then conducted, followed by a summary of the followup questionnaire on
personal inﬂuence in their communities. The quantiﬁed results are then used to determine

whether there is a signiﬁcant relationship between social network connections, levels of

personal inﬂuence, and preference for a high growth scenario. Chapter VI concludes by
summarizing these ﬁndings, describing possible implications of the results, and

suggesting limitations and future opportunities for research.

CHAPTER II:
RESOURCE DEPENDENCE AND MICHIGAN’S
EASTERN UPPER PENINSULA

Characteristics of resource-dependent communities

The term natural resource, as it will be used in this study, includes features or
substances in the biophysical environment that are seen as possessing economic and/or
social value. Freudenburg et al. (1995) point out that resources have value beyond their
inherent physical existence. Resource values are ultimately determined by their social
applications. When, then, does a rural community or region become characterized as
natural resource-dependent? Resource dependence usually refers to an area whose
economic structure relies heavily on a large company’s or government agency’s
extraction of a single raw material. Historically, communities developed around
employment opportunities based on resource extraction activities such as mining, timber
harvesting, or commercial ﬁshing. These "boomtowns" thrived as long as the resource
being extracted was in plentiful supply, and the wide expanses of open space in the young
country made it seem as if there was no end to the resources available. Eventually and
inevitably, natural resource supplies began to decline in these areas, causing the big
resource-extraction corporations to relocate to new sources where raw materials were
more plentiful. Towns and even regions whose sole dependence had been placed in the
hands of these extraction industries were left with massive unemployment and high levels
of poverty. Mining communities of Appalachia and the northern Midwest, and forest
regions of the North and West are examples of remote, high poverty, high natural
resource-based areas that continue to struggle today for a sustainable existence (Lyson

and Falk, 1993). Although they all can be lumped into the typical classiﬁcation of rural

resource-dependent regions, the physical, social and cultural distinctiveness of each
speciﬁc area makes the nature of their rural poverty issues complex and varied.

An additional set of distinctions can be made among natural resource-oriented
regions in terms of their spatial relations with other social or physical characteristics.
Peluso et a1. (1994) divide natural resource-dependent areas (NRDAs) into three groups
which are not necessarily mutually exclusive: 1) extractive NRDAs, where the greatest
source of income resides in traditional ﬁshing, forestry or mining operations, usually
controlled by one or few companies; 2) nonconsumptive NRDAs, regions where they are
able to take advantage of scenic or unique natural or historical features focusing its
economy on amenity—based industries such as tourism; and 3) backdrop NRDAs,
typically referred to as bedroom communities, where incomes are earned outside the local
area. The authors feel it is important to make the distinction among the dominant NRDA
forms because of the unique social and economic issues each must face.

Because of natural resource—dependent areas rely on a single or few sources of
economic wealth, rural poverty is often a harsh reath (Peluso et a1, 1994). Once the
resource becomes depleted or declines in value, or changes in technology substitutes
capital for labor, businesses “downsize” or relocate, leaving the community without jobs
or sense of identity (Beckley, 1995; Dumont, 1996). If new economic opportunities do
not compensate for the loss, which is likely since the rural nature of these areas often
make industrial transportation difﬁcult, out-migration often follows. Children of
resource-dependent families must look elsewhere for careers once they’ve completed
their education and begun their own families (Rural Sociological Society Task Force,

1993).

These areas usually look for ways to expand their economic base to improve their
poor employment conditions. Since many resource-dependent areas are located in
Western states, considerable research has been conducted on sustainable economies using
Western locations as a focus. Ashton and Pickens (1995), for example, identiﬁed several
Western state counties that are highly rural and resource dependent, and attempted to
identify if employment diversity did indeed keep communities more stable. Generally,
they found that diversiﬁcation is an appropriate and worthwhile goal. They suggest that
industries that are unrelated to resource product industry cycles, such as recreation and
tourism, would be the most appropriate. This does not, however, address the seasonal or
low-wage nature of most of these job opportunities. Gomoll and Richardson (1995) cite
that population growth in rural western counties will provide the push for diversiﬁcation
through such industries as service, trade, ﬁnance, insurance, real estate, and
transportation. Unfortunately these authors do not address the complications resulting
from these increased populations or possible environmental impacts in these regions.

Different segments of the population typically have different outlooks on growth,
and rural settings are no exception For example, resource-dependent communities in the
Midwest host a large population of seasonal residents who have built second homes in the
area. Because they are only part-time members of the local population, their attitudes and
perceptions tend to differ from those of permanent residents. Green et a1. (1996)
compared economic development attitudes between permanent and seasonal homeowners
in a northern county of Wisconsin. They found that seasonal residents were much more
likely to be concerned with overdevelopment and enacting land use controls, while

permanent residents were more concerned about the tax base and economic growth. They

also found that class differences among permanent residents affected attitudes toward
development. Wealthier residents were more likely to support land use controls and
zoning, although the authors were unable to explore the speciﬁc reasons for these

tendencies.

Concepts of economic and social sustainability

Communities and regions that struggle with issues related to resource dependence
often refer to their need to encourage sustainable development. The meanings behind the
term sustainable, however, are typically ambiguous. They usually revolve around the
recognition that physical or other constraints require maintaining the integrity of a
resource base while at the same time being able to maintain the productive use of that
resource (Dixon and Fallon, 1989). Decision makers and researchers still struggle with
the ambiguity of this term because several questions often remain unanswered: What is
being sustained? Sustainable under what set of environmental conditions? Sustainable for
how long? Who determines what should be sustained?

Various institutions and interests have their own answers to these questions. All
may agree that something in the community or region needs to be sustained, but the way
each interest expresses the values given to economic, social, and environmental
conditions inﬂuences the way in which each is managed or manipulated (Redclift and
Sage, 1994). All of these interests place some value on various aspects of an area, and it
is the differences among those values that can cause disagreement over development
strategies. Versions of market-value predominate in the economic point of view, where
interests in sustaining natural resources translates into maintaining the most proﬁtable

aspects of the resource in a given area. Proﬁtable ventures rely on fast and efﬁcient

10

'turnover' based on forecasts that rarely exceed ﬁve years into the future (Maser, 1994),
which suggests that sustainability in this context does not take long-term conditions into
account. Conversely, other interests compel agencies that manage public lands to take
more than market values into account. Growing environmental concerns have given use-
values of such features as soil, air, and water greater prominence in natural resource
management. As resulting priorities shift, these other factors in the ecosystem are taken
into account to maintain overall resource health For instance, sustaining certain levels of
growth and diversity in watersheds to protect soil and water integrity reﬂects a
management agency's value placed on those characteristics. Although these types of
actions can hardly be called altruistic, they do represent a break from pure market
considerations. Generally speaking, environmental interests represent greater attention to
both use-values and existence values. Use-values, or the beneﬁts provided by a resource
for those who use or intend to use it, can translate into an appreciation of forest resources
for various recreation opportunities or other amenity uses. Existence values, those
perceived beneﬁts that are not directed speciﬁcally to users, advocate sustaining a host of
living and nonliving entities because of their value in and of themselves. This perspective
advocates that any management or development planned by humans should automatically
incorporate both of these types of values. Both typically require the correct balance of
desired environmental conditions to be maintained in perpetuity.

When considering the previously mentioned sustainability questions, one could
conclude that answering any one of these questions requires deﬁning the values that lie
behind them. Throughout the decision-making process, an agency or ofﬁcial must deal

with contentions relating to these value differences among various interests (Hays, 1998).

11

Allen and Gould (1986) make this issue clearer by distinguishing between what they call
complex and wicked problems. They deﬁne these problems in relation to agencies
dealing with forest management, but this concept can also apply to decisions that must be
made in surrounding communities. Development in natural resource-dependent areas can
readily be considered a complex issue, where there are numerous factors that make
relationships and conditions very difﬁcult to understand. On the other hand, decision
making bodies must also deal with wicked problems related to such development. These
are problems with more than one acceptable answer, depending on who is being asked
and how the problem is deﬁned. Since the answer may depend on the time and location
of the area, development strategies cannot be standardized to be used across all locations
(Patterson and Williams, 1998). Although sustainability in an economic context received
plenty of attention in resource-dependent areas in the past, the term has gotten more

'wicked' as environmental and social interests have gained voice.

The Eastern Upper Peninsula as a natural resource-dependent region

Michigan’s Eastern UP, consisting of Chippewa, Luce, and Mackinac Counties, is
the body of land that separates Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Lake Superior (Figure
1). It is a relatively remote region of the state, with approximately 53,000 permanent
residents (US. Bureau of the Census, 1990) in this spacious three-county area (Figure 2).
The greatest concentration of residents can be found in each of the county seats,
Newberry, St. Ignace, and Sault Ste. Marie. Many who own permanent or seasonal homes
in the Eastern UP refer to the area as “God’s country" when describing its character

(McDonough et a1, 1999). Vast tracts of undeveloped land support a wide array of plant

12

 

     

Sau Ste. Marie

1

 

Figure l. The three counties of the Eastern Upper Peninsula: Chippewa, Luce, and
Mackinac.

 

 

 

Population Density
11‘

  

 

 

 

 

Figure 2. Population density per square mile of residents in the Eastern UP.

 

l3

and animal species. The rich combination of forests, wetlands, rivers, and inland lakes

provide an ideal setting for a wide variety of outdoor activities.

The Upper Peninsula has historically depended on a few natural resource
extraction industries, including mining and timber. In the last few decades, however,
these communities have been facing high unemployment due to cutbacks, especially in
the timber industry (McLaughlin, 1990). Although settlers initially attempted to farm the
areas that had been cut over, the short growing season and thin soils made agriculture a
poor enterprise in the region. These events have contributed to relatively high poverty
rates and heavy dependence on the government for jobs and transfer payments. In 1996,
Chippewa County had the highest jobless rate (18%) in Michigan, followed by Luce
County (14%). Government transfer payments comprise approximately 25% of personal
income in the three counties (McDonough et a1, 1999). The median household income in
the Eastern UP is substantially below the state of Michigan’s level of $31,020 (Table 1).
Mackinac County ranks lowest with a median household income of $19,397. Shifts in
government job opportunities have left local economies relatively unstable. For instance,

the Kincheloe Air Force Base in Chippewa County closed in the mid 19703, causing

 

Table 1. Median household income in the three counties of the Eastern UP and

 

 

Michigan, 1990.

COUNTY INCOME
Chippewa $21,449
Luce $20,370
Mackinac $19,397
Michigan $31,020

 

 

14

losses in population and employment in the nearby town of Kinross (McDonough et a1,
1999). The site now houses three prisons that have helped the area to slowly recover.
Luce County experienced similar problems with the 1992 closing of a state regional
mental health center in the village of Newberry (the county seat). Again, prison systems
have come to their economic rescue, with a minimum security facility opening in 1996.
Both the Kincheloe and Newberry prisons are generally viewed by residents as a positive
addition to their areas (McDonough et a1, 1999), since prison jobs pay reasonable wages
with beneﬁts. In Table 2, prison employment is included under the government category,
along with positions in natural resource—based agencies such as the Michigan Department
of Natural Resources and the US Forest Service. Other important employment sectors are

natural resource and tourism based, with the natural resource sector including the

 

Table 2. Industry employment per category as percent of total industry output

 

 

(IMPLAN, 1995).

m. 2:: (5:: an... a: .... :2: 6:2:
Chippewa 4.4% 19.2% 5.6% 2.0% 3.9% 15.3% 9.3% 26.3% 13.9%
Luce 13.2% 9.6% 6.5% 1.9% 1.6% 6.9% 3.9% 46.5% 9.8%
Mackinac 3.8% 36.7% 7.4% 5.5% 6.2% 12.2% 5.6% 13.3% 9.3%
EUP 5.5% 22.0% 6.2% 2.8% 4.1% 13.4% 7.6% 26.1% 12.2%

 

manufacture of wood products. The combined contributions of natural resource, tourism
and government related occupations accounted for 50% to 60% of total employment for
each county. This is a much greater proportion than in the state of Michigan overall,
where these categories made up only about 24% (Steffens and Stevens, 1996).

Despite the drastic timber extraction activities that took place in the early 20"I

century, the Eastern UP is still well endowed with forested areas and other undeveloped

15

__.._.._——

land. The US. Forest Service manages the eastern half of the Hiawatha National Forest
(892,100 acres) in this region. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has
additional landholdings (675,375 acres) scattered in smaller individual parcels.
Combining these and private forested lands results in a total of approximately 1,770,000
forested acres in this area (Steffens and Stevens, 1996). Residents often depend on these
resources in providing wood for heat, as well as hunting, ﬁshing, and other subsistence
activities to supplement their incomes (Emery, 1996; Kakoyannis, 1997). With the
building of the Mackinac Bridge (in 1957) that joined the lower and upper peninsulas of
Michigan, outdoor recreation opportunities became more accessible to a greater number
of people than ever before. Residents of Michigan, surrounding states, and Canada today
regard the Eastern UP as an “outdoor playground,” enjoying the vast expanses of
undeveloped land for such outdoor recreation activities as hunting, ﬁshing, camping,
boating, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling. In terms of days of
activity taking place in the region, swimming, boating, ﬁshing and camping are the most
popular activities, each consisting of over 600,000 person-days of activity per year (Table
3). The region is a net importer for all activities except backpacking and alpine skiing.
Across all 18 activities, seasonal homes and campgrounds each account for about a
million person-days of recreation participation in the Eastern UP (Stynes and
Kakoyannis, 1999).

The Native American tribes that live in the region have also taken advantage of
the tourist trade by opening a large number of casinos. This has brought in much needed

revenues to the tribes for infrastructure development and support services for their

16

 

Table 3. Days of recreation participation for the Eastern UP, by thousands of person-
days in 1990 (Stynes, 1996).

 

Days of Activity Received in the Counties

EUP Total maﬁa °° mums!" “a" ma“ On day Total days in

 

at overni t .
Seas home Motel Camp stays8h trrps county“

Backpack 0.0 0.0 8.4 8.4 0.0 8.4
Bicycle 68.6 5.9 44.4 124.8 3 .2 319.4
Camping 0.0 0.0 613.5 613.5 0.0 613.5
Fishing 152.3 57.4 62.4 274.6 224.6 685.9
Golf 23.9 4.4 1.5 43.1 4.5 179.2
Hike 71.6 14.8 118.3 219.5 29.5 275.0
Hunting ﬁrearms 40.9 2.6 16.9 63.1 46.1 161.0
Snowmobile 31.6 126.4 0 158.0 50.0 270.0
Ski alpine 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Ski cross 6.8 1.1 0.0 8.9 4.5 21.7
country

Swimming 208.7 14.8 147.9 386.3 45.5 907.2
Boating motor 296.1 45.9 41.6 385.6 41.3 633.5
Canoeing 31.8 1.7 1.6 36.8 15.5 66.0
Sailing 23.7 0.0 6.2 29.9 4.5 51.5
Total 1,001.7 278.6 1,064.6 2,407.2 473.6 4,334.1

* Totals will include extensive double counting, as someone ﬁshingﬁom a boat is both boating
and ﬁshing.

 

17

members. Jobs created by such tourism ventures, however, are typically part-time or
seasonal in nature and rarely include fringe beneﬁts (McDonough et al., 1999). And
despite the Eastern UP's natural resource amenities and outdoor recreation opportunities
on public lands, government cutbacks in the Forest Service and the Michigan DNR have
reduced these agencies’ employment levels (Steffens and Stevens, 1996).

The character and backgrounds of Eastern UP residents are changing as well.
While overall population levels are low, the proportion of those residents who are in
older age groups is relatively high, with approximately 15% of the population over 65
years old (Table 4). Stynes and Olivo (1990) predict that senior citizens will continue to
migrate to non-metropolitan areas, including theanstern UP, during the next 30 years.
Retirement migration into an area can bring a relatively stable income through transfer
payments and investment incomes, while at the same time increase demand for health-

related industries and certain leisure opportunities (Reeder and Glasgow, 1990).

 

Table 4. Proportion of age classes by county and state (US. Census, 1990).

 

 

AGE Chippewa Luce Mackinac Michigan

17 or younger 23.35 27.21 25.91 26.45
18-44 years 46.67 33.91 34.56 42.87
45-64 years 17.44 21.64 22.51 18.75
65 or older 12.54 17.25 17.01 11.92

 

 

Seasonal homeowners are also a growing population in the area. Seasonal
homeowner spending rivals all spending by traditional visitors who stay in commercial
lodging, such as hotels and motels. Since choosing a seasonal home requires a large
investment of time and money, owners tend to be wealthier than the general population

(Stynes and Zheng, 1995). Seasonals also tend to be older, and these homes are therefore

18

often purchased as potential retirement properties. Reasons for owning a seasonal home
include getting away and relaxing, spending time with friends and family, and recreating
outdoors. Once again, these patterns tend to increase demands on local services,
including transportation, health, and recreation.

Although the communities of the Eastern UP once depended on the timber
extraction industries of the past, economic and recreational data from Tables 2 and 3
show that the region is now expanding its economy beyond the traditional extractive
industries by focusing on various amenity-based attractions. With the inﬂux of additional
visitors, seasonal homeowners, and retirees come diverse sets of perceptions about how
the region is changing, according to oral history interviews conducted with long term
residents (Kakoyannis, 1997). For instance, when residents are asked about their images
of the Eastern UP in the near future, many express the feeling that growth and
development are inevitable. One Chippewa County resident observed “...in the next 5
years, there ’s gonna be some real rude awakenings...more and more people are gonna
be movin’ to the area, I believe.” Concerns about crowding and the effects of additional
development were also expressed. One Luce County resident sai , “...in Michigan we ’re
going to grow and continue to have population increases to the point to where we ’re not
going to have a very good life because depending on resources for we ’re going to dilute
what's there...so the outlook, in my opinion, is poor.” A Mackinac County resident
expressed concerns about changes in the types of residents and corresponding land
values. “All the land around the lakes are going to be purchased by people that can
afford it, they are driving off local people now...I mean people are just going to swarm in

proximity to the expressway here, and the land is going to become so valuable...” There

19

is a sense of helplessness expressed when residents discuss such changes,. Many feel that
these changes will take place regardless of their personal preferences. “There ’s nothin ’
you can do about it. You can ’t stop it. I wish you could but you can ’t,” stated one
Chippewa County resident. Another in Mackinac County said, “... you ’re going to have it
built up more and more all the time around here and that’s, that’s something you 're not
going to stop.” A few residents expressed concerns about local ofﬁcials’ involvement in
this process. “[ What do I like ] Least? Well, I guess sometimes their high-handed county
government. You know, what they’re trying to do is develop,” observed one Luce County
resident. A senior citizen from Chippewa County expressed a need for vigilance when it
comes to their elected ofﬁcials. “I think we have to watch our ah, legislators because they
do things more for their own benefit or their party ’s beneﬁt, than they do for the general
benefit...”

Despite their perceived lack of control over the situation, most residents were
willing to describe their vision of a preferred future for the region. Preferences for future
conditions are based in part on the goals and purposes of why both seasonal and
permanent residents want to be in the Eastern UP in the ﬁrst place. For instance, one of
the most common preferences expressed by permanent residents relates to the retention of
young people, reﬂecting the “brain drain” concerns documented in rural sociology
literature (Humphrey et a1, 1993). Reasons for an expressed interest in development of
new businesses or industry is usually related to having available jobs for their children so
they can remain in the Eastern UP. One Luce County man summarized by stating,

“But they [the young people] can ’t making a living here. So I would like to see the

UP and Luce County grow to a point that it will still be a great place to raise kids
but they can make a living here, so that once they’re raised they don ’t have to

20

move away. I think, really, that would probably be the best thing that could
happen to Luce County.”

Seasonal residents were more likely to express an interest in keeping future conditions as
they are today. A seasonal resident from Neebish Island said, “Well, I think most...of the
people on the island...would like to have it stay just about like it is ...”

Results ﬁom a general population survey conducted as part of a larger study of
attitudes toward economic and environmental conditions in the Eastern UP both conﬁrm
and confound the observations from the oral histories (McDonough et a1, 1999). The
questionnaire consisted of a set of questions asking residents about their perceptions of,
and preferences for, particular characteristics in the region. Respondents were asked to
rate a series of future development strategies for the Eastern UP. These selections and the
relative percent of respondents who support them are listed in Figure 3. The list included
a range of resource protection and economic development of strategies. The alternative
that gathered the highest percentage of support from respondents was “setting aside
natural areas.” Amenity-based opportunities and development, including more recreation
and tourism development, also were supported. On the other hand, many of the
participants in the oral histories expressed concerns about the availability of full time,
high wage jobs. These results illustrate the dilemma residents face, since setting aside
lands and promoting tourism with primarily minimum wage level jobs does not satisfy
the need for strong employment opportunities. Multiple views of ideal future conditions
affect the way local ofﬁcials make decisions for future economic and resource
development strategies based on the social forces that exist in their communities. Both
elected ofﬁcials, such as county commissioners or township supervisors, and appointed

or hired personnel, such as public property managers or directors of local Chambers of

21

 

 

Setting aside natural areas
Tourism

More outdoor rec. opp.
Attracting annulaculing ﬁrms
Attracting retirees
Processing mod products
Harvesting tees

Uniting growth

Miring

More seasonal homes
Casino caning

AW Prisons

 

 

61}, 2'0 3b lo 52) ab 7'0 80
‘36 strongly or somewhat supporting
Figure 3. Percent of respondents who support the given strategies for future
development in the Eastern UP.

 

Commerce, must ﬁnd ways to accommodate these economic and social changes that are
taking place. Land management agency personnel in the region must manage vast tracts
of open land in a way that satisﬁes the various use demands of both local constituents and
larger agency policies. Since a signiﬁcant proportion of the public forest property in the
Eastern UP is available for timber management, a central focus for managers, has
involved timber production that meets market demand and local processing facility needs
(Beckley and Korber, 1995). In the past few decades, however, shifts in policy have
charged agency decision-makers with considering a wider variety of values and concerns
when planning resource management activities. They now must consider the entire

ecosystem when managing forests, rather than compartmentalizing the various resources

22

into management of wood, wildlife, and people (Beckley and Korber, 1995). These shifts
require a wider array of skills, yet agencies are slow to provide the necessary training so
that agency personnel may better deal with the additional responsibilities.

Local government ofﬁcials in rural communities are often not technically or
administratively equipped to handle drastic changes in their region (Brown and Glasgow,
1991). Perceived increases in population and tourism growth in the Eastern UP not only
leave residents with a sense of helplessness, but also create new challenges to local
ofﬁcials who must bear the burden of accommodating increased demand for public
services. Changes in the composition of the local population, such as in the Eastern UP
where there are increases in retirees and seasonals, can shift social perceptions of how
community resources should be managed. As Brown and Glasgow (1991) suggest:
“Local decisions and actions are no longer taken (if they ever were) in isolation or in
response to purely local needs and interests. Local government ofﬁcials must observe
extralocal rules, mandates, and regulations (p. 198).” Local governments in rural areas
tend to be conservative and relatively nonconfrontational, and ofﬁcials in various
governmental capacities are usually paid a token salary for their efforts. Consequently,
ofﬁcials such as county commissioners and township trustees can spare precious little
time or resources learning new planning or governing techniques. Yet local governmental
bodies must look beyond business as usual, and ﬁnd creative ways to use ﬁnancial and
technical resources more effectively. At the same time, they still must work toward
reaching the perceived goals and demands of their constituents.

If the natural resource agency personnel and local government ofﬁcials in the

Eastern UP do indeed face the above challenges in their respective positions, how do

23

their situations affect the economic and environmental sustainability of the region? It is
not understood how these local ofﬁcials maintain their connections with local and
extralocal interests that could potentially affect their communities. It is also not clear
whether their attitudes toward future conditions in the region resemble those of their
constituents. The next chapter examines the concepts that have been used to study the
ways local ofﬁcials deal with economic, social and environmental changes, and how

these conceptual bases can be used as a foundation for this study.

24

CHAPTER III:
CONCEPTS OF IDENTITY AND SOCIAL NETWORKS IN RURAL SETTINGS
Residents and local ofﬁcials alike express concern over the fate of communities in

their region. Rural nonfarm aspects of locales have been largely ignored in most
economic recovery efforts, and advocacy networks outside agricultural interests have
been weak. Many researchers with wide range of backgrounds have attempted to explain
the underlying causes of these persistent problems, including internal colonialism, power-
based theories, human capital and rational choice (Humphrey et a1, 1993; Freudenburg
and Gramling, 1994; Peluso et al., 1994). Many of these concepts use economic or
political structures as their foundation, while others focus on the agency of individuals or
communities that ultimately result in perpetuating rural problems. But rural natural
resource-dependent regions provide more than substance for economic recovery through
industrial development. The natural resources that remain so prominent in regions such as
the Eastern UP also play a vital role in peoples’ sense of identity and attachment to place
(Cantrill, 1998; Burnett, 1998; Hummon, 1986). This aspect of rural areas should be

considered when examining efforts to improve economic conditions.

Social constructions of nature and sources of rural identity

Decisions about whether to stay in a rural resource-dependent community do not
entirely revolve around rational behavior, at least in the economic sense. An individual's
sense of place may compel them to remain, even if economic conditions are not ideal.
According to Cantrill (1998), sense of place is deﬁned as “...the perception of what is
most salient in a speciﬁc location, which may be reﬂected in value preferences or how

that speciﬁc place ﬁgures in discourse.” He suggests that sense of place helps to deﬁne

25

the individual, or self identity, and that the surrounding environment (both natural and
human constructed) serves in part as a source of that deﬁnition. Even residents who are
new to rural locations typically ﬁnd ways to become a part of their surrounding
community. Rural identity and related constructions of nature have been found to
correlate with length of residence in an area (Cantrill, 1998; Burnett, 1998). For instance,
Burnett (1998) discusses the 'othemess' of newcomers to a rural community. In a case
study involving the examination of rural communities in Scotland, she describes the
relationship between local development initiatives and the importance residents place on
a sense of local identity in that development. Although in-migrants are regarded as a
source of economic development for a rural area, and are encouraged to accommodate
and engage in all things 'local,' these new residents are often excluded from local ﬂames
of reference, such as shared community history. New residents often exhibit 'altemative
lifestyles' or higher levels of wealth that run counter to traditional sources of identity.

Although Burnett's examination does not explicitly include social constructions of
nature, it could be argued that local identities of long-term residents often differ ﬁ'om
residents who had recently moved into the area. Cantrill (1998) explores these types of
relationships in his study of identiﬁcation with natural environments and attachment to
place among two different populations in Munising, Michigan. He conducted interviews
with residents who had lived in the area for various amounts of time and asked them
about the features of the local area that they felt were special, and the qualities of the area
that made them feel connected to it. Content analysis of the interviews revealed that
generally people stressed features and connections related either to the natural

environment, or to their social relationships, or to both at the same time. Cantrill

26

concluded that those residents who had spent fewer years living in the area were more
likely to identify speciﬁcally with aspects of nature in their surroundings. For those living
there for longer periods of time, independent of age, the natural environment is still
important, but it is mostly valued in the context of their social relations and the
community at large. An interesting implication in this research is that, as the Munising
community experiences the typical 'brain drain' problems of young people moving away
for education opportunities and better employment, and as new residents move in
(usually with little to no preestablished social relationships in the area), community
identities that are attached to the natural world may become stronger (Cantrill, 1998). The
potential shift in identiﬁcation with nature may very well affect resident attitudes toward
various forms of economic development and growth.

Earlier concerns among social researchers asserted that modern American
individuals with their greater mobility and mass-produced neighborhoods could be
considered "socially rootless (Hummon, 1986)." However, more recent work has revealed
that identiﬁcation with community, wherever it might be located, is still common among
individuals. Hummon (1986) interviewed residents in urban, suburban, and rural settings
to understand the meanings they attached to their locales, and their personal identiﬁcation
with them. Most expressed some sort of attachment to their area, with residents living in
the countryside constructing their identity with such personal values as friendliness,
openness, and a sense of independence (self-sufﬁciency). In addition, many infused these
self-images with an interest in the outdoors, valuing such characteristics as fresh air,
uncrowded open space, and outdoor activities. Their constructions of nature as a source

of rejuvenation and insulation from others help these residents to distinguish themselves

27

from the urban or suburban 'other.’ Natural surroundings therefore seem to be especially

important in rural resource-based communities.

Frauws’ utilitarian and hedonist discourses

Despite these attachments to the natural world, it is clear that natural resource-
based communities still struggle and hope to extend their focus beyond single-company,
resource extraction economies. Frauws (1998) examines three discourses on how various
interests would like to see rural settings developed in the future. Although his focus is on
rural spaces in the Netherlands, the concepts can relate to development strategies in
natural resource-dependent locations.

1) Agri—ruralist discourse. This relates directly to rural associations with agriculture,
where farming is considered to be the economic activity that is vital to the health of
rural economies. Farmers are seen as the source of a socio-cultural, "rural renewal" (p.
59) complete with the traditional values associated with a romanticized view of the
countryside.

2) Utilitarian discourse. Any development activities that bring about the maximum
economic potential possible are appropriate. In this view, the country is treated just
like any other potential 'site' for development. This parallels such concepts as
'maxirnum sustainable yield' in forestry practices that does not see a necessity in
incorporating socio-cultural factors in the maximization equation. Environmental
factors should only be a concern if they somehow threaten that yield.

3) Hedonist discourse. Frauws considers this discourse to be the most multidirectional. It

focuses on 'quality of life' issues which can range from instrumental to intrinsic values.

28

This implies varying levels of concern for environmental, socio-cultural, and

economic conditions in a community.
Frauws recognizes that identifying these discourses does not suggest that there is a one-
to-one relationship between those of popular opinion and prevailing political agendas.
For instance, in the Netherlands, there is a considerable popular occurrence of the
hedonist style of discourse, but development trends in rural areas seem to be reﬂecting a
more utilitarian discourse. Based on previous observations with residents in the Eastern
UP, all three discourses were represented in the discussions. Local ofﬁcials in the region,
however, were not part of Kakoyannis’ (1997) study. Based on previous work on rural
identities and various forms of discourse in communities, it is not clear if local ofﬁcials
who make conservation and economic development decisions have a propensity to

identify with certain types of discourse or particular constituents.

Social capital and social networks

A new wave of research is attempting to understand how success in alleviating
poverty can happen at the community level (rather than the individual level). Much ado
has been directed at the expressions of social capital, which focus on the beneﬁts of
social networks and relationships in a community. Researchers are beginning to make
attempts to sort out the ﬂurry of work and discussion that uses this term as a focal point
(Portes, 1998; Wall et al., 1998; Flora, 1998; Woolcock, 1998). The classic use of the
term 'capital' was originally limited to kinds of productive wealth which can be employed
for the creation of more wealth. Attaching the 'social' to this term is in part an attempt to
narrow the gap between the work of sociologists and economists (Portes, 1998). Social

capital concepts follow two major foci: "the mutual relations, interactions, and networks

29

that emerge among human groups” and “the level of trust found within a particular group
or community” (Wall et al.. 1998; p. 303). The concept has reached buzzword status as a
result of inconsistent and nebulous deﬁnitions. Researchers and policymakers alike are
attempting to further the causes of community vitality, education and learning, social
mobility, and economic growth through identiﬁcation of social capital’s vital ingredients.
For proponents, it is a way to facilitate partnerships and cooperation, what Day (1998)
describes as core principles of community development.

Classical sociological connections

Recent examinations have made extensive associations between various meanings
of social capital and classical sociological theory (Flora, 1998; Wall, Ferrazzi, and
Schryer, 1998; Portes and Sensenbrenner, 1993). For instance, Durkheim's work
emphasizes that, as individuals are socialized, they take in the norms and values
associated with those around them. This value introjection ultimately forms the "non-
contractual aspects of contractual solidarity" that accompanies cooperation and mutual
trust (Portes and Sensenbrenner, 1993). Individuals therefore behave in ways that lie
beyond self-interest, which is an underlying principle in most social capital concepts.

A related approach to describing the basis behind cooperation and mutual trust is
described as enforceable trust (Portes and Sensenbrenner, 1993). Max Weber originally
used this concept when describing formal and substantive rationality. While formal
rationality relies on bureaucratic institutions to enforce cooperation and exchange
according to agreed-upon rules, substantive rationality involves traditional (non-rational)
customs such as those that exist through family ties. Individuals set aside their own

immediate gains in expectation of favorable membership in a socially and economically

30

dominant group. This is a purely utilitarian way of looking at cooperation within a group,
but it does have the advantage of placing importance on the structural web of social
networks.

Marx and Engels focused extensively on the social solidarity associated with
exploited classes. In this case, it is not the noncontractual elements nor the set of accepted
norms that bind individuals together, but the shared struggles they face by the dominant
class (Portes and Sensenbrenner, 1993). Marx referred to this as bounded solidarity,
where adverse social conditions serve to encourage intra-group cohesion (Woolcock,
1998). Although this perspective could serve as a basis for social movements, it has the
disadvantage of ignoring cooperation among groups that involve situations other than
those of negative inﬂuences.

Yet another source of social capital concepts relies on the work of Sirnmel. His
introductory work on social networks at the beginning of this century found that
individuals’ interactions in a group through such symbolic means as language,
technology, and social institutions have a profound effect on how they behave. He also
was instrumental in showing that networks can vary in their structure and type of
interactions based on their size (Collins and Makowsky, 1998). Other work by Sirnmel
focused on reciprocity transactions which describe how, at the individual level, the
process of exchange between actors takes place (Woolcock, 1998; Portes and '
Sensenbrenner, 1993). Favors and information are given from one member to another
member of a group with the expectation that he/she will receive a corresponding amount

of favor in return. Not only is this a purely utilitarian way of conducting life's business,

31

but all of these actions are inherently selﬁsh. The individual only takes in consideration
what will eventually be acquired from his/her efforts.

These individual classical examples provide various elemental pieces of the social
capital concept puzzle. The motivations and conditions under which social capital exists
can be viewed through various dichotomies, based on the classic foci: class oppression
versus cooperation, individual versus network levels, dynamic versus static network
links, or selﬁsh versus altruistic motivations. Regardless of which approach is used, Flora
(1998) points out that using the term 'capital' when examining these conditions differs in
that most communities do not consciously create social capital. Cooperation and
participation by members of a group in various situations over a long period of time is
said to create or foster social capital, but it appears to serve only as a by-product of those
actions. Coleman (1988) describes this as the 'inadvertent' aspect of social capital.

Concerns about including cooperation and trust in social capital theory have been
voiced in recent work. Researchers have pointed out how the deﬁnitions of social capital
are usually circular in nature. For instance, Putnam (1993) examined the amount of civic
involvement in various Italian villages as a measure of its overall government
performance and economic sustainability. His ﬁnding that civic communities are high in
public participation and involvement can be summed up in the words of Portes and
Landolt's (1996) critique, ”If your town is 'civic,’ it does civic things; if it is 'uncivic,’ it
does not" (p. 21). They point out that this tautology does nothing to deﬁne or understand
the nature of social c00peration and trust, nor how it is related to community
sustainability. Further, social capital cannot be bought or 'accumulated' as other forms of

capital can be.

32

The argument on how to attain stronger levels of social ‘civic’ capital also leads
to theoretical concerns related to policy. Because of the circular nature of many concepts
used to describe the beneﬁts of social capital, policymakers with contradictory strategies
can use it to justify their particular position (Woolcock, 1998). Many equate the
conditions associated with social capital with Tonnies' gemeinschaft, and lament the
apparent decline in local civic associations that kept it going. Conservative philosophies
suggest that state intervention is partly responsible for the wane in private social
institutions, thus supporting their position that less government is better. At the very least,
governments have no role in promoting civic associations, because it's not in the
government's best interest to promote such personal agency. Conversely, liberal positions
argue that policies can be created to provide a more stable and predictable environment,
thus making it easier for civic associations and other forms of social capital to develop.
This perspective suggests the arrangement is mutually fulﬁlling-with a greater
proportion of individuals volunteering and participating in civic activities, greater
attention is directed toward encouraging a more responsive and responsible government.
People gain greater access to vital information, as well as improved organizational skills
to be able to discuss and interpret new information (Woolcock, 1998). These examples
illustrate the almost universal agreement among policymakers that social capital is a
valuable ’public good,‘ yet there is little to no shared conception of how to measure it, nor
how it should be attained.

The signiﬁcance of social networks
Social capital theory does not need to be abandoned entirely, however. Those who

have been using the concept of social capital to examine the effectiveness of

33

communication in relation to social networks have typically focused on both the
connections among individuals or groups within the network, and connections with other
networks. Various terms and descriptions have been used to describe these networks and
the actors in them. For instance, members can have few shared acquaintances among a
group, or they can be more interlocking, where all members know and communicate with
each other (Rogers and Kincaid, 1981). Members themselves are not considered to be
equally communicative or to have similar status in the network structure. They can have
such specialized roles as liaisons (those who are a member of one clique but interact with
a member or members of another), bridges (those who are not members of either of two
cliques but interact with certain members of each), or isolates (individuals who have no
identiﬁcation with the system). Ties or connections among members of a network can be
inﬂuenced by such conditions as the length of time the connections have existed, a
member’s reciprocal behavior with others, and the affective intensity of the connections
between members. Granovetter’s (1973) examination of interpersonal networks found
that information and behaviors within a given network are typically similar. Therefore,
bridges and liaisons are important ties that connect two networks and channel new
information or ways of doing things. Connections that are relatively low in frequency
and/or intensity are therefore still important in communicating information and ideas.
Other research has focused on aspects of social networks that reach beyond basic
structural components. Davem’s (1997) examination of economic-based social networks
divided different aspects of social networks into four basic components that might help to
sort out possible applications in social capital models. Networks in his conceptualization

can have:

34

1) a structural component, where the conﬁguration of the network itself is important
(much like original sociograms and their graphic representations of groups);

2) a resource component, where certain characteristics of each actor in a network,
such as class, knowledge, or abilities, are sources of assistance for other actors
(corresponding to original descriptions of opinion leaders);

3) a normative component, where formal or informal rules and sanctions govern how
actors should behave (corresponding to issues of trust and reciprocation as
described in social capital); and

4) a dynamic component, which describes the formation and dissolution of social ties
between actors over time (Davem, 1997).

He proposes using these distinctions to examine various economic strategies, ranging
ﬁ'om setting wage rates for employees in a ﬁrm, to understanding class development and
other socioeconomic processes, to markets and their effect on exchange rates. These four
components of social networks are also important when considering issues related to
social capital in communities.
Limitations of social capital applications

Many uncritically accept the axiom that, if some social capital is good, more is
better. The perception that social capital provides many beneﬁts without any costs is
ultimately misleading, however. For instance, if members of a social network are tightly
knit, this would generally be accepted as contributing to high social capital (according to
previous descriptions). Stronger intra-network ties is not necessarily a good condition,
however, since these may ultimately result in the exclusion of outsiders (Portes and

Landolt, 1996). This falls in line with classical Marxian perspectives, where one cultural

35

group dominates a local industry, or where members of a minority group attempt and fail
to gain access to clients in certain industries. Many business transactions are still made on
the golf course or during boating excursions-informal arrangements that are not
accessible to those who do not have the ﬁnancial means to participate.

Another limitation that accompanies close social network ties relates to ultimately
hegemonic belief systems, values, or activities that can restrict individual agency
(Woolcock, 1998; Portes and Landolt, 1996). Tightly integrated communities, for
example, may often bring beneﬁts of mutual support, but also demand a certain amount
of conformity. This set of concerns relates directly to Granovetter’s (1985) concept of
embeddedness. Individual action is mitigated by the social structures that surround them.
Social pressures such as those requiring the provision of favors for ﬁiends and family can
undermine sincere business development efforts (Portes and Landolt, 1996). Failures to
do as the social network demands may result in permanent exclusion from further group
beneﬁts. At its worst, these kinds of social ties can become sources of corruption or
exploitation (Woolcock, 1998).

An illustration of problematic conditions based on social capital can be found in
Flora's (1998) examination of communities in the Midwest. One town named Riverview
was found to be high in social capital factors, including well integrated social networks,
and large number of civic, government, and church organizations. This would suggest
that chances of success would be high if community-wide development projects were
introduced. Upon further examination, however, it turns out that the high proportion of
Catholic members in the community affected such efforts. Many local leaders were

Catholic, whom Flora referred to as the "power brokers" of the area. Without their favor,

36

any proposed project would be rejected in its early stages. Although the researchers found
that the power had been passed down from older generations to a set of under-40 leaders,
it turned out that most were members of the "old guard" families in the community.
Furthermore, women were underrepresented in the leadership structure, although they
owned many of the active downtown businesses. Riverview is an excellent example of
how, on the surface, a community can be regarded as high in social capital, but low in
inclusive and effective social and economic development projects.
Elements of social capital in rural settings

Despite the potentially exclusive nature of social networks in a community, there
are instances of community action fostering positive, sustainable economic and social
development. Following these leads, we can continue to search for effective local
community relationships and social networks that may be used to provide relief from
rural poverty conditions. Working with these keys to local networks, argues Day (1998),
will discourage the prevailing belief that rural communities must either change their
culture or be forever considered merely as a ’heritage' area. Local Opinion leaders
typically serve as primary storehouses of knowledge, and may take inﬂuential roles in
promoting information exchange and broader perspectives to local issues. The role of
liaisons and bridges is also key in this information-sharing process. These ties have been
particularly important in ﬁnding out about such economic opportunities as employment
in a local area (Davem, 1998). In rural areas with scarce job availability, these ties may
be one of the few ways a resident can improve his/her economic situation.

Since the search for appropriate development in an area can be a slow process

requiring patience and perseverance, long-term social ties among residents are vital in

37

attaining and maintaining economic viability for the community. O'Brien et al.'s study on
communities in Missouri found that an area is more likely to maintain its viability if local
leaders (including heads of organizations and local elected ofﬁcials) formed formal social
networks that enabled them to participate in projects together. Viability in this case is
deﬁned as "the extent to which rural communities continue to function as trade and
service centers" (p. 111).The fostering of reciprocation and trust through these projects
allowed communities to maintain their economic health. The authors admit, however, that
viability in these areas was mostly due to large hog farm operations, which did not
necessarily foster good social or environmental conditions.

Brown and Glasgow (1991) consider a different focus when measuring success in
community viability. Capacity building, a “community’s ability to manage its own
affairs” (p. 200), is a concept that transcends standard development policy. Instead of
focusing solely on private business and economic development, capacity building turns
toward public infrastructure development. This can include such beneﬁts as access to
public services, as well as expertise in technical and organizational skills. The capability
of local governments and other organizations to provide these services to their
constituents is dependent on the social networks that are maintained. According to Brown
and Glasgow, access to technical information and information on prevailing public
opinion on local issues can be gained more easily with the formation of inter-community
partnerships. Better connections among individuals and organizations, both within and
outside an area, build the capacity to better deal with changes or challenges that rural
communities face. If rural community changes include in-migration or population

growth, local ofﬁcials will ﬁnd themselves in a better position to deal with these changes

38

if they gain leadership and planning skills from professional sources. This once again
emphasizes the importance of connections with others, particularly outside their own

region, who are capable of sharing this knowledge and expertise with local ofﬁcials.

The growth machine as an exclusionary form of social capital

Flora (1998) suggests there must be high inter- and intra-community linkages,
vertical and horizontal linkages, and acceptance of multiple viewpoints to maintain
economic and social stability in a community. Although it is generally believed that rural
social networks have high intra-community ties (Hofferth and Iceland, 1998), there may
be fewer opportunities to create and maintain links outside the area. In addition, issues
related to internal colonialism could be considered a form of vertical domination without
associated linkages with the rest of the community. Although Flora (1998) argues that
socioeconomic inequality (such as that found between local elites and lower-income
individuals) does not necessarily suggest poor relationships, it is possible that social
networks among the elite exclude others in the community. “If a development-oriented
business elite takes care that others are incorporated into social action—if mechanisms
for inclusion of various social groups are strong—the outcome may be positive for the
entire community, even though the effort is elite led (Sharp, 1998)” (p. 501). If, however,
elite business owners do not have these linkages, unwanted growth and development (in
the eyes of general residents) could take place. One could consider such conditions as
high in social capital, but they can also be considered analogous to what Molotch (1976)
ultimately refers to as a growth machine.

Molotch, in his descriptions of municipal functions in 1976, points out that

resident concerns about jobs and general economic health are played upon by business

39

and industry by inﬂuencing the policies of local government ofﬁcials to make a
community favorable for unlimited growth and development opportunities. He deﬁned
this coalition of business elites and government ofﬁcials as the “growth machine
(Molotch, 1976).” His original work altered dominant pluralistic theories in city politics.
Instead of looking at a city’s political functions as a multifaceted combination of services,
the political structure’s sole underlying and consistent goal is to facilitate a climate for
unlimited growth. If growth was in actuality the central concern of local government,
then businesses and other entrepreneurial interests could align themselves with the
dominant local coalition in land development issues. Besides business and local
government ofﬁcials, Molotch included planners, the media, and university
administrators as additional members of an elite group of growth pushers that ultimately
dominates the way growth is invited into their area. In attempts to make sure that
business does not locate elsewhere, governments make other beneﬁts available to
industries, such as tax breaks, good (docile) labor relations, and well structured (and
plentiful) transportation systems. The growth machine coalition also (consciously or
unconsciously) covers their underlying interests with a veneer of support for events and
activities that encourage civic pride and a sense of territorial bonding.

Proponents of economic development argue that growth not only increases job
opportunities and strengthens communities ﬁscally, but also increases the local tax base
and stabilizes the relationship between a household’s taxes and the public services it
receives (Peterson, 1981). Indeed, Baldassare (1981) concludes that rapid growth is
especially good for non-metropolitan areas in providing local services and facilities,

increasing personal satisfaction with the residential environment. Other researchers,

40

however, have countered these arguments, pointing out that job increases and higher tax
bases are not necessarily resulting products of economic growth (Molotch, 1976; Logan
and Molotch, 1987 ; Vogel and Swanson, 1989; Schneider, 1992). Residents often ﬁnd
that, although business development increases some job opportunities in an area, it also
draws more in-migrants that increase local populations. This results in greater stresses on
social services and infrastructure while at the same time leaving job opportunities ﬂat. As
effects of crowding and cost of living increase, local residents may ﬁnd that they have
lost a great deal of what they enjoyed about their community in the ﬁrst place. Residents
ultimately pay the price for these additional businesses as the burden of increased
demands on inﬁastructure and municipal services weigh more heavily on available
municipal funds.
Local officials in the Growth Machine

Molotch characterized local government ofﬁcials as individuals who have the
power to become part of the coalition that makes pro- growth development decisions at
any cost to residents. This suggests a struggle of an elite class that dominates the
workings of local government, rather than the more human ecological view of efﬁcient
ﬁ'ee market democracies. Box (1995) points out that, although the capitalist political
system does allow access to policy, there is at least some degree of elite control based on
power and wealth. The concern among these and other researchers is not that certain
members of a community stand to gain ﬁom growth strategies, but that local
policymakers do not have the necessary tools in place to determine and include what true
community interests really are (Vogel and Swanson, 1989). Since one of the central

problems is the difﬁculty in attaining consensus on the best interests of the community,

41

local government ofﬁcials run the risk of becoming instruments of the narrow views
related to those who are politically attentive. Local government ofﬁcials may therefore be
neither representative nor attuned to the interests and concerns of those they govern.
Luloff and Hodges (1992) illustrated this potential lack of connection between
local ofﬁcials and their constituents in their study of attitudes toward economic
development and growth in northern New Hampshire. "The implicit assumption is that if
bureaucrats and the public hold similar attitudes, then bureaucratic decisions and actions
will reﬂect the interests and desires of the public” (p. 384). They found that there were "‘

substantive differences between local ofﬁcials’ and constituents’ attitudes on growth and

 

development issues. Although an ofﬁcial’s concerns must often consider the
requirements of various industries and government agencies, a lack of congruence
between leaders and residents may result in decision-making that negatively affects local
quality of life.

According to other researchers, not all growth regimes are equally powerful, nor
are they similar structurally. Elkin (1987) grouped these regimes into three categories,
pluralist, federalist, and entrepreneurial. In this typology, the federalist regime eclipsed
the previous dominant pluralist structure in the 19603 when minority groups struggled to H

gain better representation in their areas. Growth regimes co-opted the minority leaders

 

‘1"1x—Ill.

into the growth mentality to improve the job opportunities and economic well-being of l
poorer minority neighborhoods. Growing out of the federalist regime, the entrepreneurial
regime transcends racial and minority struggles to include all sectors in unlimited growth
objectives. This most nearly reﬂects Molotch’s classic description of the growth machine.

The collection of business elites and subordinated local ofﬁcials combine to create an

42

alliance that allows for unimpeded growth. Although regime theories such as these point
out that the balance of politics can be variable, “. . .in all three types, a progrowth
coalition is dominant; what differentiates them is the inﬂuence accorded to other groups,
including growth opponents (Logan, Whaley, and Crowder, 1997).”

Individuals and established organizations who oppose unlimited economic growth
do in fact exist. Residents of an area may initially support uncontrolled growth along with
elected ofﬁcials and business leaders because they may stand to beneﬁt from the
improvements in an area’s amenities that have been put in place to attract new
businesses. If tax structures and cost of living increase too drastically, however, residents
can become disenchanted, and may organize to oppose further growth. Molotch (1976)
described them as “antigrowt ” movements. This term is an interesting one, because its
use implies a general dependence on growth terminology to describe those who oppose it.
In any case, residents oppose growth for different reasons. Some focus on environmental
or other human “carrying capacity” impacts, while others may not want the additional
population growth that accompanies economic development (Vogel and Swanson, 1989).
Growth advocates accuse these groups of being obstructionist or spreaders of dissent
among the community—just another set of NIMBYs who don’t want to take the bitter pill
of some negative extemalities to improve their area’s economic stability. These types of
opposition to growth vary across locations. Logan et a1. (1997) have found that
communities with many who are of higher socioeconomic status, those who face an
environmental threat, or those with higher rates of civic organization are more likely to

challenge the growth machine.

43

Local ofﬁcials’ responses to growth opposition also vary. In today’s political
climate, policies regarding economic development are rarely set without some
consideration of environmental and social impacts. Warner and Molotch (1995)
categorized three ways that growth control may be addressed by local government
ofﬁcials. Symbolic politics relates to situations where policy makers create superﬁcial
rules and pay lip service to controls, but essentially affect little. Episodic intervention,
such as moratoriums or other temporary halts to actions, enacts sporadic regulations so
that developers and business interests can take advantage of the resulting “windows” of
opportunity when the regulations do not apply or expire. Finally, countervailing policies
take place when government organizations become so complex or fragmented that their
policies in different departments are inconsistent. Most of these responses ultimately
confound efforts to slow growth in a community.

Growth management principles and practices

Although local ofﬁcials may not have the ability or ambition to fully capture what
amounts and types of economic growth their constituents are willing to accept, some in
the past decade have used planning processes under the term “growth management” to
capture pro- and anti-growth interests under the same umbrella. Although there are
multiple deﬁnitions for growth management, Vogel and Swanson (1989) capture its
essential nature:

Growth management is touted as a rational planning process to arrive at

community decisions regarding growth rates, the mix of residential,

industrial, and commercial development, the tradeoffs between ‘use’ and

‘exchange’ values, the provision of public services, and the protection of
the environment (p. 66).

44

Local ofﬁcials see it as a compromise between extreme growth and anti-grth forces,
although proponents of different sides of the issue may not see it as such. As Molotch
(1976) mentions, planning processes in these situations typically address the question of
where to locate development rather than asking the question of whether the development
should take place at all. Supporters of growth management promote the process as a way
to bring all concerned parties to the table, but these collaborative efforts often overlook
certain crucial issues. For instance, local policymakers are not charged to separate the
issues related to job creation from those of population growth (Vogel and Swanson,
1989), and usually accept increases in populations as long as the additional needed social
support and infrastructure services, such as roads, health services, and housing, are
anticipated. In fact, economic development plans and growth management plans are not
necessarily coordinated, thus increasing the chances that Warner and Molotch’s
previously described countervailing policies will occur. The separateness of these types
of plans also ignores the relationships among economic, social, and environmental
sustainability.

Gill and Williams (1994) examined a growth management application in two
mountain tourism communities: Aspen, Colorado and Whistler, British Columbia The
authors felt that the growth management methods used in these locations went beyond
traditional planning approaches by including speciﬁc policy statements and budget
guidelines, and deﬁned implementation strategies to reach the communities’ deﬁned
goals. As with other planning processes, however, ofﬁcials did not have effective
mechanisms in place to include all stakeholders in the process. In addition, it appeared in

these two examples that merely providing accommodations for inevitable increases in the

45

local population was the central focus, falling in line with Vogel and Swanson’s (1989)
observations. Gill and Williams point out that growth management efforts are only
successful if support for growth and development goals extend beyond the local area to
include higher regional and state levels of government.
Local eﬁectiveness

Businesses have typically complained that growth controls and regulations
initiated by anti— growth agendas have inhibited the economic health of an area and
created housing shortages. But how effective are these measures in controlling
development? Conversely, how effective are growth forces in promoting their community
for additional development? Results from previous researchers have been mixed. Warner
and Molotch (1995) point out that growth rates among cities with growth controls were
no slower in 1980 population and development increases than those without such
controls, according to studies at that time. In their study of three California locations, the
authors concluded that growth controls such as zoning are effective only when there is a
sustained favorable political environment that, over time, institutionalizes these growth
controls. Loosely organized or temporary controls rarely succeed in slowing development
or population increases. In some areas with strict zoning or housing development
restrictions, housing prices increased, resulting in (intentional or unintentional) exclusion
of certain socioeconomic groups from that area (Logan et a1, 1997). It appears that such
growth control measures serve to redirect development rather than slowing it.

Effectiveness of development promotion in areas has also received mixed
reviews. In Humphrey and Wilkinson’s (1993) examination of growth promotion in rural

Pennsylvania, they found signiﬁcant positive effects on in-migration and property sales in

46

promoting recreation and tourism, but no effects in active promotion of communities in
industrial, forest products and service-related economic sectors. McGranahan (1984)
found that if local ofﬁcials were more connected with extralocal elites, the community’s
population and manufacturing sectors were more likely to grow. He posits that ofﬁcials’
exposure to innovative opportunities and personal inﬂuence outside their local
communities encourages local growth. Humphrey and Wilkinson (1993) also found that
local ofﬁcials who maintain connections and communication with others both outside
their locales and among others in surrounding communities are more effective in
initiating local growth.

Economic Development in Rural Communities

Many of the previously mentioned authors have examined the growth machine
and its related issues in an urban or suburban setting. Logan et al. (1997) point out that
the effects of the growth machine are not clear in rural community studies. They suggest
that these areas have fewer resources to lure outside investors, which may reduce the
inﬂuence of growth advocates. On the contrary, it would seem that there are many
amenities, such as low tax rates, affordable property values, and a “willing” workforce
that serve as incentives to draw certain industries.

It is not prudent to assume that all local ofﬁcials wholeheartedly support the
growth machine. Some studies have examined possible variations in support for growth
among political entities. In a study of metropolitan and nonmetropolitan mayors, Maurer
and Christenson (1982) found that a larger proportion of large town mayors (population
1,000 or over) were more growth-oriented than small town mayors (population under

1,000). Although these authors point out that costs to local government often outweigh

47

the beneﬁts of development, and local residents often bear the brunt of those costs while
a few private sector elites gain the beneﬁts, these local ofﬁcials still regard growth as
important for their communities. Although Maurer and Christenson did examine
nonmetro communities, they focused primarily on industrial development as opposed to
the growth of tourism and natural resource-oriented interests. These regional differences
may affect how residents and their local ofﬁcials view growth.

This discussion illustrates the importance of knowing who has power and
inﬂuence on growth decisions in a community. Local elites may or may not include
elected ofﬁcials or other formal decision makers, and may not be what one would
consider to be local opinion leaders. In fact, there may be important distinctions between
opinions of local elected ofﬁcials (such as mayors or councilmembers), non-elected local
government administrators (such as regional foresters or planners), opinion leaders (such
as business entrepreneurs or members of local fraternal organizations), and other
residents. A good example of how perceptions may differ can be found in a natural
resource and economic development study of Oakridge, Oregon (Hibbard, 1986).
Opinion leaders in this community see the average resident as apathetic and resistant to
change, even though residents apparently feel there is a need for some economic
development. Resident interviews, on the other hand, revealed that they want the town to
be successful, and express a genuine caring for their community. They take pride in their
self-sufﬁciency. They love the natural beauty of the area, and want the town to remain
small and uncrowded (Hibbard, 1986). This shows how difﬁcult it is for local decision

makers to determine resident preferences for economic development and natural resource

48

protection. This study also points out some of the relationships between residents and

various community leaders, and their sense of what the community stands for.

Measuring preferences using conjoint analysis

If decision makers more clearly understood resident preferences, then this
knowledge in turn should assist them in making more informed choices about
development and protection. Researchers approach decision making in several ways
(Stewart, 1994). For example, Abelson and Ievi (1985) distinguish between structural
decision making models and process decision making models. While process models
examine the ways in which an individual makes decisions, structural models focus on the
outcomes, or choices, that are ultimately made. Recreation and marketing disciplines
often use a particular form of structural modeling, called Information Integration Theory
(IIT), because of its well-defmed theoretical applications and clear statistical methods in
comparing alternatives (Louviere, 1988). HT has designed measurement techniques to
understand how multi-attribute alternatives are subjectively evaluated. Experimental
designs have more recently incorporated conjoint measurement, which examines how the
evaluation of each attribute of an item affects consumer choice.

From the previous section discussing resident attitudes toward development and
natural resource protection, there appear to be a variety of characteristics ﬁ'aming
residents’ perceptions of what is needed in their community for a favorable quality of life
and economic stability. Determining the best mix of attributes that make their area an
acceptable place to live, however, can be highly dependent on how preferences are
measured. Conjoint analysis is based on the assumption that an individual’s ability to

evaluate an object is related to his or her perceptions of various important attributes (Toy,

49

Rager, and Guadagnolo, 1989). This method has been used extensively in consumer
behavior and marketing literature to determine new product acceptance, market
segmentation, or product positioning (Green and Krieger, 1991; Kuhfeld et al., 1994).
The general steps in a conjoint analysis interview are:
1) provide a series of hypothetical choice alternatives, composed of various
combinations of attribute levels that have been found to be important in

evaluating a particular object;

2) transform the results to interval scale estimates of the utility (called part-
worths) for each attribute level; and

3) combine the derived part-worths to determine the overall utility for the object
with a particular set of characteristics (Joseph, Smit, and McIlravey, 1989).

This modeling approach represents a more realistic depiction of the decision process
(Toy, Rager, and Guadagnolo, 1990).

There are several other issues in conjoint analysis that must be addressed. The
attributes that are selected to describe the object must be of sufﬁcient number to
accurately measure preferred alternatives, but several attributes and levels require
considerable amounts of time for the respondent to consider all possible combinations of
these levels. A complicated set of attributes can make the survey tool cumbersome and
confusing to the respondent. Regardless of the number of attributes included in the
survey, all should be sufﬁciently independent of each other, so that any given aspect of
the Eastern UP is not evaluated more than once.

There are several conjoint applications in previous research that diverge from tlm
traditional marketing applications to assist in structuring the conjoint survey tool
(Mackenzie, 1992; Dennis, 1997; Joseph, Smit, and McIlravey, 1989; Toy, Rager, and

Guadagnolo, 1990). For example, Mackenzie (1992) used a full-proﬁle method in his

50

 

 

study of preferred waterfowl hunting trips that creates alternatives with a combination of
all attributes with varying levels. Having each respondent rate every possible
combination of attribute levels would be too taxing, so each is given only a fraction of
alternatives to reduce fatigue. Results of this study found, among other things, that
waterfowl hunters are generally willing to pay more in travel expenses to save time when
getting to their destination.

Other variations on the conjoint method have been developed to further reduce
respondent fatigue. One method, called hybrid conjoint, incorporates a combination of
self-explication techniques as well as a tradeoff exercise (Toy et a1, 1990). These authors
used the method to determine what aspects of a country club could be improved.
Respondents were ﬁrst asked to rank the attributes in order of importance, and also
indicate which attribute levels were preferred, acceptable, or unacceptable. The second
step involved a full-proﬁle conjoint analysis of those same attributes. After gathering all
respondent data, the authors could then use the results in market segmentation
simulations and pricing strategies.

An example of an application related to land use management is provided by Don
Dennis (1997). He measured the most preferred combination of timber harvesting,
wildlife management, hiking trails, snowmobile use, and ORV use in the Green Mountain
National Forest in Vermont. A unique alternative combination of these attributes with
varying levels of each was provided on each of 18 cards. Respondents then ranked these
cards from most to least preferred. Generally speaking, the author found that respondents
were interested in multiple uses of the forest, combining a moderate amount of timber

harvesting, a mix of wildlife habitat management, an extended hiking trail system, and

51

some snowmobile use, but no ORV trails. Dennis asserted that these ﬁndings run in
contrast to interest groups, who generally focus on one type or style of management to
the exclusion of others. This type of conjoint analysis application allows resource
managers to understand the combinations of uses that potential visitors to the forest are
willing to accept.

Although these conjoint analysis examples illustrate how resource managers have
attempted to measure multiple use preferences, the method has not been applied to the
multiple concerns of local ofﬁcials and residents in a rural natural resource-dependent
region. Recognizing that these ofﬁcials must often make tradeoffs among economic
development and resource protection alternatives in their decision making processes.
conjoint analysis may serve as a useful tool in gauging which choices will be most

palatable to their constituents.

Local ofﬁcials, levels of inﬂuence, and opinion leadership

Another body of literature examines the importance of opinion leadership in
prevailing attitudes and preferences among the citizenry. Lazarsfeld et a1. (1944) began
the search for opinion leaders by focusing on concerns about how the media inﬂuences
attitudes among the general public. The “magic bullet” or “hypodermic needle theory”
(Weimann, 1994) asserted that the media had a direct, powerful inﬂuence on the opinions
of all who heard their messages. Results from the studies, found in Lazarsfeld et aL
(1944) The People 's Choice, showed that there were no obvious magic bullets. Instead,
there seemed to be a two-step ﬂow to the communication. The logic behind this
observation begins when individuals change their minds about topics or issues because of

their personal interactions with others. The next step was to determine whether there are

52

some individuals who are more inﬂuential than others. Lazarsfeld's study found that
certain people seemed to be more exposed to mass media, suggesting that these people
served as the mediator between the media and the broader audience (Weimann, 1994).
Later studies showed that the system is yet more complex. Using various techniques to
identify these mediators, researchers found there are individuals who inﬂuence the
opinions of those around them There are generally four different methods that have been
used to identify these opinion leaders. One method uses observers who monitor group
activities and records the communication behavior among its members. This is only
applicable, however, to very small groups who are located geographically close to each
other. Another technique, called the sociometric method, asks members of a group who
they turn to for information or advice, and those people who are named the most are
considered opinion leaders. The sociometric method, however, is also limited to small
groups since all members of that group must be questioned. Another method, called
informants’ ratings, reduces the need to contact all group members by identifying key
informants who are found to be particularly knowledgeable about social ties. The
challenge in this case is that chosen informants may not be particularly representative of
the group, and that the group must still be located within known boundaries. The third
technique, called the self-designating method, asks respondents a series of questions
about their own perceived level of inﬂuence in the group. The reliability of the self-
designation method, however, depends heavily on an individual’s self-awareness and an
accurate assessment of what other group members think of them. Each method has been
used in particular settings to identify community leaders who in some way inﬂuence the

opinions of others.

53

Through these various methods, opinion leaders were found to be experts in a
particular area of expertise, and that a leader in one realm (such as public affairs,
household goods, fashion, etc.) does not have identical personal characteristics with
leaders in other realms. Additionally, opinion leaders in their respective ﬁelds of interest
use more than mass media for information gathering, including such sources as written
product literature and friends or acquaintances. Weimann’s examination of various types
of opinion leaders showed that these individuals come from various demographic
backgrounds. People of both sexes, high or low incomes, and high or low formal
education levels could all qualify as opinion leaders in certain realms.

Other researchers have critically examined the opinion leader concept, and have
pointed out several ﬂaws. For example, measures of leadership were often characterized
in a dichotomous fashion—either an individual was an opinion leader or he/she wasn’t.
The opinion leader as described also overlooked the nature of his or her social network,
as well as the horizontal or vertical links that may exist among themselves and other
leaders. Katz and Lazarsfeld (1955) summarized the important characteristics that
Weimann feels are important to making the concept of opinion leadership more complete:
1) Who one is—a person must personify a certain set of accepted values; 2) What one
knows—a person must be competent in certain areas or ﬁelds; and 3) Whom one knows
—a person must be strategically located in his or her particular social network.

Responding to these criticisms of the opinion leader concept, Weimann
reconstructed it to create a scale that was applicable across various ﬁelds of interest.
Using what he calls the Strength of Personality (PS) Scale, he deﬁnes individuals who

rate highly on this scale as inﬂuentials. He used ten general statements to which subjects

54

can agree or disagree (Table 5). Summing the weighted values associated with each

response, an individual can fall within one of four quartiles in personality strength;

 

Table 5. Weimann’s (1994) Personality Strength (PS) Scale.

Weight
Smear-mt Yes No
1. I usually count on being successful in everything I do 13 7
2. I am rarely unsure about how I should behave 14 7
3. I like to assume responsibility 15 7
4. I like to take the lead when a group does things together 17 8
5. I enjoy convincing others of my opinions 15 7
6. I often notice that I serve as a model for others 16 8
7. I am good at getting what I want 14 7
8. I am often a step ahead of others 18 9
9. I own many things others envy me for 15 9
10. I often give others advice and suggestions 12 6

 

strong, above average, moderate, or weak. In his test of this scale, he found that, in
contrast to opinion leaders, people who rate highly on the PS scale are more likely to be
male, and are high on various socioeconomic measures such as income and education.
Additionally, Weimann’s network analysis of inﬂuentials in an Israeli kibbutz and in
Germany found that they also tend to be centrally located in their social networks. He
also found that inﬁuentials tend to be more socially active (at least in informal settings),
and read more books and newspapers than those who scored lower on the PS scale.
Overall, Weimann concluded that this type of measure better reﬂected levels of personal

inﬂuence on others, based on both personal and social characteristics.

Summarizing conceptual frameworks
The theories relating to social networks and relationships illustrate the various

ways local ofﬁcials can be portrayed as members of their communities. Some theories

55

related to social capital focus on the structure and content of social networks, of which
formal and informal leaders play an important part. To build capacity for improvements
in social and economic conditions, members of these networks must share information
and resources (Flora, 1998). Other studies have found that long-term relationships
reinforce these networks and provide a sense of social and economic stability (O’Brien et
al., 1998). Although strong and extended networks are generally seen as a good thing,
they can also become exclusionary, inﬂexible, or hegemonic. If this network contains
members of an elite class who encourage economic development and growth for their
personal gain, this could be considered as Molotch’s (1976) conception of a growth
machine. Although these ofﬁcials may be disconnected from their constituents,
McGranahan (1984) suggests that connections with extralocal elites were evident in areas
where populations and the manufacturing industry were growing. Some residents may
support such high growth activities at the outset, but increased burdens on infrastructure,
social services, and environmental conditions can sour those preferences. Molotch,
however, focused his examinations on urban settings. When ofﬁcials’ growth attitudes
are compared between metro and nonmetro regions, it appears that metro ofﬁcials are
more likely to support growth and development (Maurer and Christenson, 1982). Interest
in tourism development and other natural resource-based industries were not explored,
however, which apply directly to natural resource-dependent regions such as the Eastern
UP.

Outright dismissal of resident opinion by ofﬁcials is only one explanation as to
why their development attitudes may differ. Local ofﬁcials simply may not have the

capacity to effectively gauge prevailing resident attitudes on these matters. Ofﬁcials may

56

or may not serve as opinion leaders in their respective communities, nor might they be
particularly inﬂuential in their existing social networks. As natural resource-dependent
regions such as the Eastern UP begin to face an inﬂux of newcomers who strongly
identify with natural settings, it is not clearly understood how ofﬁcials incorporate these
potentially new attitudes in their decision making processes. Local ofﬁcials’ levels of
local connectedness, opinion leadership, and personality strength should ultimately affect
their ability to identify with the needs and preferences of constituents (even newcomers),

and thus inﬂuence their expressed preferences for economic growth and development.

Applying conceptual approaches to the Eastern Upper Peninsula

Residents of the Eastern UP face similar concerns about their livelihoods and their
communities that others in either rural or urban settings must deal with. Many have also
encountered the problems associated with a community’s sole reliance on one industry,
and the consequent economic decline if that industry leaves (such as the Kincheloe air
base closing in the late 19703 in Kinross). These concerns create an atmosphere that
encourages economic growth and development as a necessary ingredient to community
and regional sustainability. Attitudes regarding how and to what extent that development
should occur, however, may vary considerably among different groups in the residential
population.

Current growth levels and economic development in the Eastern UP do not seem
to reﬂect high growth conditions, according to census data and economic indicators that
have been tabulated for the region (McDonough et al., 1999). Residents of the Eastern
UP who participated in the McDonough et al. study, however, expressed concerns about

perceived population growth and development that is beginning to push its way into their

57

communities. This input from residents provides a baseline of information about their
attitudes toward growth, which creates an opportunity to continue exploring more
speciﬁc preferences for economic development and natural resource protection among
both resident and local ofﬁcials. Previous literature on economic development efforts in
rural resource-dependent regions seem to portray local ofﬁcials as either pro-growth or
isolated and anti-change. Explorations appear to be lacking on how ofﬁcials must address
development while at the same time maintaining the rural character that serves as a basis
for residents’ local identity.

The reviewed literature offers some suggestions on how local ofﬁcials in regions
like the Eastern UP deal with perceived economic and social changes. Luloff and Hodges
(1992) demonstrated that congruence between local ofﬁcials’ and residents’ attitudes
toward development and resource protection cannot be assumed. A critical step is to
therefore determine how local ofﬁcials in the Eastern UP reﬂect concerns among
residents about growth, economic development, and natural resource protection. If there
are differences between these two groups, however, the possible causes behind those
differences need to be identiﬁed. Some authors have found that local networks with other
ofﬁcials are likely to result in successful efforts in improving economic conditions (Flora,
1998; O’Brien et al, 1998). Likewise, Humphrey and Wilkinson (1993) found that local
ofﬁcials who maintain connections with others outside their area are more effective in
initiating local growth This so-called form of social capital, however, may work to the
disadvantage of residents who may have a sense of local identity that includes
undeveloped, unspoiled natural surroundings (Cantrill, 1998). Differences in

development attitudes between constituents and local ofﬁcials would then result in

58

growth that beneﬁts only the elite leaders of the community (Logan and Molotch, 1987).
According to these observations, if local ofﬁcials have a strong preference for growth,
have extensive connections with others both within and beyond their region, have low
propensities for gathering input from their constituents, and are not particularly
inﬂuential with residents, then Molotch’s portrayal of the growth machine model will be
supported (Figure 4). There are other characteristics of local ofﬁcials that could inﬂuence
their preferences for growth and development. Many previous studies focused primarily
on the attitudes of elected ofﬁcials (Maurer and Christenson, 1982; Logan and Molotch,
1987), typically excluding non-elected ofﬁcials who also make important local decisions.
Additionally, Cantrill’s (1998) ﬁndings that longer-term residents maintain local
identities with ﬁiends and neighbors more than the surrounding natural environment
might inﬂuence local ofﬁcials’ development preferences. Ofﬁcials who have lived and
been socially active in the Eastern UP for longer periods of time have had a greater
opportunity to form identities beyond the natural environment. One ﬁnal aspect of local
ofﬁcials may inﬂuence attitudes, based on Weimann’s (1994) observations of opinion
leaders. It is important to recognize that local ofﬁcials are not necessarily opinion leaders,
and that opinion leaders have a speciﬁc discipline or topic of expertise. In the case of the
Eastern UP, if local ofﬁcials are opinion leaders in economic development or
environmental issues, these levels of expertise may inﬂuence their preferences for
development or protection. Therefore, the length of time ofﬁcials have lived in the
region, the length of time they have served in their positions, their elected or non-elected
status, and their levels of opinion leadership may also affect their development

preferences (Figure 5).

59

Research Questions

1) Do preferences for economic development or resource conservation differ between
local residents of the Eastern UP and local ofﬁcials who are responsible for decisions
that affect these resources?

2) If local ofﬁcials have higher preferences for economic development than residents, are
ofﬁcials’ preferences inﬂuenced by their intra- and extra-local connectedness with

others, communication with their constituents, opinion leadership, or level of inﬂuence
in the region?

3) How might other personal characteristics inﬂuence local ofﬁcials’ potential differences
in preferences for economic development, such as the length of time living in the
Eastern UP, the length of time in their position, whether the position is elected or not
elected, and whether they are opinion leaders in economic development-related topics?

4) What kinds of local and extralocal connections do ofﬁcials maintain to accomplish
their responsibilities?

5) How might the connections local ofﬁcials maintain help or hinder their capacity to
deal with change?

60

 

 
   
   

 

Allowance for
public input ______________ Ofﬁcials’
----------- preferences
for development
HIGHER than
residents’

 

 

@

Figure 4. Proposed relationship of social connectedness and personal inﬂuence if
preferences for economic development are found to be higher than residents
among local ofﬁcials (Dashed lines indicate negative relationships).

 

 

Years in
EUP
Years in
position
Ofﬁcials’
preferences
for development
Elected! HIGHER than
00‘ 315C“ residents’

 

 

 

   
   
     

Opinion leader
in development

Figure 5. Proposed relationships between personal characteristics of local ofﬁcials if
their preferences for development are higher than residents’.

 

61

CHAPTER IV:
METHODS

Based on previous examinations of the Eastern UP (McDonough et a1, 1999), the
region contains particular natural resource-based characteristics that are very important to
residents. Many of the things that residents value, such as uncrowded open space and
high quality water resources, are seen as being threatened by new development. On the
other hand, job opportunities and a healthy local economy are also important to them. An
important step in this study therefore lies in determining to what extent these resources
are important in relation to particular development opportunities. Do local ofﬁcials have
similar preferences for resource protection and economic development? How might the
social networks of these ofﬁcials inﬂuence their preferences? Attempting to answer the
posed research questions entails using multiple data-gathering techniques, and a mixture
of qualitative and quantitative methods. An advanced survey technique called conjoint
analysis was used to explore preferences for development and resource conservation
among both residents and local ofﬁcials (Question 1). Semi-structured interviews were
used to determine the extent of network connections between those ofﬁcials and others,
and to understand the extent of public input efforts in decision-making processes
(Questions 2 and 3). A brief survey of self-perceived inﬂuential abilities was also used to
answer Questions 2 and 3. Qualitative results from the semi-structured interviews were
also used to answer Questions 4 and 5. Each data gathering technique will be detailed in

subsequent sections of this chapter.

62

Eastern Upper Peninsula Proﬁle

The region being studied includes the three easternmost counties of the Upper
Peninsula of Michigan. These three counties, Chippewa, Luce, and Mackinac, are
sparsely populated and richly endowed with natural resource amenities. Population and
housing has begun to increase in recent decades, mainly due to the inﬂux of retirees and
seasonal residents. Although the region has economically depended on resource
extraction activities in the past, these are on the decline. Increases in economic industries
that depend on natural amenities, such as outdoor recreation and tourism, are increasing.
Native American tribes in the area have opened several casinos, boosting their economic
viability. These recent efforts to bolster local economies have had some success in
reducing levels of poverty and dependence on government assistance, yet concerns about
young peoples’ livelihoods in the region are still expressed among residents. Despite the
concerns about economic viability, most residents still consider the wild, undeveloped
nature of the Eastern UP to be central to their lives. In the McDonough et a1. (1999)
study, residents indicated that the large acreages of public land, as well as access to lakes
and streams, are important in the outdoor activities (such as hunting and ﬁshing) that are
a signiﬁcant part of their lives. Increases in populations and growth that might affect the
quality and quantity of these natural resources are therefore a serious concern among

residents.

Eliciting economic and environmental tradeoffs
The ﬁrst and most important step is to successfully identify those important
characteristics that should be used in the conjoint analysis. This can be done by

examining previous surveys and interviews of resident opinion in the Eastern UP

63

(McDonough et al., 1999). This research was completed in two stages that captured these
opinions: oral history interviews that allowed for free-form discourse, and a broader mail
survey that measured the extent of these opinions. The oral histories of Eastern UP
residents were conducted during the summer of 1996 (Kakoyannis, 1997). Sixty-three
oral history interviews were conducted with respondents who lived in at least one of the
three counties for at least 30 years. Each consisted of the following open-ended
questions:

1) What were your natural resource-oriented experiences (recreation and

subsistence) during childhood?

2) What were some past events that had a great impact on your county?

3) What are some of the characteristics that you like most about your county?

4) What are some of the characteristics that you like least about your county?

5) What are your hopes and concerns for the future in your county?
Most of the residents interviewed enjoyed a variety of outdoor activities both now and in
their childhood. Residents have indicated that they participate in many of these activities
either for subsistence or recreation, or both. These results show that the natural resource
base in the Eastern UP does indeed play a signiﬁcant role in residents’ lives. Interviewees
also indicated a variety of Eastern UP aspects that appeal to them. For instance, many
mentioned that it is a “good place to raise kids.” They enjoy its natural beauty, rural
setting, peace and quiet, recreation opportunities, clean air and water, and low population.
Most mentioned a need for more job opportunities, especially so that their children can
stay in the area when they start their careers. This paradox of wanting more jobs without
substantially increasing the area’s population or level of development is an indicator of

residents’ ambivalence toward these aspects of their community (Kakoyannis, 1997), and

the dilemma local ofﬁcials face when making decisions about development.

64

Using the results from the oral histories, a mail survey was constructed to gather
information on more widespread concerns and interests in the Eastern UP (McDonough
et a1, 1999). A stratiﬁed sample of permanent residents and seasonals were selected from
lists of utility company accounts, totaling 1566 questionnaires. A total of 872 useable
questionnaires were returned. Topics included in the survey that are relevant to this study
include: 1) importance of and satisfaction with selected characteristics of the Eastern UP;
2) perceived changes in Eastern UP conditions; and 3) preferences for speciﬁc economic
development strategies for the Eastern UP. The importance/satisfaction, perception of
change, and development preference sections all contain pre-selected categories (based
on the results ﬁ'om the oral histories) with Likert-style scales. Reﬂecting what
participants had indicated in the oral histories, characteristics such as air quality, water
quality, cost of living, and access to outdoor recreation opportunities were chosen by over
50% of all respondents as being very important. These results therefore helped to
determine which attributes should be included in the conjoint analysis interviews.
Possible changes in those characteristics were then outlined so that potential future
scenarios could be created in the conjoint survey itself.

Due to the complex nature of these methods, computer packages were developed
in the 1980’s to assist in survey execution and data analysis. One software company,
Sawtooth Software, speciﬁcally addresses respondent fatigue resulting from a large
number of characteristics through a method called Adaptive Conjoint Analysis, or ACA
(Green and Srinivasan, 1990). As with the hybrid conjoint procedure, ACA uses
responses to self-explication techniques that are entered directly into the program, and

these answers are used to pose the conjoint analysis portion of the survey. Sawtooth

65

Software argues that more characteristics can be tested in this way by initially omitting
those levels that are not acceptable to the respondent (Sawtooth Software, 1985). This is
especially important when measuring preferences for an “object” that is as complex as
the Eastern UP. ACA, therefore, was the most appropriate conjoint method for this
project, employing an easy-to-use on—screen interactive survey and accompanying data
analysis software.

Adaptive Conjoint Analysis uses the selected set of characteristics, or attributes,
that are most appropriate in describing an object or situation, and creates alternative
scenarios using varying levels of each characteristic. In this case, the Eastern UP is the
object, having various attributes of the area that are especially salient to its residents
(according to the results of the mail survey). Each attribute can vary according to possible
changes that may take place in that characteristic in the future. These selected attributes

and their possible levels of change are provided in Figure 6.

Selecting residents and local ofﬁcials

Conducting the survey itself required arranging personal interviews with
residents. Since it is important to have respondents who consider the Eastern UP to be a
salient topic, a sample of 100 individuals who returned a completed mail questionnaire
from McDonough’s (1999) study were randomly selected to participate. Selected
respondents consisted of both permanent and seasonal residents who owneda home in
either Chippewa, Luce, or Mackinac Counties. These 100 were among about 600 who
had responded positively to the ﬁnal question in the survey instrument that asked if
he/she would be willing to participate in a followup survey. This suggests that, if

residents are interested enough in the area to complete a mail survey, and they are willing

66

Populations of game ﬁsh increase
Populations of game ﬁsh remain the same
Populations of game ﬁsh decrease

Lakes & streams are safe for boating, ﬁshing, and swimming

Lakes & streams are safe only for swimming and boating

Lakes & streams are safe only for boating
Warmer:

No change in the number of seasonal homes

A small increase in the number of seasonal homes

A moderate increase in the number of seasonal homes

A large increase in the number of seasonal homes
maximum

No change in the number of permanent residents

A small increase in the number of permanent residents

A moderate increase in the number of permanent residents

A large increase in the number of permanent residents
W

No additional hotels or motels

A small increase in the number of hotels or motels

A moderate increase in the number of hotels (I motels

A large incresse in the number of hotels or motels
W

No additional jobs of any kind

Additional commercial forestry jobs

Additional tourism service jobs (excluding easino jobs)

Additional casino jobs

Additional prison jobs

Additional government jobs related to public parks/forests

No timber harvesting on public lands

No change in the amormt or kind of timber harvest on public land

Additional single-tree selection cutting on public lands

Additional group selection cutting on public lands

Additional clearcutting on public lands
Wigwam

Decrease opportunities for snowmobiling and 4-wheeling

No change in opportunities for snowmobiling and 4-wheeling

Increase opportunities for snowmobiling and 4-wheeling

Moderate decrease in the amount of protected natural areas
Small decrease in the amount of protected natural areas
No change in the amormt of protected natural areas

Small increase in the amount of protected natural areas
Moderate increase in the amount of protected natural areas

Figure 6. Selected attributes (underlined) and associated levels for each.

67

to be contacted for a followup survey, they will be more likely to have the patience to
participate in the conjoint analysis interview. Individuals were telephoned, introduced to
the project, and asked for consent to participate in the interview. Of the sample of 100
respondents, 18 had unlisted phone numbers and were therefore unreachable. Of the
remaining 82, seven either moved or no longer owned property in the Eastern UP. Seven
others who were selected as part of the sample but lived out-of-state were not interviewed
because it was beyond the economic scope of this project to travel such long distances for
individual interviews. Of the remaining 68 eligible respondents, 45 completed an
interview (66% response rate). Respondents were guaranteed conﬁdentiality in that no
names were associated with their responses. Thirty-one interviews were conducted in the
three counties of the Eastern UP, while fourteen additional interviews were conducted
with seasonal residents who lived throughout the lower peninsula of Michigan. Table 6

summarizes the nonresponse categories for residents in the sample.

 

Table 6. Summary of nonresponse categories for residents included in conjoint survey.

Wampum: Humberctresuondeuts
Did not own property in Eastern UP 6
Lived out of state 7
Moved 1
Unlisted phone number 18
N 0 answer after six attempts 6
Not interested/Refused 17
TOTAL 55

 

The second set of respondents for this study included local ofﬁcials in the Eastern
UP. Participating ofﬁcials would take the conjoint analysis survey, in addition to

participating in a series of open-ended questions about their background, responsibilities,

68

and relationships in their community. It was important to focus on the perceptions and
opinions of those ofﬁcials who have a direct effect on how communities or areas in the
Eastern UP are managed economically or environmentally. An advantage to this focus is
that these types of leaders are easily identiﬁed through courthouse and government
records. A list of approximately 50 ofﬁcials was generated from source listings of county
extension ofﬁces and local websites. The list includes a variety of decision makers from
each of the three counties (Table 7). Due to the small number of ofﬁcials in many of
these categories, a representative from similar units of government across counties or
towns was contacted. For instance, the mayor of Sault Ste. Marie, the mayor of St.
Ignace, and the President of Newberry were all contacted. Similarly, all Economic
Development Corporation directors and local newspaper editors were contacted. If more
than one ofﬁcial with the same responsibilities existed in each county, contacts were

randomly selected. For instance, a commissioner from each county was randomly

 

Table 7. Distribution of ofﬁcials who participated in interviews (ﬁequencies of each

category included in parentheses).
W13 N - l f i
County commissioners (3) Michigan DNR employees (4)
Town/village mayors (3) Forest Service employees (2)
Tribal members (2) Economic Dev. Corp. directors (3)
Township supervisors (7) Chamber of Commerce directors (2)
School superintendents (2) County extension directors (2)
Newspaper editors (2)
Tribal ﬁsheries director (1)

Regional planning director (1)

Natural Resources Conservation Service
agent (1)

Not-for-proﬁt conservancy employee (1)

Municipal manager (1)

Township deputy supervisor (1)

 

69

selected. If the ﬁrst contact refused the interview request, another was randomly selected
from the remaining list. A total of 38 local ofﬁcials (17 elected and 21 non-elected)
participated, resulting in a 76% response rate. Taking into account both the residents and
ofﬁcials who participated in the conjoint survey, therefore, there were a total of 83
participants, with 42 (50.6%) owning a residence in Chippewa County, 14 (16.9%) in
Luce County, and 27 (32.5%) in Mackinac County.

The time required for most respondents to complete the survey ranged from 15
minutes to one hour, depending on the amount of time each participant spent on each
question. A portable PC computer was used for the interview itself. After the initial
description of the survey and its sections, respondents read each screen and chose a
response to each question either by directing the interviewer to press the number
corresponding to their desired answer or by doing it themselves. Respondents generally
seemed to accept and understand the premise behind the survey, and had no trouble with
the computer format. Respondents were introduced to the software (although they only
needed to be able to read the screen) and asked to consider what they would like to see
change in the Eastern UP in the next ten years. They were given a fact sheet to inform
them of current conditions in the area, and some basic terms with which they may not be
familiar (such as group selection cutting and protected natural areas). An example of this
fact sheet is located in Appendix B. The ﬁrst section of the survey asked respondents to
examine all of the attribute levels and remove any that would be considered so
unacceptable that they would not consider a future alternative with that level in it.
Respondents were then asked to rank the remaining levels of each attribute in the survey,

and rate the importance of each attribute itself. These preliminary questions were used to

70

shorten the remaining portion of the interview (Sawtooth Software, 1985). It also
introduced the subject matter to the respondent so that they’re more familiar with the
attributes before making proﬁle comparisons. ACA then used a paired-comparison
version of conjoint analysis. Figure 7 illustrates the method by which respondents
indicate their preferences. The results of the paired comparisons were used to compute

individual respondent utilities for each level through ordinary least squares regression.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Which do you prefer?
Attribute X, level x OR Attribute X, level y
Attribute Y, level x Attribute Y, level y
Strongly Equally Strongly
prefer A attractive prefer B
l 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Figure 7. An example of proﬁle comparisons in Sawtooth’s ACA (Items X and Y
represent randomly selected attributes, while x and y are randomly selected
levels of these attributes).

 

The conjoint survey was pretested with several different groups. It was ﬁrst
conducted with university students and faculty, who suggested corrections to the attribute
levels and wording of the survey questions. The survey was then pretested with several
residents of both southern Michigan and the Eastern UP. Further reﬁnements of the
survey question wording and to the contents of the fact sheet handout were made as a

result of these tests.

Semi-structured interviews
Before conducting the conjoint portion of the ofﬁcials’ interviews, additional open-ended

questions were asked:

71

What decisions are you responsible for in your community?

What sorts of information do you gather to make your decisions?

How do you gather public input regarding these decisions?

How do you “get the word out” when an important decision has been made?
Do you interact with other local ofﬁcials often? If yes, who are they?

How long have you lived in this area?

The information gathered from these additional questions helped to determine the nature
of the decision maker’s relationship with residents in his or her community. The portion
of the interview that asked these questions was tape recorded and transcribed.

After the interviews were conducted, tapes were transcribed and a qualitative
examination of the answers to the posed questions assisted in learning about the ofﬁcials’
social networks in the Eastern UP. This preliminary analysis included examining content
for the existence of horizontal and vertical links, both within and outside the region. A
summary was also conducted to determine various duties of the ofﬁcials’ positions and
organizations or activities that they participate in on a volunteer basis. Additionally,
keyword searches for pro- growth and protection-related contexts and relationships was
conducted. The material was ﬁrst categorized by topics related to theoretical growth
machine and social capital issues (Table 8). This was followed by an examination of the
types of relationships ofﬁcials have with these entities, and contexts within which these

relationships take place.

Subsequent information about ofﬁcials as lnﬂuentials

Although the information about preferences for growth or conservation measures
and social links begin to paint a picture of local ofﬁcials in the Eastern UP, it is not
readily apparent how inﬂuential they are as individuals in their communities. Since it

should not be assumed that local ofﬁcials are either opinion or informal leaders, it is

72

 

Table 8. Initial categories for content analysis of interviews.

Repmsentgtign of constituents annegtions outside of the Legion
public input (formal and informal) extra-local organizations
information sharing with public extra-local government agencies
other public involvement extra-local individuals
length of time living outside region
local organizations decisions made
other government agencies meetings facilitated
local individuals events/issues addressed
length of time living in region MW
r r r

 

important to ﬁnd measurable ways to associate their formal leadership with potential
informal leadership. It is also important to distinguish between opinion leaders and what
Weimann (1994) deﬁnes as inﬂuentials, although each concept may have important
applications in this study.

In order to gain a better understanding of how inﬂuential local ofﬁcials in the
Eastern UP are in development or resource use issues, a hybrid survey of the Personality
Strength scale and a self-report style of opinion leader measurement tool was
administered to all ofﬁcials who participated in the conjoint study and personal
interviews (Figure 8). An ‘inﬂuential’ index was created based on the responses to the
ﬁrst nine questions, which came directly from Weimann’s (1994) scale of personal
inﬂuence. An individual’s score was calculated based on the strength of response to each
item. Summing the maximum possible responses for each question (with ‘strongly agree’
receiving 4 points and ‘strongly disagree’ receiving one), the maximum possible score for

the inﬂuential measurement is 36. The remaining questions are based on King and

73

 

First, I would like to ask you a few questions about yourself as a member of your
community. Generally speaking, which of the following statements do you feel apply
to you?

Strongly Slightly Slightly Strongly

 

agree agree disagree disagree

1. I count on being successful in the D C] D D
things I do

2. I am conﬁdent about how I should D C] D C]
behave in most situations

3. I like to assume responsibility D C1 C1 C1

4. I like to take the lead when a group D Cl C1 C1
does things together

5. I enjoy convincing others of my D D D O
opinions

6. I often notice that I serve as a role D D D D
model for others

7. I am often good at getting what I want 0 Cl Cl C]

8. I am often a step ahead of others 0 D D D

9. I often give others advice and Cl C] E] El

suggestions

I would also like to ask some speciﬁc questions about your interests in sharing ideas
and information with your acquaintances.

10. What kinds of local issues do you usually discuss with your acquaintances?

 

 

11. In general, do you like to talk about these issues with your acquaintances?

Cl I enjoy talking about them very much (2)
D I somewhat enjoy talking about them (1)
D I would prefer not to discuss these issues with my acquaintances (0)

Figure 8. Sample questions for measurement of personality strength and opinion
leadership among local ofﬁcials.

74

Figure 8, continued

12. Would you say you give very little information, an average amount of information, or
a great deal of information about these issues to your acquaintances?

Cl I give a great deal of information (2)
D I give an average amount of information (1)
D I give very little information about them (0)

13. Compared with your circle of acquaintances, are you less likely, about as likely, or
more likely to be asked for advice about these issues?

Cl More likely (2)
Cl About as likely (1)
Cl Less likely (0)

14. If you and your acquaintances were to discuss these issues, what part would you be
most likely to play? Would you mainly listen to your friends’ ideas or would you try
to convince them of your ideas?

D I mainly would listen to acquaintances’ ideas (0)
CI I mainly would try to convince them (1)

15. Do you have the feeling that you are generally regarded by your acquaintances as a
good source of advice about these issues?

D I’m regarded as a very good source of advice (2)
D I’m somewhat regarded as a good source of advice (1)
D I’m not considered to be a source of advice on these issues (0)

Figure 8. Sample questions for measurement of personality strength and opinion
leadership among local ofﬁcials, continued.

 

75

Summers’ (1970) opinion leadership measures. Since opinion leadership is typically
based on a speciﬁc topic or issue, Question 10 allows the participant to specify his or her
ﬁeld of expertise. Participants receive a higher score for responses that correspond to a
greater willingness to discuss and share information relating to their speciﬁc ﬁeld. The
values associated with each response are indicated in parentheses for Questions 11-14.
Summing the total values associated with each opinion leader response, the maximum
possible score is 9, while the minimum is zero.

The two-page inﬂuential/opinion leader questionnaire was pretested with several
ofﬁcials in southern Michigan who hold similar positions as those Eastern UP ofﬁcials
who participated in this study. The wording of Question 10 (the open-ended item) was
changed, as well as the scales associated with the inﬂuential statements. Additionally,
one item from Weimann’s (1994) original set of inﬂuential statements, “I own many
things others envy me for,” was removed due to these ofﬁcials’ hesitation toward stating
such an opinion about themselves.

The questionnaire was then mailed to all local ofﬁcials who participated in the
interviews and the conjoint survey. A reminder card was sent three weeks after the first
mailing. Twenty-nine of the 38 ofﬁcials returned a completed questionnaire, resulting in
a 76% response rate. Generally speaking, it is reasonable to expect that, compared to the
general population, elected ofﬁcials would score more highly on such scales. However, it
is less clear how inﬂuential various non-elected ofﬁcials are, or how these measures
relate to their levels of connectedness with others, both within and outside their

communities.

76

Synthesizing results from multiple sources

Once the data from these various sources was collected, it was combined into a
coherent picture of the inﬂuence and effectiveness of the region’s local ofﬁcials and how
they may effect its current and future economic and resource development activities.
Content analysis of the interviews with these ofﬁcials describe how involved these
individuals are in their communities, as well as the various links they maintain between
themselves, individuals within the community, and others outside the region. Further
questions about their (self-described) personal inﬂuential nature and their opinion
leadership in local economic development help to measure their potential effectiveness in
furthering the cause of development.

To determine the relationships among the items described in the research
questions, a series of statistical procedures were performed. The steps are as follows:

1) Use the ACA program to develop future “scenarios” based on the resulting
utilities for the 37 conjoint attribute levels;

2) Compare preferences for a pro-growth “scenario” between local ofﬁcials and
residents, using a t-test procedure;

3) Using the quantitative score associated with the pro-growth scenario as the
dependent variable, determine the (quantiﬁed) inﬂuence of local ties, extra-
local ties, public input, opinion leadership, and inﬂuential scores using linear
regression techniques.

Ofﬁcials’ coded responses to the interview questions on local ties, extra-local ties,
and public input were then quantiﬁed for entry into the regression analysis. The number
of mentioned ties or input methods were counted for each participant. For instance, an
index was created based on participants’ responses to the question, “In what ways do you

gather public input to make your decisions?” Each time an ofﬁcial mentioned a different

kind of public input method, he or she was given one point. Responses to the questions

77

mgr:
create
quit
MS a
sum:

mt:

CON

Hill

regarding local connections and extralocal connections were tabulated in the same way to
create indexes for those independent variables as well This is a limited use of such rich
qualitative information, so an examination of participants’ responsibilities and concerns
was also conducted to gain a broader perspective of local ofﬁcials in the Eastern UP. A
summary of the dependent and independent variables for the regression analysis is listed
in Table 9.

The combination of methods through the conjoint analysis survey, open-ended
interviews, and secondary data collection provides deep and comprehensive insights on
concepts related to social capital and possible growth machine-related phenomena in a
rural resource-dependent region. The next chapter details the results of these described
methods, including the overall results of the conjoint survey and the formation of possible
future scenarios, a qualitative description of the personal interviews, a summary of the

inﬂuential/opinion leadership questionnaire, and the results of the regression exercise.

78

 

Table 9. A summary of the dependent and independent variables for the regression

analysis.
If .11 l . .

Dependent variable:

Support for economic
development

Independent variables:
Public input efforts

Local connections
maintained

Extralocal connections
maintained

level of inﬂuence in
community

Years living in Eastern
UP

Years serving in current
position
Elected/non-elected
position

Opinion leadership in
economic dev.

measurement

Conjoint survey

Qualitative interview

Qualitative interview

Qualitative interview

Mail questionnaire
Qualitative interview
Qualitative interview
Public records

Mail questionnaire

Conjoint utility value of
pro-growth scenario

Conjoint utility value of
status quo scenario

Number of input methods
mentioned in interviews

Number of local
individuals, groups, or
organizations mentioned
in interviews

Number of individuals,
groups, or organizations
mentioned from outside
the region

Personality strength scale
score

Number of years
Number of years

Dummy variable
(elected=1)

Dummy variable (econ.
dev. opinion leademl)

 

79

CHAPTER V:
RESULTS
This chapter summarizes the results of the conjoint surveys conducted with both
residents and local ofﬁcials, the qualitative and quantitative results of the ofﬁcials’
interviews, and the responses to the followup inﬂuential/opinion leader questionnaire.
Comparing the conjoint survey results between residents and local ofﬁcials determines
whether the two groups differ in their preferences for future growth and development. The
quantiﬁed results ﬁom the interviews, the results from the followup questionnaire, plus the
background characteristics of ofﬁcials—length of Eastern UP residence, length of time in
their current positions, and elected/non—elected status—are then used as independent
variables to determine whether any of these inﬂuence an ofﬁcial’s preferences for

economic development or resource protection.

Preferences for growth and resource protection

Based on the overall results from the conjoint surveys, the mean utility values and
standard deviations for each attribute level are listed in Table 10, comparing residents and
local ofﬁcials. Several attribute levels contain fewer responses than the overall local
ofﬁcial and resident totals. These missing responses are due to those respondents
removing those levels ﬁ'om the survey because they were considered to be unacceptable.
Utility values for each attribute level are centered on zero, with no maximum or minimum

value, but usually range ﬁom negative one to positive one. A utility value is ﬁrst computed

80

 

Table 10. Summary of comparisons between local ofﬁcials’ and residents’ utilities for all
attribute levels (** signiﬁcantly different at the 0t=0.05 level).

Local ofﬁcials Residents
Lexel bl Mean 51.91.1291. E M sum
Game ﬁsh increase 38 0.335 0.147 45 0.309 0.226
Game ﬁsh remain the same 38 0.048 0.169 45 0.008 0.103
Game ﬁsh decrease 38 -0.423 0.158 45 -0.369 0.223
Water safe for boating, swrmm' ing, and 38 0.485 0.214 45 0.508 0.223
ﬁshing
Water safe for boating, swimm' ing only 38 -0.031 0.090 45 -0.043 0.110
Water safe for boating only 38 -0.494 0.185 45 -0.517 0.249
No change in seasonal homes 30 -0.106 0.231 43 -0.038 0.263
Small increase in seasonal homes 37 0.111 0.148 45 0.100 0.184
Moderate increase in seasonal homes 36 0.027 0.194 42 -0.028 0.245
Large increase in seasonal homes 23 -0.173 0.225 24 -0.197 0.255
No additional hotels/motels 29 -0.060 0.255 38 -0.059 0.260
Small increase in hotel/motels 37 0.115 0.233 44 0.110 0.179
Moderate increase in hotel/motels 37 0.003 0.210 43 -0.041 0.216
Large increase in hotel/motels 19 -0.194 0.271 21 -0.151 0.284
No change in permanent residents 24 -0.120 0.321 40 -0.086 0.280
Small increase in permanent residents 36 0.059 0.228 45 0.094 0.179
Moderate increase in permanent residents 38 0.049 0.245 44 -0.007 0.233
Large increase in permanent residents 23 -0.115 0.314 23 -0.l38 0.400
No additional jobs 14 -0.325 0.166 33 -0.334 0.274
Commercial forestry jobs 38 0.018 0.250 45 0.025 0.252
Tourism jobs 38 0.118 0.200 45 0.062 0.222
Casino jobs 31 -0.272 0.244 39 -0.249 0.209
Prison jobs 31 «0.036 0.355 40 -0.142 0.248
Government jobs in parks/forests“ 37 0.094 0.259 45 0.234 0.239
No timber harvesting 22 -0.189 0.329 34 -0.114 0.215
No change in harvesting 38 0.018 0.242 44 0.089 0.247
Additional single-tree selection cutting 38 0.102 0.235 45 0.051 0.210
Additional group selection cutting 37 -0.005 0.214 43 -0.011 0.224
Additional clearcutting 22 -0.111 0.267 29 -0.191 0.193
Decrease opportunities for 26 -0.134 0.264 33 -0.016 0.333
snowmobiling/4-wheeling
No change in opportunities for 38 «0.001 0.238 45 ~0.002 0.271
snowmobiling/4-wheeling
Increase opportunities for 28 0.073 0.280 38 -0.040 0.331
mowmobiling/4-wheehng
Moderate decrease in protected nat. areas 18 -0.224 0.250 29 -0.306 0.191
Small decrease in protected natural areas 27 -0.140 0.242 37 -0.206 0.189
No change in protected natural areas 37 -0.042 0.258 44 -0.016 0.268
Small increase in protected natural 37 0.078 0.216 45 0.157 0.173
m**
Moderate increase in protected nat. areas 32 0.146 0.227 39 0.172 0.270

 

81

using responses ﬁ'om the ranking and rating exercises at the beginning of the survey.
These prior utilities are used to determine which of the attribute levels are offered in the
tradeoff section. Responses to the tradeoffs are then used to estimate a separate set of
utility values using ordinary least squares regression. The ﬁnal stage of the survey, referred
to as “calibration concepts,” assigns a weight to both the utility value from the making and
rating exercise and to the utility from the tradeoff section. These weights are computed by
comparing the predicted likelihood of accepting a selected combination of attribute levels
(referred to as a future scenario) with the participant’s stated likelihood of acceptance in a
least squares regression. Computing the overall utility value for an attribute level,
therefore, can be described as:

U = (I / A) + WpUp + WtUt, where

U = overall utility value,

I = computed intercept term from calibration concepts regression,

A = number of attributes in survey,

Wp = weight assigned to utility value in ranking and rating exercises,
Up = utility value from prior exercises,

Wt = weight assigned to utility value in tradeoff exercise, and

Ut = utility value from tradeoff exercise (Sawtooth Software, 1985).

All respondents were highly interested in water quality issues. Having lakes and
streams that are safe for boating, ﬁshing, and swimming, and having populations of game
ﬁsh increase, contained the highest utility values for both the residents and local ofﬁcials.
For both residents and ofﬁcials, support for some development was reﬂected in the
responses to increases in such attributes as hotels/motels, seasonal homes, and permanent
residents. Note that the preferred amount of these types of development is small, while

moderate and large increases have lower mean utility values.

82

Overall, only two of the thirty-seven attribute levels were signiﬁcantly different
between residents and local ofﬁcials. Looking at the job opportunity choices, residents
were most supportive of additional government jobs related to public parks or forests.
Residents also have a higher mean utility value associated with a small increase in the
amount of protected natural areas. Ofﬁcials were no more likely to favor high rates of
development and population growth than their constituents. On the surface, this would
suggest that these ofﬁcials are not members of a traditionally deﬁned growth machine. The
attribute levels that had statistically higher utilities for residents, however, did correspond
with greater natural resource protection for the region. Industry, manufacturing, or other
related businesses were not included in the conjoint survey, and it is important to note that
many of the ofﬁcials mentioned wanting these opportunities while responding to the
survey.

Scenarios produced from conjoint results

Although the overall conjoint results have already been examined by comparing
individual attribute level utility scores, the ACA program is designed to look beyond just
individual attributes. The program also has the capability of combining levels to create
overall scenarios that measure a respondent’s “likelihood of purchase.” For instance, a
combination of levels that create a high- growth scenario can be created, and local oﬁicials’
and residents’ percent likelihood of accepting this scenario can be compared to examine
any signiﬁcant differences. Another scenario can be created based on status-quo
conditions to determine whether the two groups have different preferences for no change
in the Eastern UP. The purchase likelihood values for both the high- growth and status quo

scenarios are summarized in Table 11. These are tabulated by summing the raw utility

83

 

Table 11. Likelihood of accepting high-growth and status quo scenarios among local
ofﬁcials and residents, based on conjoint survey results.

High-growth scenario:

Local ofﬁcials’ Residents’
I l l l .1 .1. .1.
Game ﬁsh remain the same 0.048 0.008
Water safe for boating, swimming, and ﬁshing 0.485 0.508
Moderate increase in seasonal homes -0.027 -0.093
Moderate increase in hotel/motels -0.029 -0.084
Moderate increase in permanent residents 0.049 -0.029
Additional tourism jobs 0.118 0.062
Additional clearcutting -0.485 -0.478
Increase opp’s for snowmobiling/4-wheeling -0.209 -0.189
Moderate decrease in protected nat. areas -0.389 -0.347
UTILITY SUM -0.439 -0.642
e" 0.645 0.526
“Purchase likelihood” [e‘ I (1 + e’)] 39.2% 34.5%
Status quo scenario:

Local ofﬁcials’ Residents’
I l l l '1 .1. .1.
Game ﬁsh remain the same 0.047 0.008
Water safe for boating, swimming, and ﬁshing 0.485 0.507
No change in seasonal homes -0.295 -0.080
No additional hotels/motels -0.282 -0.205
No change in permanent residents -0.444 -0. 188
No additional jobs -0.751 -0.512
No change in harvesting 0.018 0.064
No change in opps for snowmobiling/4-wheeling ' -0.001 -0.002
No change in protected natural areas -0.038 -0.067
UTILITY SUM -l.289 -0.444
e’ 0.276 0.642
“Purchase likelihood” [e’ / (1 + e’)]* 21.6% 39.1%
m elm eed Qt Queueing statue guu uuer the grewth geuart’e:

Officials: e" / (e”+e") = 0.276 / (0.276+0.645) = 0.300
Residents: e” / (e"+e‘2) = 0.642 / (0.642+0.526) = 0.550

* The average utility between ofﬁcials and residents is signiﬁcantly different (using t-test

at (1:005).

 

scores for each chosen attribute level and computing the exponential (e’) value of this
sum. This resulting value is considered the “log of the odds,” which is relatively diffrcult to
interpret. The value is thus transformed by computing the odds of “accepting” or
“purchasing” by using the formula e’ I (l + e’). This is more easily interpreted to be the
odds that the respondent will accept the given scenario. Moderate (25%) increases in
seasonal homes, hotels/motels, and permanent homes were used in the growth scenario
rather than large (50%) increases because many respondents rejected this level at the
outset. Since so many rejected the large increases, it was more reasonable to construct a
scenario with more moderate levels of growth. The likelihood of accepting the proposed
growth scenario was low regardless of the group. Although local ofﬁcials’ preference for
this scenario was somewhat higher than residents (39% vs. 34% likely to accept), this is
not a signiﬁcant difference. Alternatively, residents were signiﬁcantly more likely than
local ofﬁcials (22% vs. 39% likely) to accept the status quo scenario. One explanation for
this may relate to some of the ofﬁcials’ suggestions that a tourism-based growth model is
not what they want. As was mentioned earlier in this chapter, several mentioned that light
manufacturing or other small business development should have been offered as job
opportunities in the conjoint survey. Therefore, it may not be growth that they disliked,
but the kinds of future growth offered in the survey. Regardless, local ofﬁcials were only
30% likely to choose the status quo scenario over the growth scenario, as opposed to
residents who were 55% likely. Because of the uncertainty regarding the types of growth
that local ofﬁcials would prefer, however, preference for the status quo scenario was used

as the dependent variable in subsequent analyses.

85

Officials’ roles and social networks in communities

This section describes the qualitative descriptions and quantitative analysis of the
interviews conducted with local officials. Background information on their educational
experiences, professional backgrounds, time spent in the region and in their current
positions is described, as well as job responsibilities that elected and non-elected oﬁ'rcials
have in their respective roles. Qualitative results of offrcials’ public input experiences are
described, as well as their local and extralocal connections. Quantiﬁcation of these public

input and connection responses is then outlined.
Ofﬁcials’ personal characteristics and roles
Background information

Personal interviews conducted with local oﬁ'rcials were conducted before the
conjoint survey was administered. Participants have a wide variety of backgrounds and
experiences. Generally speaking, similar proportions of elected and non-elected ofﬁcials in
the sample can be found in the three counties. Fifteen of them, or approximately 40%,
mentioned that they are native to the region. Twelve other participants were originally
from other parts of the state. Taken together, this suggests that a substantial proportion of
those interviewed—nearly three-quarters—are from Michigan. Another eight ofﬁcials
have lived in the area for over 20 years, although a few of these mentioned still feeling like
newcomers. “I was told when I got here you won’t become a Yooper [ Eastern UP
resident] until the 3" generation, ” mentioned one ofﬁcial from Luce County. Most of the
participants who are originally from the Eastern UP have spent some portion of their time

living in other areas. Some mentioned going away to attend college, but then returning to

86

ﬁnd work or start a family. Others went into military service or found other employment
outside the region because of the poor economic conditions in the Eastern UP One ofﬁcial
in Chippewa County observed, “I grew up here ah, and I left. Because I couldn ’t support
a family. And I put 21 years in the military and I came back home and ah, retired here
because I liked this community. ” Participants often implied experiencing a severe contrast
between life in the Eastern UP and elsewhere. “Well, I went to work in Detroit one year

and that was enough, ” proclaimed one official ﬁ'om Luce County.

Education and personal work experiences vary widely among local ofﬁcials as
well. Fourteen of the participants mentioned participating in some sort of postsecondary
education. The majority of those that talked about higher education attended some
university or college in the state. Those who held natural resource oriented positions
usually earned a postsecondary degree in a related ﬁeld. Participants who were not
involved in natural resource-based occupations, however, earned degrees in a variety of
ﬁelds, including teaching, political science, and accounting/ﬁnance degrees. Elected
ofﬁcials especially have various educational backgrounds, and do not necessarily have
higher degrees. Those who have gone to a college or university often do not currently
hold positions that mirror those educational experiences. For instance, one participant in
Chippewa County said, “I graduated from Northwood with a business degree in
Midland...and then I went, I thought I ’d try teaching, so I went to Northern and got my
teaching degree, which I did teach for six years. ” He now owns a private business in his

community as well as serving as an elected ofﬁcial.

87

Other officials have professional backgrounds that are just as varied. Many
mentioned participating in various volunteer programs that helped them get connected
with others in the community, and ultimately aided in acquiring their current positions. For
instance, one elected member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Tribal
Council participated in several volunteer positions before being elected to the council,
including originating an annual running event in the tribe to promote physical ﬁtness.
Several of the township supervisors who participated mentioned working as an assessor
for the township before becoming supervisor (or doing both jobs at the same time). As
with local elected officials in other rural regions, most in the Eastern UP have employment
outside the elected position. Five of the seventeen elected ofﬁcials who participated in the
interviews mentioned owning a business of their own, while two others work for another
agency in the region. Four elected ofﬁcials said they are retired, which allows them to
devote more of their attention to the position they hold. A few speciﬁcally mentioned the
importance of being accessible to their constituents. “You know, I’m here every day from
8:30 ‘til 3:30, usually, um, I mean it’s not gonna—I can ’t solve the problems if I’m not
where people can get a hold of me and listen to ‘em—for me to listen to them, ” stated
one township supervisor. Another mentioned the importance of full-time ofﬁcials in his
community because of the growth and changes taking place in the area:

“I just felt I was qualified and I had the ability because I am retired and wasn’t
holding down a permanent job that I couldn’t give up. Ah, and that I could do the

job full time, ‘cause it requires a full-time supervisor. This community is no
longer a part-time supervisor community. ”

The amount of time officials spent in their respective positions ranged ﬁ'om less
than one year to over 30 years. Nine of the participants had spent less than ﬁve years in

their positions, while another nine had been there ﬁve to ten years, eight had had their

88

positions 11 to 20 years, and seven had served over 20 years. Six of the nine participants
who have served less than ﬁve years in their positions are elected ofﬁcials. Although most
expressed satisfaction with the experience of being a local ofﬁcial, a few who are new to
their positions have been taken aback by the demands of the job. One township supervisor
who had taken the post less than two years ago said, “... yeah, uh, I kind of enjoy it, but
it’s getting a little more involved all the time. There ’s so much, uh, paperwork involved
on our part. ” Another ofﬁcial from Mackinac County stated, “It’s just a lot of prep work
and a lot of research. A big time commitment, a very big time commitment, more than I
realized. ” These observations tempered their enthusiasm when considering running for the

position again in the future.
Job responsibilities—elected officials

General responsibilities local officials mentioned as part of their current positions
were relatively similar for the same positions in each county. For instance, county
commissioners across all three counties talked about being in charge of the basic
necessities to keep a county operating. As one county commissioner put it, “...my
responsibility is to see to it that they [sheriff judges, etc. I have enough money to
operate.” All three of the commissioners who participated in the interviews mentioned the
difﬁculties with maintaining a budget that adequately covers those basics for the county.
“...we’re pretty close to the pocketbook with our money...” mentioned one commissioner,
while another said, “We have a very small staff and we don ’t, you know, there’s not a lot
of services other than mandated services that we provide. ” Other participants who hold

elected positions talked about the ﬁnancial issues and requirements necessary to run the

89

services for the area in their juristiction, including tribal leaders. Their responsibilities are
very similar, helping to provide “...for the health and the welfare of the community and
provide housing for the community, provide jobs for the community, " as one Tribal
ofﬁcial put it. There are important responsibility differences, however, between tribal
ofﬁcials and other officials who were interviewed. Tribal ofﬁcials often must help provide
leadership and guidance in such activities as casino gaming and commercial ﬁshing, two
industries that are uniquely Native American in the Eastern UP. They also mentioned

responsibility for housing their tribal members.

Although mayors are also important elected ofﬁcials in the region, their roles in
their respective communities serve a different purpose. Both mayors who participated in
interviews mentioned serving in public relations, but also serve on various committees
related to policy formation. “Day-to-day” operations of the city, however, are leﬁ to city
managers, who are not elected. Mayors do not directly supervise city employees, nor help
determine who gets hired. They do, however, conduct city council meetings. A village
president serves similar purposes in communities with less than 2,500 residents. Since
these are part-time positions, and, as one of the participants points out, “...the village
president can ’t really do the day to day operations, but basically conducts the council
meetings and [I I try to involve myself in legislation, the creation or ordinances, and um,
just try to see the basic operation runs okay. ” Township supervisors appeared to have the
greatest amount of diversity among them, even though there are basic required
responsibilities they all must perform by law. Some supervisors see their job as similar to
that of city managers—care of day-to-day operations, only at the township level. Others

take a more philosophical view, including one supervisor in Mackinac County: “Well,

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when we go into this work, why we take an oath, we are sworn [to protect] through the
health, safety and welfare of the people. ” Several started their connection with township
government through working as the certiﬁed assessor. Some still perform this function,
although they all pointed out that the time that property assessment demands is beyond
their personal availability. This is directly related to an increase in the number of smaller
land parcels in these areas, resulting in a greater number of land owners who each need to
have their properties assessed for tax purposes. Most also discussed their involvement
with maintaining the township road system. This was of great concern because of the
escalating costs of maintaining or upgrading their roads in the face of increased use.
Several supervisors pointed out that, although they coordinate the activities of the
township board, they are but one voice on that committee. “I’m just one member of the
board...th come up with something, I go to the board and say here, this is what we
got... ” mentioned one Mackinac County supervisor. Another in Chippewa County
mentioned, “...and you have to pay attention to the rest of the board; they’ve all good
ideas.” Most mentioned serving on a wide variety of other committees and taking on
other responsibilities as part of their position, including such things as grant writing, local
park management, homestead tax exemption reviews, local forestry boards, economic
development boards, and local planning boards. Many expressed what they saw as the
ultimate goal of being in a supervisory position in a township. Both a Mackinac and a
Chippewa County supervisor mentioned seeing their position as the ﬁrst, most personal

contact between constituent and the government:

“...and the good part of it is, that if you live here and ah you don ’t like it [the
local tax assessment], you can go to the board of review. You can complain and
carry on. But where can you go to complain about your federal 10—40s? Where

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can you go to complain about your Michigan taxes? No place you can go [face to
face I. ”

Some feel they should serve as motivators, to promote the area as a place to live and do
business, perhaps in similar to a mayoral position. “...my job as supervisor is to stir people
up and keep them moving, keep them going in the direction that we need to go in, ”
suggests one official from Chippewa County. Others merely expressed a sense of
responsibility to their community: “you have to be a, you hope, a role model for people,
you know...the biggest thing is, is listening... ”
J ob responsibilities—non-elected ofﬁcials

Non-elected ofﬁcials who work in some capacity with natural resources planning,
education, or management play a vital role in Eastern UP communities. Interviews were
conducted with several Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) personnel.
U.S. Forest Service personnel, an ofﬁcial afﬁliated with another federal agency related to
natural resources, and a tribal member working with ﬁsheries and aquatic issues (the
names of the last two agencies have been withheld to protect conﬁdentiality). Several
natural resource-based programs focusing on private forest landowners are coordinated
and executed by a handful of these ofﬁcials. Even with signiﬁcant declines in federal
ﬁnancial support for these programs, those who implement them are kept very busy based
on landowner demands. “I feel burdened a lot now with the stewardship program, ‘cause
I spend an awful lot of my time administering the paperwork and the allocation of funds
and so forth under that program. ” They also agree, however, that it is important to not
treat these programs as if they were desk jobs. As one federal official pointed out, “...I
guess I feel if you ’re not out in the ﬁeld meeting landowners, talking with landowners,

people aren ’t going to be walking in, or even have knowledge about the programs. ”

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Other participants are responsible for the management of a particular portion of public
property. Management objectives could include recreation facility maintenance, wildﬁre
protection, wildlife, ﬁsheries, and/or timber management. Although regulation and
enforcement is an important aspect of many natural resource based agencies, the only
participants in this study who were involved in such activities were related to ﬁsheries and
other aquatic species. One such manager maintained jurisdiction of the inland lakes and
streams over a large portion of the Upper Peninsula, while another coordinates licensing
for tribal ﬁshermen. The tribal ﬁshing license coordinator also participates in various
regulatory and educational efforts in controlling exotic aquatic species. Other
responsibilities among some of the interviewed natural resource-based employees included
various planning activities, including data gathering, analysis, and facilitating projects with
constituents. Many of the participants in a natural resource ﬁeld mentioned an increase in
concentration on an ecosystem approach, which included greater attention to coordination
of planning or management efforts with other organizations or agencies both within the
Eastern UP and beyond. “[ We ’re ] trying to do more ecosystem or landscape management
programs. Ah, trying to bring landowners closer together as a group through a landscape
perspective, ” said one MDNR ofﬁcial.

Planning activities are not done only by natural resource-based agencies in the
Eastern UP. One participant serves as the coordinator for a clearinghouse of data for the
region, available to any agency or organization who has these needs. “And we ah,
periodically we let all of the units of government lmow what we have at the time and if
they want to request that we tell them how to go about it. And so we are just sort of in the

data center whenever they need any kind of data, they come to us. ” This individual is also

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frequently involved in other planning activities, such as meeting facilitation or conﬂict
resolution.

County extension oﬁ‘ices also serve as sources of information and assistance to a
wide variety of audiences. According to one interview participant in extension, he must
maintain awareness of the multitude of data sources, both within and outside the region,
so that those with questions will be pointed in the proper direction. If there is enough
interest in a particular topic in the community, the extension office will often exert a more
coordinated effort to share information. “... just whatever comes up as a need or an
interest in the community and we ’ve got the resources, we ’11 put on a workshop and get
people involved. ” These types of activities require an intimate knowledge of “who knows
what” in their community.

Several individuals from local Economic Development Corporations (EDCs) and
Chambers of Commerce were also participants in the interviews. The directors of these
entities often serve as the focal points for business generation and ﬁnancial growth in their
communities. As one EDC director explained, “We try to provide a one-stop
shopping...um, or whatever type of enterprise we try to um, cut through all the red tape
and try to send you to the people that can really be of assistance. ” Another EDC
director, because of his personal background and local ﬁnancial arrangements, offers
business counseling. Chambers of Commerce are also involved in information
dissemination and technical assistance. “Then we do education workshops on employer
issues, on, like for instance, we work with other organizations, ” said one Chamber of
Commerce director. The primary business development focus seems to depend on the

community in which it’s located. In some areas, for instance, the push is not to invite

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additional businesses but to support and maintain those that are already located in the
community. The EDCs in other communities of the region are focusing primarily on
smaller companies. “The under 100, under 50-employee type ﬁrms that are small, but
have potential for growth. They are easier to locate into a community, ” suggested one
EDC director. Yet another community divides its economic development focus between
the local EDC and its Chamber of Commerce. The EDC plans to primarily focus on
attracting larger industries, while the Chamber of Commerce will focus on attracting the
smaller businesses. Additionally, the Chamber of Commerce directors also mentioned the
added importance of conducting special events to promote their communities. As one
director points out, “...some of our special events are geared toward our own fundraising
to keep us aﬂoat, but some of them are more geared toward the community. ”

Quantifying ofﬁcials’ background information

The officials who participated in these interviews contain a range of experiences
and backgrounds in the Eastern UP, although a majority are from Michigan originally. The
majority have been living in the region for over 20 years, but the amount of time spent in
their current positions range from less than ﬁve years to over 15 years (Table 11). Not
surprisingly, ofﬁcials in similar positions typically have similar responsibilities. As other
studies have observed, many elected ofﬁcials such as township supervisors and county
commissioners are employed in businesses outside their elected positions. Additionally,
many elected and non-elected officials mentioned taking on additional responsibilities in
their communities such as public boards or volunteer organizations. Table 12 summarizes
the background information that was used as independent variables to measure whether

these items inﬂuence their preferences for future growth and development.

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Table 12. Background characteristics of local officials

 

 

 

II 1' . . l E HP

1 to 20 years 14

Over 20 years 22

(missing) (2)

TOTAL 38
rr i i

1 to 5 years 12

6 to 13 years 12

14-44 years 12

(missing) (2)

TOTAL 38
WW

Elected l7

6 to 13 years 21

TOTAL 38

 

Connecting with constituents
Public input methods

An important focus of this study is to determine the extent to which local officials
communicate with their constituents, to have their “ﬁnger on the pulse” of their
community. One of the ways to gain an understanding of this is to determine what
methods officials use to get input from the public, and how officials share information with
them when decisions are made. One the most common methods of gathering public input
consisted of formal public meetings or hearings. A majority of participants, especially
ebcted ofﬁcials, mentioned bi-monthly, monthly, or annually held meetings to discuss

business and ﬁnancial affairs within their juristiction. Several mentioned a poor turnout for

96

such meetings, unless a controversial event or proposal was taking place. For instance,
one oﬂicial from Luce County said, “There ’s a few that come to the meetings and stuff.
Usually if they’ve got a problem they ’re at the meetings, otherwise nobody shows up. ” A
wide array of opinions were expressed about such efforts at gathering input. Once ofﬁcial
from Mackinac County explained, “Ah, when I ﬁrst was elected, the ﬁrst year I was I
elected I tried to have some town meetings...all I found was that it was a, uh, an
opportunity for people just to come and complain... ” One township supervisor mentioned
that the township board stopped conducting annual meetings because of the low turnout.
There were, however, some positive remarks about their constituents’ involvement in

public hearings, as with this official from Chippewa County:

“I’ve attended other townships [meetings] and so forth and a lot of times it’s the
same few peope. They show up. They sit there....but when it comes to [township
name I, I think the independence kinda breeds...we have a very high number of
people that attend the meetings and ask questions or, you latow, offer their
opinion. ”

Other meetings mentioned by participants that are structured to gather public input are
more issue-speciﬁc, including stewardship programs, planning or zoning changes, forest
management plans, and even “Visioning sessions” for future economic development in a

community.

Other formal methods of gathering public input included various kinds of surveys.
Five of the participants reported having used, or are currently using, this method. One of
the officials in the Michigan DNR mentioned using a “report card,” which is a specialized
form of a standard comment card, to measure consituents’ satisfaction with the property
personnel’s performance. Report card responses have not only focused on the negative,

according to the participant: “...there are some, some positive things. And ah, they

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mention people by name. So, it is a good opportunity to give people some recognition,
too. ” Other survey work included general mail questionnaires sent to residents to gather
public opinion on current issues, including local economic issues, master plans, and bond

issues.

Public meetings and other formal public input processes are only half the story,
however. The majority of participants in the study mentioned events or circumstances
where their constituents approach them on an individual basis, either in their respective
offices, or just through everyday informal contact, such as when going to the store or
walking down the street. Several officials mentioned having an “open door policy.” When
asked about how input is gathered about local policy, one participant remarked, “See that
door right there? That door is um, open, we have an extremely open door policy and
anybody can come in at any time and sit down and talk with us. ” Although many of the
elected officials in the region have regular full-time jobs outside of their elected office,
some can make themselves available on a regular basis. “You know, I’m here every day
from 8:30 until 3.°30...l can ’t solve the problems if I’m not where people can get a hold
of me and listen to ‘em... ” explained one official from Mackinac County. Plenty of
participants also mentioned interacting with others outside the office during the course of
their everyday lives. Some speciﬁcally mentioned being approached regularly, both in their
homes and on the street. “People know they can call me at home any time, and they do,”
mentioned one Mackinac County ofﬁcial. Another county official responded, “I have a lot
of people tap me on the shoulder when I ’m out in public and want to bend my ear. I guess
that ’s the political process. ” Others expressed a sense of being part of the community

through these everyday interactions. As one Chippewa County official put it, “..and I go

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out and ask people ah, if I ’m in a discussion with somebody, I usually bring it around to
that issue eventually as to what, what things they would like to see done in the
community. ” Another explained, “I live with them. I live up in the village and I ’m an
islander. And I’m as silly as they are and I’m here in the wintertime. ” Additionally, some
mentioned hearing about resident concerns or local issues through family members and
acquaintances. When one local ofﬁcial in Luce County was asked how she learned about
local happenings, she answered, “...at the beauty shop.” Another from the county has a
spouse who is involved in another branch of local government, therefore keeping each
other informed of issues they might not already be aware of. A few others described
typical rural connections, through the proverbial grapevine, to get information. “...it is
such a wide open community and we are so intertwined that any murmurings out there
ususally hit my desk pretty quickly. ” These kinds of comments suggest that many local
officials in these rural communities get a feel for public concerns just by being an active

member of that community.
Information to the public

The methods they use to share information with their constituents are just as
diverse. Besides responding to direct requests for certain information, officials mentioned
using local media channels, newsletters and other mailings, workshops and presentations,
signs and brochures, public meetings, and even the Internet. Use of newspapers and other
media were the most often mentioned method of “getting the word out.” Most papers in
the region are distributed weekly, while one, out of Sault Ste. Marie, is daily. Half of the

participants interviewed mentioned using local newspapers for anything ranging from

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making general meeting announcements to writing their own columns. Most stick with
using only the newspaper located closest to them, while some others use more than one,
depending on the topic. Many elected officials mentioned usually having effective media
coverage during all of their public meetings. One such official from Mackinac County said,
“At our council meeting, we have both the weekly newspaper and the , and the, uh, daily
newspaper...plus a guy from the radio station. ” A few even maintain a regular column in
the local paper, including a township supervisor: “I have what ’s called, a “Supervisor
Speaks” column in the local paper...and if it is something that I really want some, really
want wide dissemination on I ’ll even get the editor to put it in his column... ” Other
participants mentioned other kinds of media that have been effective for them, including
local radio. When talking about a landowner stewardship program, one Chippewa County
official said, “When...the [stewardship] program ﬁrst became available, I went on the
local radio and did a little 15 minute spot and I came back to the ofﬁce and somebody
walked in and said, you know, he had heard it on the radio and came in and wanted to

sign up. ”

Several local officials mentioned writing and/or distributing a newsletter on a
regular basis to inform constituents of current policies, events and issues. Most who did
mention using this method were in non-elected positions, such as directors of local
Chamber of Commerce offices or Michigan DNR officials who are in charge of speciﬁc
programs. Newsletters are particularly valuable in reaching certain audiences, especially
when some recipients may be seasonal residents or other absentee landowners. One DNR

official described the time and effort-intensive nature of this medium:

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“We also, not all the districts do this but it’s something we started a long time
ago and that’s writing a newsletter. It ’s we ’ve got a list, I don ’t brow, probably
300 different, 300 to 400 different people on it that want to receive it. We used to
do it four times a year and that clearly got way too much work. So over the years
we ’ve cut it back to, we do one in the wintertime... ”

Since newsletters can be expensive and time consuming, smaller letters or ﬁyers sent
directly to constituents were also mentioned by some participants. These information
distribution modes are generally less involved than a newsletter, and can be mailed more
infrequently. Depending on the circumstances, these are sent to summarize meeting events
that have taken place, to announce meetings or events, or to inform constituents of policy
decisions. “...we send everybody and their brother agendas, you brow, every of course,
every newspaper, the TVstations, radio stations, all the Chamber, the tourist association,
all the utilities, everybody gets copies of our agendas, so they brow what’s going on, "
said one Mackinac County official regarding public hearings. In the case of either
newsletters or other mailings, these methods of sharing information require maintaining a

mailing list and spending money on reproduction and distribution.

Most public meetings held to gather public opinion also serve as opportunities to
inform. Additionally, some officials mentioned conducting workshops or making
presentations at other organizations’ meetings to inform or educate. Some of these
workshops can occur in unexpected places. For instance, one official mentioned hosting a
special program for prisoners in the community. “...the Master Gardener [program] is a,
we just did a program here in the prison. So I went in and taught house plants this past

year with the prison. I wasn ’t expecting that in the job description. ”

Many ofﬁcials once again suggested that word of mouth is an effective mode of

information distribution in their communities. Some mentioned sharing information

101

informally in casual conversations, while others hinted that this mode of communication is
something that is essentially out of their control. “...I try to get, you brow, articles in the
district newsletter but I think a lot of it is word of mouth, which is the best way, rather
than having some government person telling you how popular their programs are, ”
suggested one participant from Chippewa County. One township supervisor concluded
that this was the main way residents are informed of local decisions. “Yeah, well, they
pretty well, they pretty well know what’s going on...it’s a small township. Most of ‘em
know. ” Interestingly, no one suggested that information obtained through the grapevine
becomes distorted or inaccurate as the message is transmitted through the various social
channels in the community.
Quantifying formal and informal public input methods

A public input index can be constructed based on the results from the open-ended
interview questions related to participants’ discussions on public input methods and other
ways of sharing information with constituents. Both formal and informal methods appear
to be very important, and some participants emphasized one type over the other. It
therefore was more appropriate to lump the responses into one “public input” index that
will be used as an independent variable. Each input method that was mentioned by a
participant is coded and counted, but some methods appear to show extra effort toward
attempting to understand public sentiment. For instance, most elected officials mentioned
holding regular public meetings because it’s required by law. These mentioned required
public meetings will be given a weight of one. Occasional, point-in-time ways of gauging
public concern, such as public meetings or surveys related to a speciﬁc project or issue,

also given a weight of one. Committee meetings mentioned where it’s not required for the

102

ofﬁcial to be involved are given a weight of two, since they’re efforts above and beyond
what’s necessary for their job. In the informal input realm, many participants mentioned
receiving calls or contacts, or having an “open door policy” during regular ofﬁce hours.
This is given a score of one. If the ofﬁcial mentioned getting input because they’re
recognized on the street, in the supermarket, and other places outside the office are also
given one point. Some visit landowners as part of their job, and get input that way. Again,
this is a required part of their job and thus receives a score of one. Mentioning being
contacted via their home phone, home visits, or personal e-mail, is given a score of two.
Officials who suggested making themselves accessible during their private home time
suggests a greater openness toward their constituents. After coding the responses to this
question and quantifying the number of public input opportunities each participant
mentioned, the public input index “scores” ranged from a low of zero to a high of seven.

Scores are summarized in Table 13.

 

Table 13. Summary of public input scores, quantiﬁed from personal interviews.

 

0-1 12 31.6
2-4 13 34.2
5-7 1 1 28.9
(missing) 2 5.3
TOTAL 38 100.0

 

Connecting with other ofﬁcials
Local connections
Based on previous literature, maintaining connections with other ofﬁcials—

especially long-term connections—in local communities are important in attaining and

103

maintaining economic viability (O’Brien et a1, 1998). Officials in the Eastern UP who
participated in the interviews mentioned various relationships that they maintain with
others within the region. Both formal relationships (resulting from duties conducted within
ones position) and informal relationships (resulting from participation in personal
activities) serve as important conduits in exchanging information and news about current
events. Many local contacts result from duties performed on an “as needed” basis, such as
special projects or to address local issues that occur infrequently. For instance, land use
planning updates must be conducted periodically by many of the local officials
interviewed. These efforts require contact with various local boards and commissions as
well as sources of geographic and demographic information. One county commissioner
mentioned, “...tf you were to talk to...the EDC office, we have just set up a planning
commission and zoning that’s 20 years old..and they are looking into our zoning and
starting to do the plan again. ” Other occasional efforts require generating relationships
with other local entities, including businesses. For example, a few oﬁ‘icials mentioned
getting businesses to advertise special events or public meeting dates on their outdoor
signage. A township supervisor in Mackinac County said, “Okay, uh, the business owners,
if you ’ve got a public meeting about something, bang, it ’s right up there right now, and
they’re great about stuff like that. ” Fraternal organizations such as the Lions Club serve
as important connections in many communities because they can take on smaller local
projects that local agencies may not have the time or money to address. “...we developed
the cemetary a little bit..., ” mentioned one township supervisor, “we built, with, in
conjunction with the Lions Club we built a, I don’t brow what you want to call it, it’s not

quite a gazebo, it’s more like...if it ’s raining outside, you want to be under cover. ” Many

104

relationships are maintainted among other agencies or organizations simply because
they’re an integral part of performing necessary professional duties. Merely maintaining
that relationship, however, does not guarantee immediate success in attaining ones goals.
For instance, most of the township supervisors who were interviewed discussed regular
interaction with their respective county road commission. “We ’ve been trying to work
with the county in improving [road conditions], and the county has acbrowledged
constantly over the last two years since I kind of started hounding them that, yes, we have
the worst road system of any township in the county, ” one supervisor complained. Many
local officials must coordinate emergency services with neighboring townships or
municipal entities, including ambulatory and ﬁre. Since wildﬁre risk in these rural areas
can be relatively high, this coordination is often vital to the safety of residents. As one
Mackinac County ofﬁcial described, “Yeah, we have a ﬁre agreement with both
[surrounding townships], mutual aid In fact, we had [ a ] little leaf ﬁre up here yesterday,
so Hendricks, uh, Garﬁeld and Hudson and, and the DNR. But it was, it could have
gotten serious, you brow... ” All of these interactions serve not only as a means to deliver
necessary services to constituents, but also to gain a sense of local conditions and resident

attitudes.

Many local relationships are maintained through organizations and committees in
which the officials actively participate. While some of this involvement is mandated by
law, most participants mentioned serving on committees because they felt it was an
important way to maintain involvement in the goings-on of their community. The extent of

such participation varies from person to person. An ofﬁcial in Mackinac County bemoaned

105

his extensive involvement in various groups: “...well, last year, with meetings and with,

uh, committee meetings and so forth, I had, uh, ninety-four meetings for the year... ”

A few officials have made conscious decisions to reduce or minimize the number of
entities they are involved in. “I could go to meetings every day of the week if I wanted to
but I don ’t...I can ’t afford it,” mentioned one ofﬁcial ﬁ'om Luce County. Another in
Mackinac County explained, “I kind of developed, you know, I don’t belong to, I used to
belong to all the service clubs and all that, but I stopped because...I didn’t have any free
time, it was business all the time. ” Others, on the other hand, express a sense of pride in
being so active:

“I ’m on the human services coordinating body and a member of Kiwanis and my

church. You never brow where people will come up to you and bring things or

talk to you about whatever needs to be done... you ’re also in a leadership position

to do something about [local issues] and have a say in how the money gets spent
and the grants are gotten. ”

For those ofﬁcials who are involved in committees and organizations, there appears to be
some sense of control of how issues are handled. These activities also help to color the
picture ofﬁcials have of conditions in their communities.
Tribal connections

The Native American tribes who live in the region play an important part of the
Eastern UP’s social and economic conditions, especially in the last ten years. Development
of casinos by both the Bay Mills and the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians have provided
needed job opportunities and a boost to their own economy, making serious contributions
to local support services and development projects. As one ofﬁcial from St. Ignace stated,
however, “Gambling is a mixed bag.” A few of those interviewed mentioned witnessing

individuals who face destitution due to their excessive gambling habits. Others complained

106

that, although casino jobs do provide year-round employment, these positions rarely pay
high wages or offer health beneﬁts. Regardless of personal reactions to the development
of these casinos, many officials interviewed recognize how the success of this kind of
economic development has contributed to the growth and ﬁscal importance of the tribes.
Many officials in municipal or county government mentioned arranging contracts with
tribal governments who pay annual lump sums to support social services such as ﬁre
protection and law enforcement. Others mentioned maintaining relationships with tribal
members who are taking a more active role in cooperative projects, including workforce
development, a ﬁsheries commission, and other natural resource-related efforts. An
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) employee and two DNR employees
mentioned that they were in the process of developing stronger ties with tribal members
who are employed in forestry, wildlife, and ﬁshery management for their respective tribes.
Relationships are not limited to those maintained out of an obligation to address economic
and natural resource issues, however. At least one official talked about how she felt
personally enriched because of her relationship with tribal members. “I met a lot of people
that I didn ’t brow existed in Sault Ste. Marie, and that ’s too bad because they are, uh,
Native Americans are unique people, and I was surprised at some of the information I, I
did get.” Land and ﬁsheries management, casino development, and other tribal activities
ensure that the Native Americans will remain important players in social and economic

decisions in the region.

107

Extralocal connections

Of course, connections to individuals within the region are not the only ones
maintained among local officials. Participants mentioned regular interaction with
statewide, federal. and international agencies and organizations. State ofﬁcials, including
the state senator, representative, and governor, were also mentioned. If officials were
employees of a statewide agency or organization, such as the DNR or Nature
Conservancy, direct and regular connections were maintained with fellow employees who
operate outside the Eastern UP borders. One DNR employee, for instance, describes the

process he follows when putting together management prescription recommendations:

“We try and get our prescriptions reviewed by somebody who is in Pontiac. They
have a whole different perspective on things...sometimes if you ’ve been in one
area for a long time... you lose a little bit of statewide perspective and you also
lose perspective from other areas of the state. ”

Other DNR ofﬁcials reported that they regularly include fellow employees from other
divisions and disciplines in Eastern UP projects and events. One agency member discussed
including the forestry, ﬁsh, wildlife, and law enforcement divisions in their eighth annual
Smokey Bear event in Chippewa County. Another statewide organization employee in
Mackinac County discussed her involvement in project teams with others who are housed
downstate. “... for instance, like with [public] work days, I had our land steward come up
and help lead that. So there’s expertise that I just don ’t have that I really need to pull
on.” All agency and organization officials in the Eastern UP therefore appear to recognize
the value of maintaining statewide connections among their fellows to maintain
perspective and provide constituents with knowledge or experiences that they themselves

may not be qualiﬁed to provide.

108

Local ofﬁcials outside these agencies often mentioned having regular involvement
with statewide agencies, especially the DNR. It is questionable in most cases, however,
whether this would be considered a true extralocal connection, since most who discussed
interaction with such agencies referred to an employee who is housed locally. For
instance, many township ofﬁcials discussed regular contact with the DNR to maintain
local road systems that provided access to state timber resources. This contact, however,
is usually limited to one or two local employees who coordinate such tasks. In fact, only
one of the thirteen participants who mentioned some involvement with the DNR
mentioned an individual who was not located within the region. Contacts with universities
outside the region, however, were mentioned occasionally. These institutions, particularly
Michigan State University, were mentioned as sources of technical information in more
specialized ﬁelds, or were involved in research activities that eventually offered the results
as tools for local communities to work with. One natural resource-based organization in
Mackinac County regularly uses interns from universities downstate, providing additional
connections to others outside the region.

Connections with other agencies, such as the Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality (DEQ) or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), were
mentioned less often. Discussions about entities serving a more regulatory function were
not always positive, often portraying them as outsiders who have little compassion for, or
understanding of, their local area. As one Sault Ste. Marie official commented, “...you
never brow what the EPA is going to come down on, you know, or the BBQ or any other
government agency...there is always something that they want you to do and it costs

money and it has to be passed on [to taxpayers].”

109

Nine local ofﬁcials mentioned having regular contact with their state representative
and senator. Mayors who were interviewed pointed out that one of their biggest roles in
their city is public relations, and therefore served as the “ﬁrst contact” when the governor
or other state dignitary came to visit. Officials in the St. Ignace area were especially
connected with the state senator, because his permanent residence is there. As one
participant mentioned, “Ah, our elected, our state senator is from St. Ignace, Walt North
and he is on our harbor authority board and so we meet with him all the time. I see him
all the time.” One commissioner from the same area suggested his strong connection with
the senator originated from previous work experience outside the region. “...a lot of my, I
guess, involvement comes right through being a state employee, too. I deal with Lansing
quite a bit and my former boss here is now a state senator. I brow him very well...” These
direct connections with state government appeared to give some of these local ofﬁcials a
sense of voice in how their local community is governed.

Extralocal connections that seemed to provide the greatest amount of information
and outside perspective came from memberships in statewide or national professional
organizations. One-third of participants mentioned being actively involved in an
organization that is directly related to their particular ﬁeld. For instance, the local
newspaper editors who were interviewed both are members of the Michigan Press
Association. A Chamber of Commerce director is a member of the association for
Michigan Chamber of Commerce Executives. DNR employees who are in some way
involved in forest management are members of the Society of American Foresters. These
types of associations were reported as vital to maintaining access to technical information

and providing social support in their respective positions, as well as having some input on

110

how their respective ﬁelds are professionally maintained. Many of these ofﬁcial mentioned
being involved in these associations in order to get to know others in their profession. “I
was president of the Michigan Municipal League one year...which was a real honor...I
traveled all over the state...And ah, my philosophy was like that of ah, of a former
president who wanted to get out and see those who belonged to your association. And you
want feedback, you brow,” stated one official in Sault Ste. Marie. Another from the same
community who is relatively new to her position enjoyed membership in her respective
area of expertise because of the mutual support it provides. “...through [the association] I
met a lot of people and kind of developed this network...So I can sort of send out feelers
via e-mail and other methods to sort of say, here ’s an issue we’re having. Have you guys
ever had this and how have you dealt with it...” Yet another participant who is the editor
of the local newspaper uses her professional membership as a source of technical
information. For instance, she mentioned making regular contact with an attoumey hired
by the Michigan Press Association that provides free legal advice on common issues
related to writing and publishing. These types of connections that provide direct contact
with others in an official’s position help keep them up to date on current issues and trends.
Some mentioned getting regular news via the Internet. One local ofﬁcial in the Newberry
area, for instance, said, “I tied into, for example, the city of Midland 's web page and
other cities and municipalities’ web pages in order to share ordinances and ideas and
you brow, it is just urn, it really has changed...the way of doing business and it has been
really, really valuable.”

Quantifying local and extralocal connections

Quantifying the responses to the questions that targeted the local and extralocal

111

connections that they must maintain were more challenging. Based on the context
participants used in the interviews to describe these relationships, not all connections are
equally important or strong (for both locals and extralocals). Some connections are made
strictly to accomplish a given task, while others have been maintained on a regular basis
for many years. The strength of the connection is quantiﬁed by attaching greater numeric
weight to those ties that appear to be stronger, based on the context of the response. For
instance, connections that are made occasionally or just once in order to complete a
project or address a problem are assigned a value of one. If the mentioned connection
appears to be fairly regular, it’s assigned a two. If the connection is maintained because of
the participant’s membership in a club or organization, it’s given a value of three. This
latter distinction is made since an official is more likely to be engaged in the community
when they’re members of an organization. Local and extralocal connections are tabulated
using the same numeric system, but they were constructed as separate variables. The local
connection index scores across the officials ranged from a low of two to a high of twenty-
seven. Participants’ extralocal index scores ranged from a low of zero to a high of
thirteen. Summarized results of officials’ local and extralocal connection scores are

summarized in Table 14.

Overall ﬁndings of influential/opinion leader questionnaire

Results from the questionnaire on officials’ sense of personal inﬂuence and opinion
leadership are divided into two parts. The ﬁrst part includes the series of nine statements
based on Weimann’s (1994) measures of an individual’s overall personal inﬂuence. The

second part focuses speciﬁcally on measurement of opinion leadership, where this

112

 

Table 14. Summary of local and extralocal connection scores, quantiﬁed from personal

 

 

interviews.

Wm Emmy ﬁercest
0 to 9 11 28.9
10 to 19 13 34.2
20 to 27 12 31.6
(missing) 2 5.3
TOTAL 38 100.0

Extralocal 13mm Bergen;
comedians
0 to 4 21 55.3
5 to 8 8 21.1
9 to 13 7 18.4
(missing) 2 5.3
TOTAL 38 100.0

 

leadership is speciﬁc to a particular discipline or ﬁeld. The mean scores corresponding to
the inﬂuential statements in Part I are all well above the mid-range value of ﬁve (Table
15). Local officials in the sample seem to be generally strong in their sense of personal
inﬂuence. The three statements with highest mean scores relate to personal feelings of
conﬁdence and responsibility. The remainder in some way associate the respondent with
others in the community. Ofﬁcials who completed the questionnaire generally appeared to
shy away ﬁom statements that set their own status higher than that of others. In fact, two
provided written comments corresponding to these statements, suggesting that they felt it
would be egotistical of them to indicate strong agreement. Although there were moderate
differences in statement means between elected and non-elected ofﬁcials (with non-elected

often having lower mean scores), there were no signiﬁcant diﬁerences.

113

 

Table 15. Summarized frequencies of inﬂuential section of followup questionnaire.

PART 1. Generally speaking, on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 10 (strongly agree),
which of the following statements do you feel apply to you? [n=29]

Statement Mean 5.81.292.
I usually count on being successful in the things I do 8.34 1.97
I am conﬁdent about how I should behave in most 8.10 1.95
situations

I like to assume responsibility 7.83 2.12
I like to take the lead when a group does things together 7.17 2.44
I enjoy convincing others of my opinions 6.76 2.40
I often notice that I serve as a role model for others 6.59 2.11
I am often good at getting what I want 6.83 2.42
I am often a step ahead of others 6.86 1.88
I often give others advice and suggestions 7.14 1.98

 

In order to test whether these statements can be aggregated as an overall
measurement of inﬂuence, a factor analysis was conducted. Using the maximum likelihood
extraction method, the analysis resulted in one factor, of which all nine statements were
included (Table 16). This factor explains 61% of the total variance. This suggests, as with
Weimann’s ﬁndings, that these nine statements are an acceptable aggregate measure of
self-reported inﬂuence among the respondents. When the values of each statement are
summed for each ofﬁcial, however, there is still no signiﬁcant difference between the
aggregate scores of elected ofﬁcials and those of non-elected ofﬁcials.

Responses to the open-ended question in Part II asking about the isSues officials
ﬁnd themselves discussing most were grouped into several broader categories (Table 17).
Many of the items listed corresponded directly to the position of the official. For instance,

an elected official who is also employed as a high school teacher wrote “improving public

114

 

Table 16. Factor analysis of inﬂuential variables (maximum likelihood extraction

 

 

 

 

method).
C 1° .
Inﬂuential variable Initial Extraction
Count on being successful 0.858 0.698
Conﬁdent about behavior 0.680 0.505
Assume responsibility 0.840 0.585
Take the lead 0.675 0.461
Convincing others 0.806 0.699
Serve as a role model 0.679 0.602
Good at getting what want 0.894 0.657
Step ahead of others 0.759 0.605
Give others advice 0.823 0.710
We!
Initial eigenvalues Extraction SS loadings
Factor Total % variance Total % variance
1 5.908 65.639 5.521 61.342
2 0.939 10.436
W
Variable Factor 1
Count on being successful 0.835
Conﬁdent about behavior 0.710
Assume responsibility 0.765
Take the lead 0.679
Convincing others 0.836
Serve as a role model 0.776
Good at getting what want 0.810
Step ahead of others 0.778
Give others advice 0.842
W
Chi-square df sig.
68.181 27 0.000

 

115

 

Table 17. Summarized frequencies of opinion leader section of followup questionnaire.

PART II. In your everyday life, what do you ﬁnd yourself discussing with others?

Question 1. What TWO issues do you ﬁnd yourself discussing MOST OFTEN with your

friends, neighbors, and acquaintances?“ [n=29]

Issue

Economic development
Politics/Government
Recreation/Outdoors/Environment
Education/Children/Parenting
Other town issues/Infrastructure
Taxes
Tourism opportunities
Agriculture-related
Other (mentioned once each):
The Nature Conservancy inﬁltration
Reactions to change
Crime, corruption
Ethics & freedom in lifestyles
Population inﬂux
Planning/Development
Events that enhance the area

y—n
\INNWQOOOOO

Emerita
12

11. In general, how much do you like to talk about each issue with your friends and

acquaintances? [n=29]

Issue #1
Ram
I enjoy talking about it very much 69.0
I somewhat enjoy talking about it 31.0
I would prefer not to discuss this issue with others, but feel 0.0

obligated to do so

Table I 7 continued next page

116

Issue #2

22mm
48.3
41.4
10.3

Table I 7, continued

12. Would you say you give very little information, an average amount of information,
or a great deal of information about each of these issues to them? [n=29]

Issue #1 Issue #2

ﬁercest ﬁercest
I give a great deal of information 55.2 41.4
I give an average amount of information 44.8 55.2
I give very little information about it 0.0 3.4

13. Compared with your network of friends and acquaintances, are you less likely, about
as likely, or more likely to be asked for advice about each issue? [n=29]

Issue #1 Issue #2

ﬁercest ﬁercest
More likely 69.0 44.8
About as likely 27.6 44.8
Less likely 3.4 10.3

14. When you and your friends or acquaintances discuss these issues, what part do you
most often play? Do you mainly listen to their ideas or do you try to convince them of
your ideas? [n=27]

Issue #1 Issue #2

ﬁercest ﬁercest
I mainly would listen to acquaintances’ ideas 59.3 66.7
I mainly would try to convince them 40.7 33.3

15. Do you have the feeling that you are generally regarded by your ﬁiends and
acquaintances as a good source of advice about each of these issues? [n=28]

Issue #1 Issue #2

ﬁercmt ﬁesrest
I’m regarded as a very good source of advice 53.6 28.6
I’m somewhat regarded as a good source of advice 42.9 67.9
I’m not considered to be a source of advice on this issue 3.6 3.6

* Since each respondent listed two issues, there are a total of 58 issues reported.

117

education” as one of the issues. Those mentioned most often related to economic
development and governmental politics. Issues related to the outdoors/environment and
youth/education were also common. Responses to Questions 11 through 15 are difficult to
summarize, since each participant is referring to a different issue when answering them.

Generally speaking, respondents enjoyed talking about the issues they listed
(Question 11), were more likely than their acquaintances to be asked for advice on these
issues (Question 13), and would be more likely to listen to acquaintances’ ideas about
their issue than to try to convince others (Question 14). On the other hand, responses
were mixed when asked how much information respondents gave on the listed issue
(Question 12), and when asked if they were regarded by their acquaintances as a good
source of advice (Question 15). In order to get a clearer picture of opinion leadership in
the same way that Weimann (1994) did, respondents were grouped according to the issue
categories they listed in Question 10, and a total opinion leadership score was created by
adding the values from Questions 11 through 15. Opinion leadership scores can range
from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 9. Results are presented for the four issues that
were most prominent among the respondents: education/youth, outdoors/environment,
economic development, and politics! government (Table 18). It is possible that local
ofﬁcials who reported an environmental or related issue about natural resources are
stronger opinion leaders in their ﬁeld than those who listed the other topics.

There are some concerns, however, relating to the reliability of this opinion leader
measurement. First, the frequencies are too low to comfortably conclude the differences
are signiﬁcant among the issue categories. Second, if the ﬁve questions used to measure

opinion leadership are effective, they should factor together in a factor analysis. Factor

118

 

Table 18. Opinion leader scores for the four most frequently reported issues among

officials.
Frequency of respondents
I l! . . l l r . l' .
Education/Youth 5.13 8
Outdoors/Environment 7.00 8
Economic Development 6.33 12
Politics/Govemment 5.78 9

 

analyzing these questions shows that no factor appears to capture the majority of the
questions (Table 19). Therefore, aggregating these questions as a way to measure opinion
leadership does not appear to be appropriate. Examining these statements individually,
however, still provides some insight on officials’ involvement in, and willingness to
discuss, these important local issues.

Identifying relationships among personal inﬂuence, social connections, and
preferences for growth

A characterization of local officials in the Eastern UP can now emerge based on the
combined results of the conjoint survey, the personal interviews, and the inﬂuential
questionnaire. If these ofﬁcials have a strong preference for growth, have extensive
connections with others both within and beyond their local communities, have low
propensities for gathering input from their constituents, and believe they’re inﬂuential,
then these officials may be members of a growth machine, according to Molotch’s
portrayal. In order to examine these relationships, it must ﬁrst be determined whether
there are signiﬁcant differences in preference for an overall growth scenario, based on the

conjoint survey results from both residents and local ofﬁcials. If there are differences, the

119

 

Table 19. Factor analysis of opinion leadership variables (maximum likelihood extraction

 

 

 

 

method).
C l' .
Opinion leader variable Initial Extraction
Talk about issue 0.265 0.999
Give info about issue 0.366 0.392
Asked for advice on issue 0.344 0.404
Try to convince others 0.085 0.090
Source of advice on issue 0.493 0.855
I l v . x l . I
Initial eigenvalues Extraction SS loadings
Factor Total % variance Total % variance
1 2.273 45.454 1.367 27.332
2 1.021 20.413 1.372 27.436
3 0.884 17.685
Eactcunatrix
Variable Factor 1 Factor 2
Talk about issue 0.999 0002
Give info about issue 0.465 0.419
Asked for advice on issue 0.050 0.633
Try to convince others 0.169 0.247
Source of advice on issue 0.347 0.857
ﬁcedsesseeﬁﬁttect
Chi-square df sig.
0.238 1 0.626

 

120

qualitative results from the interviews must be quantiﬁed so that local connection,
extralocal connection, and public input indices can be created. These indices, along with
the compiled inﬂuential scores, can then be applied as independent variables to examine
relationships between them and the dependent growth preference scores.
Identifying oﬁ‘icials ’ characteristics that inﬂuence development preferences

Using the public input, local and extralocal connection indices from the interviews
and the inﬂuential index from the followup questionnaire, relationships with preferences
for local development can begin to be explored (Figure 9). Other quantitative variables
including ofﬁcials’ elected/not elected status (dummy variable), the number of years
they’ve been in their position, and the number of years they’ve lived in the region (dummy

variable over 20 years) were also included in the analysis. Finally, a dummy variable was

 

Indecendestxariahles: Denesdestrarjahk:
Public input index
Local connection index

    
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Extralocal connection index --

Inﬂuential index Likelihood of accepting
Over 20 years in EUP (dummy) -- ‘ status quo scenario
Years in position -r """""""""" ,3

Ebcted/not elected (dummy) -----

Opinion leader in economic development (dummy)

Figure 9. Proposed relationships between independent variables and dependent variable
(Dashed lines indicate negative relationships).

 

also constructed from the opinion leader portion of the followup questionnaire to indicate
whether or not officials mentioned talking about economic development in their everyday

lives.

121

To examine these relationships, a series of bivariate regression equations were ﬁrst
used to determine the inﬂuence of each independent variable on the likelihood of accepting
the status quo scenario. A stepwise regression technique was then used, incrementally
removing variables based on those having the lowest signiﬁcance in the model. Few of the
independent variables held any signiﬁcant relationship with preferences for the status quo
scenario based on the results of the bivariate regressions (Table 20). Both the dummy
variable that accounts for officials’ tenure in the Eastern UP and the elected/not elected
dummy variable were signiﬁcant at the or = 0.05 leveL The coefﬁcient for the ebctedlnot
elected dummy variable is in the direction that suggests the preference for the status quo
scenario for elected officials is lower than that of non-elected officials. Similarly, as the
amount of time officials lived in the area increases, their preference for the status quo also
decreases. This result corresponds with previous ﬁndings by Green et a1. (1996) on land
use attitudes in northern Wisconsin.

The stepwise regression exercise examines the effect of these independent
variables holding all others constant. The model that explained the greatest amount of
variance (i.e., the highest R2) is provided in Table 21. Using the adjusted R2 value due to
the small sample size, the model explains approximately 26% of the variance in the
dependent variable. The overall model is signiﬁcant at the or = 0.05 signiﬁcance level.
There are no signiﬁcant independent variables, however, in the model. This is due to the
signiﬁcant interaction of the tenure and the elected/not-elected dummy variables,
according to the Pearson correlation table of independent variables (Table 22). The

elected/not elected dummy and the length of time living in the Eastern UP are highly

122

 

Table 20. Results of the bivariate regression models, measuring each independent
variable’s inﬂuence on the dependent variable (preference for status quo

scenario).

Public input bivariate model R2 = 0.013
Adjusted R2 = -0.016

 

 

 

 

Variable B Std. Error Standardized t Signiﬁcance
(Constant) 0.254 0.085 3.001 0.005
Public input 0.019 0.028 0.114 0.666 0.510
index
Local connection bivariate model R2 = 0.006

Adjusted R2 = -0.023
Variable B Std. Error Standardized t Signiﬁcance
(Constant) 0.257 0.1 10 2.341 0.025
Local 0.003 0.008 0.077 0.452 0.654
connection
index
Extralocal connection bivariate model R2 = 0.029

Adjusted R2 = 0.000

Variable B Std. Error Standardized t Signiﬁcance
(Constant) 0.244 0.073 3.338 0.002
Extralocal 0.013 0.013 0.170 1.009 0.320
connection
index
Inﬂuential index bivariate model R2 = 0.004

Adjusted R2 = -0.033
Variable B Std. Error Standardized 1 Signiﬁcance
(Constant) 0.236 0.218 1.086 0.287
Inﬂuential 0.001 0.003 0.060 0.310 0.759
index

Table 20 continued next page

123

Table 20, continued

Tenure dummy bivariate model R2 = 0.230
Adjusted R2 = 0.208

 

 

 

 

Variable B Std. Error Standardized t Signiﬁcance
(Constant) 0.444 0.059 7.564 0.000
Years in -0.253 0.077 -0.479 -3.277 0.002
EUP > 20
Position tenure bivariate model R2 = 0.047

Adjusted R2 = 0.019
Variable B Std. Error Standardized t Signiﬁcance
(Constant) 0.371 0.070 5.331 0.000
Years in -0.006 0.004 -0.217 -l.294 0.204
position
Elected/not elected bivariate model R2 = 0.108

Adjusted R2 = 0.083
Variable B Std. Error Standardized t Signiﬁcance
(Constant) 0.374 0.055 6.793 0.000
Elected/not 0172 0.082 -0.328 -2.086 0.044
elected
dummy
Opinion leader bivariate model R2 = 0.069

Adjusted R2 = 0.035
Variable B Std. Error Standardized t Signiﬁcance
(Constant) 0.359 0.062 5.750 0.000
Opinion —0. 138 0.097 -0.263 - 1.417 0.168
leader
dummy

 

124

 

Table 21. Summary of model that explained the greatest amount of variance based on

adjusted R2 value.

Model R’ = 0.373
Adjusted R’ = 0.259
Model coefﬁcients and variable signiﬁcance:

 

 

Variable B Std. Error Standardized t Signiﬁcance
(Constant) 0.37 1 0.099 3.745 0.001
Years in -0. 189 0.105 -0.356 - 1.805 0.085
EUP > 20
Public input 0.052 0.030 0.306 1.753 0.093
index
Elected/not -0.128 0.108 -0.237 - 1. 184 0.249
elected
Opinion 0132 0.095 -0.240 -1.395 0.177
leader
Model proﬁle:
Sum of df Mean square F Signiﬁcance
squares
Regression 0.7 10 4 0. 177 3.270 0.030
Residual 1.194 22 0.054
Total 1.904 26

 

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126

correlated, with a p-value of 0.005. This suggests the above speciﬁed model contains
relationships among the explanatory variables, where the length of time living in the region
inﬂuences who is elected. In this case, it appears that elected officials have lived in the
region longer than the non-elected officials in the study. To determine how much of the
contributed variation is due to uniqueness and how much is due to commonality among
these variables, three additional R2 values were computed, corresponding to regression
models that systematically omitted one of the three independent variables. The results of
these variables uniqueness contribution and their commonality are outlined in Table 23.

These ﬁgures show that the commonality contributes approximately one-third of the

 

Table 23. Uniqueness and commonality of the three independent variables of the
regression equation that explained the greatest amount of variance.

lsdenesdertxamme ﬁiraliateecefflciests Sternsrtialclcne
Public input score 0.019 0.306
Years in EUP > 20 dummy -0.253 —0.356
Elected/non elected dummy -0. 172 -0.237
Opinion leader dummy -0.138 -0.240

11 . E l'

Public input score R2 - R2”... = 0.259 - 0.187 = 0.072

Years in EUP > 20 dummy R2 - 18“,. = 0.259 - 0.186 = 0.073
Elected/not elected dummy R2 - szm = 0.259 - 0.246 = 0.013
Opinion leader dummy R2 - 122,”23 = 0.259 - 0.250 = 0.009

Commonality = R2 — (0.072 + 0.073 + 0.013 + 0.009) = 0.092

 

variance in the model. This supports, in a limited manner, the growth machine model,
where elected officials are proposed to be more likely to want changes ﬁom current

conditions. It would appear, however, that the length of time living in the region is the

127

variable that primarily affects these preferences. Intuitively, this ﬁnding is reasonable—
non-elected officials were often MDNR or other agency personnel who have transferred
within the agency in previous years. Conversely, elected officials were often township
supervisors or city officials who indicated a desire to serve or “give back to” the
communities that have been a part of their lives for a long time.

The ultimate conclusion is that none of the included independent variables appear
to signiﬁcantly inﬂuence an ofﬁcial’s preference for the future, as deﬁned in this case by
their likelihood to accept the status quo scenario. Elected ofﬁcials may on the surface be
less likely to accept this scenario, but it is not conclusive that this preference is due to
being part of an elite class of growth pushers, as described in the growth machine image.
Further evidence that, in general, local officials in the Eastern UP are not interested in
large increases in growth and development is provided by the fact that neither local
officials nor residents are particularly interested in the high growth scenario. As all
members of the region face the growth in population and development that is currently
taking place, it will be important for them to recognize their common interests in

protecting the natural resources that are so special to them.

Qualitative evidence supporting quantitative findings

A primary advantage of qualitative research is its ability to capture the context
surrounding the answers that participants give. For instance, supplemental qualitative
evidence from the interviews with local officials provides some clues as to why the results
show few signiﬁcant relationships between development preferences and their social

connections or personal levels of inﬂuence. Although speciﬁc questions were not asked

128

about their personal concerns for the Eastern UP during the interview, several themes
seemed to appear over the course of the conversations. Not surprisingly, many mentioned
having concerns about the economic conditions of their area. Several mentioned the desire
to diversify the local economy, including an EDC director who discussed his view of the
Upper Peninsula as a region with great potential. “People know, what they brow of the
UP as a place to go to vacation. What they don ’t know and what they don ’t see is that it
is a year-around region. It has year-around communities and it has year-around business
activity.” Usually, however, these desires to improve the region’s economic base are
expressed for two reasons—to improve the living wage for current residents, or to keep
the community’s young talent from moving elsewhere to ﬁnd promising careers. “One of
my goals [is to] create jobs or businesses that will create jobs to keep our kids here, to
give them a form of income that they can stay here and raise their families... ” proclaimed
one township supervisor from Chippewa County. Not one official from the Eastern UP
said they wanted to attract business in order to provide a greater incentive for additional
in-migration. In fact, several mentioned a desire to keep additional population growth
from happening. “...we’re not crowded like [Houghton Lake], and we want to keep it like
that, ” said a township supervisor from Mackinac County. A commissioner from Luce
County had similar feelings when discussing the population changes that he has seen in
other natural resource-oriented locations in the state, “And ﬁrst it was Houghton Lake,
then it was Traverse City, and then it is going to be us. So, do we want to be like Traverse
City?”

During the personal interviews, over one in four ofﬁcials mentioned issues related

to development, while about 21% expressed concerns about increasing land values. A few

129

mentioned using zoning as a way to address these problems. These efforts were summed
up by the director of a regional planning ofﬁce, “And there are a lot of townships that are
anxious to do that [update land use plans] now because there is a lot of migration of ah,
retired people conring up here now...And so that’s causing some consternation. ” A few
discussed the dilemma they face with their constituents concerning the balance between
zoning and property rights. Local residents may see zoning as a limitation to their freedom
when they wish to add further development to their properties. One township supervisor
from Chippewa County expressed his ambivalence on this issue, “I try to take a stance,
we ’re not trying to limit a property owner from doing what they want with their property
but, you brow, try to explain to ‘em it’s more of a protection process... ” These
expressions by officials in the Eastern UP provide important clues that, although they are
very much interested in improving the economic quality of life for their constituents, they
are also interested in protecting aspects of the region’s rural character.

Although authors such as Logan et al. (1997) and O’Brien et aL (1998) mention
the importance of extralocal connections in successful development efforts, interviews
with ofﬁcials in the Eastern UP suggest that these types of connections are important for
more than just economic development. Non-elected employees from such agencies or
organizations as the MDNR, MSU Extension, and The Nature Conservancy often
mentioned maintaining regular contact with others in their respective agencies who are
located outside the Eastern UP. These contacts provide technical expertise in disciplines
that the local ofﬁcial does not have. Most of these agencies are centralized in Lansing,
which makes this urban center a common reference. “...any time there is a project going

on or any time I have questions...we have a park planner on this assignment who works

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out of Lansing, ” mentioned one MDNR park ofﬁcial in Chippewa County. These
extralocal connections are examples of assistance that lie beyond growth-related
partnerships. In other words, soliciting aid in conserving natural resources can come from
outside the region just as much as aid in exploiting those resources.

Memberships in statewide or national organizations are also important ways to
connect with others extralocally. “I ’m chair-elect of the land use planning and design
working group, the national one for the Society of American Foresters... ” stated one
MDNR official from Luce County. Active membership in such organizations help to give
ofﬁcials a sense of empowerment in driving the future direction of their community.
Several officials mentioned taking advantage of on-line services to maintain regular
contact with the organizations they’re involved in. A member of a local tribal council in
Chippewa County said, “I do a lot of ‘Net surfing and I’m linked with a lot of the Native
professionals throughout the state. ” This tribal member was relatively young, and had
only been in his position for two years. But age did not seem to be a barrier to using
computer technologies. A township supervisor, who has been a resident of his township
for over 30 years, also accesses the Internet regularly. “I ’m on the Internet and we, uh, I
call up, uh, Michigan Township Association on the ‘Net, read all their latest things... ” he
said.

Although most officials mentioned some kind of connection with other local
governmental entities, most were in relation to emergency services or infrastructure
coordination between jurisdictions. In fact, township supervisors mentioned connections
with their county or nearby towns only in the context of ﬁnancial assistance for

infrastructure and social service improvements. One commissioner from Chippewa County

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summarized these relationships by saying, “...we have a city liaison, uh, that works with
the city corrrrnissioners, but we don’t really uh, have a lot of uh, discourse with them. We,
uh, we run the county, they run the city. ” This commissioner also described the
relationships held with the townships with the county. “We try not to push [the townships ]
around. I mean, they’re doing a good job in this area...we can ’t tell the townships what to
do. They brow how to do it. ” One official from Mackinac County mentioned an attempt at
better coordination among units of government in the county through the Mackinac
County Governmental Advisory Board. The objective of this board is to gather together
officials from all units of government within the county to discuss common issues and
needs. Although one particular official from the city of St. Ignace was positive about the
board’s formation, he was not sure of its future existence. “Ah, I kind of get the feeling
that some of the county comnrissioners are somewhat opposed to this idea [the advisory
board], but I don ’t brow for sure. ” Groups of this sort can be difficult to coordinate when
the majority of its members have full-time job responsibilities outside their elected
positions.

Based on the interviews, the context around which local ofﬁcials responded to the
questions about local connections provides some clues about their effectiveness in coping
with recent changes. Their ambivalence toward zoning efforts, their limited contact with
other local officials, and a lack of available time and funding suggest that local ability to
address change is limited. Although some participants did mention taking proactive steps
to plan for the future, such as conducting “visioning sessions” in the community, these

visions grow dim as officials look beyond their own municipal borders.

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Explorations of the qualitative ﬁndings from the interviews therefore illustrate not
only how many connections officials make in their positions, but also the kinds of
relationships these connections consist of. This context helps to draw appropriate
conclusions about the nature of local ofﬁcials in such rural regions as the Eastern UP. For
example, the importance of informal contact with constituents as a way to understand
local sentiment about issues would not have been apparent if the standard list of public
input methods (e.g., public meetings, surveys, and committee memberships) was offered
for selection on a quantitative survey. The next chapter summarizes the purpose,
theoretical basis, methods, and results of this study. It also outlines some implications
from these ﬁndings. This chapter will also describe some of the important limitations of
this study, and suggestions for additional research in understanding the role of local
officials in economic development, and how the existence of social networks inﬂuence

them.

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CHAPTER VI:
CONCLUSIONS

Many rural resource-dependent regions across the country have faced similar
problems of economic instability over the past century. The resulting poverty is often
accompanied by an underinvestment in social infrastructure and a loss of young people to
other areas with more promising job opportunities. At times, circumstances beyond a
single community’s control creates new growth patterns, such as the formation of
bedroom communities along a central travel corridor. At other times, a community
chooses to focus on a particular economic sector, such as tourism, to overcome their
particular conditions. Usually these are only partial solutions that focus on only economic
improvements at the expense of social and environmental conditions. Both rural
sociologists and economists have studied the successes and failures of these types of
regions, using very different tools and theories on which to base their efforts.

Both disciplines, however, have in one way or another included the role of local
ofﬁcials in their studies. Some researchers have attributed the successes of a community
to the ability of these ofﬁcials and their constituents to mobilize and overcome their
social and economic problems. A vital component to these efforts is the set of well-
established connections among decision makers, local individuals, and organizations both
within and outside the community. On the other hand, local ofﬁcials have been seen by
other researchers as potential barriers to alternative solutions that do not ﬁt their
individual preferences. They are viewed as members of an elite class that can effectively
prevent individuals or groups from voicing opinions that run counter their preferred

alternative, the alternative that provides the elites the greatest economic gain. Little

134

attention has been given, however, to local ofﬁcials in these rural areas as decision
makers who must strike a balance between encouraging economic opportunities and
maintaining rural character that serves as a central source of local identity.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether local ofﬁcials differ from
their constituents in preferences for economic development and resource protection, and
to examine these local ofﬁcials’ self-perceived personal inﬂuence and social connections
to determine whether these characteristics inﬂuence preferences. Using the Eastern Upper
Peninsula as a setting for this work, classic rural resource-dependent conditions can be
found. With a historic background of timber harvesting and the resulting declines in that
industry, along with the closing of some signiﬁcant government facilities, economic
conditions are far from ideal. Many communities as a result depend more heavily on
amenity-based opportunities in various recreation and tourism markets. These industries
carry their own problems, including seasonal or minimum-wage employment and a boom
in the development of second homes by nonresident landowners. As the communities in
this region struggle to attain a balance among stable economic, environmental, and social
conditions, their local ofﬁcials stand at the center either as facilitators or barriers to these
efforts. This study is primarily based on two bodies of literature to examine the role of
these ofﬁcials. First, particular portions of the social capital concept are used to identify
the social networks that can be maintained to build the capacity to address local concerns.
Second, another theory described as the growth machine is used to look at the possibility
that the social networks created by decision makers intentionally exclude competing
concerns or interests of constituents. Using these theories as a foundation, both residents

and local ofﬁcials in the Eastern UP were asked about their preferences for future

135

economic growth and natural resource protection. Interviews, followed by a brief mail
survey, were conducted with the ofﬁcials to gain a clearer understanding of their
connections with local residents and other decision makers (both within and outside the
region), levels of involvement in their respective communities, and personal sense of
being inﬂuential in making things happen. Putting these different pieces together helped
form a clearer picture of what it means to be a local ofﬁcial in a rural resource-dependent

region of Michigan.

Summary of ﬁndings

There were three stages to the study’s methods. First, a conjoint survey was
administered to Eastern UP residents and local ofﬁcials to measure preferred future
economic and environmental conditions in the region. Next, a set of qualitative
interviews was conducted with those same local officials to examine their public opinion
efforts and their existing local and extralocal networks. Finally, a follow-up mail survey
was sent to these ofﬁcials asking them about their perceived level of inﬂuence and
opinion leadership in their respective communities.

Examination of the Eastern UP ofﬁcials’ attitudes and social networks began with
a conjoint survey of their preferences for future conditions in the region. The survey was
structured to have respondents make tradeoffs among various levels of growth, economic
development, and resource protection. Results from the 38 elected and non-elected
ofﬁcials were compared with those of 45 residents who were also presented with the
survey. Comparing the resulting mean utility scores of each attribute level presented in
the survey revealed few signiﬁcant differences between ofﬁcials and residents. Residents

were more likely to want small increases in the amount of protected natural areas and an

136

increase in the number of government jobs in parks or forests. Although only these four
levels of the thirty-seven that were included in the conjoint survey were signiﬁcantly
different, those four did correspond to desired changes among residents that favored
some sort of resource protection.

Looking at the conjoint survey results in another way, the combinations of
attribute levels can be combined to simulate possible future scenarios. For instance, a
combination of levels described as the ‘status quo’ scenario includes such levels as no
changes in water quality and amount of game fish, no changes in the number of
permanent and seasonal residents living in the region, and no changes in the amount of
timber harvesting or protected natural area acreage. Another combination, called the ‘pro
growth’ scenario, includes moderate increases in residents, hotel/motel development,
additional clearcutting, more opportunities for snowmobiling/four-wheeling, and a
moderate decrease in protected natural area acreage. The likelihood that a respondent
would choose one of these scenarios for future conditions can be computed by summing
the utility scores for each included level (x), and using the formula e‘/ (1 + e") to ﬁnd the
odds of accepting the scenario. Comparing the likelihood of accepting the presented
scenarios between local ofﬁcials and residents, only the ‘status quo’ scenario is
signiﬁcantly different. Residents are more likely to accept this scenario than local
ofﬁcials, which would in part support the supposition that ofﬁcials are more interested in
growth than their constituents. However, ofﬁcials were no more likely than residents to
prefer a pro growth scenario. The lack of a signiﬁcant difference may relate to some
ofﬁcials’ suggestions in the qualitative interviews that a tourism-based growth model is

not what they want. Manufacturing or light industrial businesses were not included in the

137

conjoint survey, yet many mentioned wanting these opportunities while they were
responding to the survey.

Both elected and non-elected ofﬁcials were included in the 38 qualitative
interviews. These included county commissioners, township supervisors, mayors, tribal
leaders, DNR employees, Economic Development Corporation directors, county
extension directors, newspaper editors, and others. The selected participants ranged from

relative newcomers to those with lifetime residency in the area. The amount of time

ﬁ-

ofﬁcials spent in their respective positions ranged from a year or less to over 30 years.

Their educational backgrounds varied widely as well. Nearly half mentioned having some

 

sort of postsecondary education, usually from a college or university within the state.
Many of the elected positions are only part-time, therefore many of those participants
were either employed in some other occupation, or were retired. Being employed in a fllll
time job outside the elected position greatly affected the amount of time these ofﬁcials
could devote to listening to their constituents. Many of the elected county, township, and
city ofﬁcials are charged with managing the day-to-day operations of their geographic
area, while the majority of the non-electeds are heavily involved in various forms of
planning in their jurisdictions. For example, EDC and Chamber of Commerce directors

discussed planning for business development, employees of the DNR are involved in

 

planning for multiple uses of the natural resources, and county extension directors
worked on planning strategies for various social services they provide.

Local ofﬁcials were asked about the kinds of public input that they gather when
making decisions for their area Participants mentioned a wide range of formal and

informal methods to gather this input. Most elected ofﬁcials mentioned formal monthly,

138

bi-monthly, or annually held public meetings or hearings that are required by law.
Several of these ofﬁcials indicated that these types of meetings bring in few residents
unless there is a controversial topic or issue at hand. Other participants discussed more
issue-speciﬁc meetings, including meetings for planning or zoning, forest management
plans, or special landowner stewardship programs. Surveys were also mentioned by ﬁve
of the officials as a way to formally gather input. Subject matter for these included state
park performance, local economic issues, and questions related to a local master planning
process.

Informal input methods were commonly mentioned as well. Several ofﬁcials
mentioned having an “open door policy” in their ofﬁces. If an ofﬁcial has a full-time job
outside of his/her position, however, this ofﬁce time is clearly limited. Some, however,
have speciﬁcally set regular ofﬁce hours to make themselves available to the public.
Participants also often mentioned getting informal input outside their ofﬁces in the course
of their everyday lives. Some even mentioned receiving phone calls at their homes on a
regular basis. Often this interaction takes place when running errands at the local store or
at the beauty/barber shop. Everyday interactions with friends and relatives also provide
information on what is happening in their communities.

Another question posed to local ofﬁcials asked about the connections that must be
maintained with others, both within and outside the Eastern UP, in orderto get their jobs
done. Ofﬁcials mentioned forming these types of relationships both as part of their duties
in the position and on a more personal basis when participating in various social
activities. Some of these connections were made when addressing a speciﬁc point-in-time

project or issue, while others have been maintained over the course of their lives in the

139

region. Locally, connections are often made with surrounding communities or townships
when emergency services or road improvements need to be coordinated across political
boundaries. Extralocal connections are often maintained with state or federal agencies for
ﬁnancial or regulatory purposes related to governmental procedures. Many elected city
and county ofﬁcials mentioned keeping in touch with their state senator, representative,
and/or the governor. Employees of a statewide agency or organization who participated
in the interviews have direct connections with colleagues who operate outside the borders
of the region, especially in Lansing where many of the central ofﬁces are located. Often
ofﬁcials must be able to rely on expertise or knowledge housed outside their region in
order to complete their work. Relationships are also maintained through memberships in
organizations and committees, which can be local, statewide, or even nationwide in
scope. Besides the typical standing committees on which many elected ofﬁcials are
required to serve, many mentioned being members of local fraternal organizations that
allow them to feel that they’re making a contribution to their community. Others
mentioned having memberships in professional associations to share questions and issues
with others who may have experienced similar situations.

The ﬁnal stage of information gathering in the Eastern UP consisted of a brief
questionnaire sent to all the ofﬁcials who participated in the qualitative interviews. This
survey was designed to measure their sense of how they serve as inﬂuential and/or
opinion leaders in their communities. It was divided into two sections, one to measure
their inﬂuential behavior according to Weimann’s (1994) index, and the other to identify
the types of information, such as economic development or social issues, these ofﬁcials

share most often with their acquaintances. The second section measured their opinion

140

leadership in the subjects the participant speciﬁed. Factor analyses conducted on the
compiled results from the questionnaire indicated that the statements used to measure
inﬂuential behavior could be grouped into one factor. The mean inﬂuential score for all
officials on a scale ﬁ'om 0 to 90 was approximately 66, ranging from a low of 12 to a
high of 85. Results from the opinion leadership section of the survey, however, were
inconclusive. Generally speaking, ofﬁcials stated that they most often discuss issues
related to economic development or politics/govemment with friends and acquaintances,
and that they enjoy discussing or sharing information about these topics with others.

In order to determine whether any of these characteristics of local ofﬁcials
inﬂuence their preferences for economic growth, quantitative indexes were created from
the qualitative results of the interviews as well as the results from the follow-up
inﬂuential questionnaire. These included three from the interviews: one for levels of
public input, one for local connections, and one for extralocal connections. An index was
also created from the inﬂuential portion of the follow-up questionnaire. These four
indices were each included in the regression analysis as independent variables. Four other
independent variables included: 1) the number of years participants had been living in the
Eastern UP, 2) the number of years serving in their positions, 3) whether they were
elected or non-elected ofﬁcials, and 4) whether or not they mentioned discussing
economic development in the opinion leader section of the follow-up questionnaire.
These eight resulting independent variables were included in a regression model, using
the odds of accepting the status-quo scenario as the dependent variable.

The model which explained the greatest amount of variance in the status-quo

preference at 25.9% included only four of the independent variables: the number of years

141

living in the Eastern UP greater than 20 years (dummy variable), the public input index,
the elected/not elected dummy variable, and the (economic development) opinion leader
dummy variable. Although the overall model was signiﬁcant at p = 0.030, none of the
independent variables in the model were signiﬁcant. The beta values for the bivariate
regression equations revealed, however, that both the elected/not elected dummy
independent variable and the years in the Eastern UP dummy variable both signiﬁcantly
inﬂuenced the dependent variable. For instance, the preference for the status-quo scenario
declines as ofﬁcials’ position ranges from not elected to elected. Similarly, preference
declines as ofﬁcials’ years living in the Eastern UP increase. This supports, in a limited
manner, the assertion that elected ofﬁcials are more likely to favor growth. However,
there is a high Pearson correlation between the elected/non elected dummy variable and
the number of years the ofﬁcial has lived in the region. Elected ofﬁcials in this study
generally have lived in the Eastern UP longer than those who are not elected. Therefore,
in this study, there appears to be little evidence to support the growth machine scenario
that portrays ofﬁcials who favor economic growth have many extralocal connections, are
disconnected from their own communities, or are particularly inﬂuential in pushing their

growth agendas.

Implications

Based on the ﬁndings from this study, local ofﬁcials are not particularly different
from residents in their preferences for moderate economic growth and strong resource
conservation. Additionally, local ofﬁcials in rural regions that are experiencing
development growth use various ways to connect with constituents they serve. However,

they do not seem to be exceptionally connected with local or extralocal elites. According

142

to the qualitative interviews, however, they do express concerns about current conditions
in their communities. Although questions about economic growth or resource protection
were not directly asked of the participants, many expressed their feelings about these
issues. Responses from the questions related to local connections also hint that local
ofﬁcials in the Eastern UP are not active members of a growth machine as deﬁned by
Molotch. On the other hand, they do not appear to possess the social connections that
allow them to effectively manage the development the region is experiencing. The region
would therefore not be described as having high levels of social capital.
Economic concerns

With such high unemployment rates and low median household incomes in the
region, it is no surprise that economic factors are important to local ofﬁcials. Several of
them mentioned over the course of the interviews that they were very much interested in
attracting businesses that would diversify their local economy beyond minimum wage-
dependent tourism. At the same time, concerns about improvements in economic
diversiﬁcation and population increases are often expressed in relation to the local
increases in parcelization and land values. Land value increases were generally seen as a
barrier for many residents who wish to ﬁnd affordable housing. And although higher land
values usually equate to additional available tax money for local governments, many
ofﬁcials felt that it still wasn’t enough to cover the increased demand for infrastructure
improvements like paved roads and upgraded utilities. Although no one had suggestions
how these land values should be addressed (other than improving local incomes), several
mentioned taking active steps to review local zoning ordinances or at least improve their

efforts in land use planning. In many cases, ofﬁcials have seen what has happened to

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1L.”

 

communities outside their borders, and are not particularly interested in having such
population growth and uncontrolled development spread to their area.
Social connections

Proponents of high economic growth, according to the literature, should have
many connections with others who live outside their local area. These connections
provide important technical and ﬁnancial assistance to local development projects. The
results from this study, however, find no relationship between high extralocal
connections and preferences for growth. Based on the interviews with non-elected
ofﬁcials in natural resource-related positions, this may be due to the fact that
conservation assistance is also sought extralocally.

Another important source of extralocal information, both for elected and non-
elected ofﬁcials, is membership in statewide or national organizations. These connections
would appear to be especially vital in such isolated, rural regions as the Eastern UP. Not
only do these memberships provide a source of salient news and information to local
ofﬁcials, but they also provide opportunities to exercise their existing knowledge base for
the ultimate beneﬁt of their own communities. Widespread use of technologies such as
the Internet have made these relationships easier in the past few years. Regular
communication through computer technologies will continue to reduce geographic
barriers and provide easier access to information and technical assistance outside the
region.

Although participants in the personal interviews also gave numerous examples of
local connections they make in their jobs, there seemed to be a distinct lack of connection

among local municipalities, townships, or counties. Two particular instances of

144

cooperation were often mentioned—when emergency services needed to be coordinated,
or when needed road maintenance crossed political borders. Instead of thinking of the
Eastern UP as a partnership of communities who share similar concerns over economic,
social and environmental conditions, each political agent is more likely to see itself as an
isolated entity who competes with others in the region for new opportunities. There are
other clues that different segments of the Eastern UP are not well connected. For
instance, the entire region has four EDCs who, as one EDC director observed, do not
typically coordinate activities with each other. In fact, one ofﬁcial from Kinross
Township viewed the city of Sault Ste. Marie strictly as a competitor when attempting to
attract new businesses to the area. This lack of local connection hampers opportunities for
capacity building (Brown and Glasgow, 1991). The current situation, as described by the
ofﬁcials in this study, could very well invite growth-related problems despite their
personal desires to avoid these unwanted conditions. More cooperative and coordinated
efforts to attract businesses, identify ﬁnancial and social service needs, and secure
environmentally sensitive areas would reduce the burden of each community’s limited
ﬁnancial and technical capacities. Additionally, expanded connections with entities such
as the C00perative Extension Service would assist in gaining the technical expertise in
community development that is necessary to improve local economic opportunities

without placing excessive burdens on social or environmental conditions.

Study limitations
Four particular issues limit the strength of the conclusions in this study. The ﬁrst
limitation relates to the selected attributes used in the conjoint survey. Although the

survey in general was well received by participants, several were concerned about the

145

 

lack of alternatives that included manufacturing jobs or other industrial development
opportunities. The overall economic focus of the survey centered on resource amenity
and extraction activities because of McDonough et aL’s (1999) observations that the
Eastern UP economy’s amenity growth patterns (such as in various tourism sectors) are
growing substantially. The concerns expressed by local ofﬁcials during the conjoint
survey suggest that the natural resource amenity and extraction focus may be too limiting.
Other survey participants, including the residents, were uncomfortable with the options
provided in the snowmobiling/four-wheeling recreation opportunity category.
Respondents seemed either to support snowmobiling or four-wheel motorized recreation,
but not both. The resulting utility scores, therefore, were not particularly useful unless a
respondent disliked all motorized recreation as a whole. Some ofﬁcials who had a
familiarity with forest management techniques were also concerned about the attribute
levels that related to timber harvesting. For example, many felt that additional
clearcutting would be acceptable in certain areas and among certain tree species, but not
in other areas of the region.

The second limitation relates to the various types of residents who participated in
the conjoint survey. Although both permanent and seasonal residents were included in the
sample, they were treated as if there is no variation in their preferences toward growth
and conservation. Based on observations from Green et a]. (1996), Cantrill (1998), and
McDonough et al. (1999), the length of time a resident has lived in a rural resource-
oriented area strongly affects his or her attitudes toward these issues. Unfortunately, the
small sample of seasonal residents in this study made an analysis of potential differences

infeasible. As seasonal home development and increased parcelization increases in the

146

 

 

Eastern UP, examining these differences in attitudes toward development will become
even more vital.

Another limitation relates to the way social connections were measured among
local ofﬁcials. A formal social network analysis was not used in this study, which may
have provided a more thorough picture of who worked with whom, and how often.
Sociometric methods often use techniques that list all leaders in a community—initially
generated by known community leaders—and ask each survey participant to indicate P
which ones on the list are considered to have social ties (strong or weak) with him/her.
Elaborate social network “maps” are then created to determine the amount and strength

of the connections in a community. These formal networks are also commonly used to

 

determine who the local community leaders are. Unfortunately, measuring the extent and
breadth of extralocal ties in this manner would be difﬁcult, if not impossible. Because no
listing of leader names was provided for participants in this study, however, ofﬁcials may
have forgotten to mention key connections during the brief interview opportunity they
had.

A ﬁnal, important limitation relates to the inherent concerns of qualitative I
interview techniques. There was little opportunity in the scope of this study to verify
whether the responses the participants gave were open and honest. According to Weiss

(1994), respondents in interviews are especially prone to give a positive picture of

 

themselves and of situations if they’re asked questions about their attitudes, beliefs or
opinions toward something. This is especially true if the interviewer is an outsider.
Although the interview questions in this study were not particularly sensitive, nor were

they based on the participants’ values or beliefs, their views about local issues and

147

conditions were usually offered as part of the discussion. The best way to verify the
accuracy of interview accounts is to examine public records or ask others within the
community. In many cases, however, there is no way to determine the accuracy of
ofﬁcials’ opinions, other than probing for details during the interview itself. This was
occasionally done when the participant’s observations seemed to contradict observations

from previous interviews.

Suggestions for further research

This study’s conclusions that local ofﬁcials in the Eastern UP of Michigan are not
members of a growth machine may or may not be generalizable across other rural
resource-oriented regions of the country. One of the best ways to verify this study’s
conclusions would be to replicate the methods in another region that is threatened with
similar pressures of second home development and high levels of poverty and
unemployment. There are several areas within Michigan’s borders that qualify. Important
choices would have to be made regarding the adjustment of the conjoint survey’s
attributes and corresponding levels (based on the discussion in the previous section).
Would the addition of manufacturing opportunities and adjustments in the types of land
management offered in the conjoint survey signiﬁcantly alter the results and conclusions
of the study?

A followup study of the Eastern UP should also be conducted, examining
economic development and resource protection efforts at the community level Important
questions remain about the role of local ofﬁcials in determining a local community’s
future direction. Does active coordination with neighboring areas help to improve

business attraction and allow for comprehensive planning to minimize environmental

148

 

impacts? Is there an existing “isolationist” mentality between communities that hampers
these efforts?

Findings from McDonough et al. (1999) suggest that the Eastern UP is facing
some important changes in the number and types of people who live in the region.
Second and seasonal homes that are being built today will more than likely be retirement
homes in the near future. How do these newcomers differ in their attitudes toward
development and environmental protection? It would be logical to assume that these new
residents located in the region to enjoy the natural, undeveloped surroundings. But is this
really the case? How might local ofﬁcials be inﬂuenced by the inﬂux of retirees (and
their corresponding development preferences) that are predicted to be moving in over the
next decade?

Any further research on local ofﬁcials, economic development, and resource
protection attitudes should be accompanied by an examination of the actual, physical
conditions of the region’s environment. For example, an examination of land use patterns
in the Eastern UP suggests that there is a signiﬁcant decrease in the size of privately
owned land parcels, with a corresponding increase in the amount of fragmentation of
forestland and other open spaces (McDonough, 1999). Determining the effects of this
parcelization on social, as well as natural, conditions would provide a more
comprehensive picture of the region. These results could be compared with a
community’s zoning and planning efforts to determine what kinds of effects local

leadership has on these conditions.

149

 

 

Conclusions

Both elected and non-elected local ofﬁcials in the Eastern UP face difﬁcult
challenges in providing economic opportunities and protecting the region’s priceless
natural resources. Residents and ofﬁcials alike have shown that they value the area’s
rural, natural character. Unlike Molotch’s characterization of the local ofﬁcial as an
integral member of the growth machine, those who participated in this study also appear
to value more than economics. These ofﬁcials are relatively well connected with their
constituents, often through everyday informal interactions. Since many of the elected
ofﬁcials are occupied with a full-time job outside their governmental duties, time
constraints often limit their ability to accomplish their goals. Connections with others
outside their borders therefore serve as important sources of technical support.

Unfortunately, individual communities do not appear to posses cohesive networks
with other local communities that can successfully shape their desired future. Unless road
systems or emergency services are involved, local ofﬁcials do not seem to see the value
of working with the neighbors that share political borders in planning for future
development and conservation goals. Connections with others outside the region,
however, have been made easier with advancements in technology through services like
distance learning and the Internet. These ﬁndings point out that, although ofﬁcials appear
to have a reasonable awareness of available technical resources, there are barriers to
communicating across local political boundaries. Opening these connections could
ultimately allow them to work together to more effectively manage their growth concerns

and protect the natural, undeveloped beauty of the Eastern UP.

150

 

 

APPENDIX A:

Counties, townships and county seats
in the Eastern UP of Michigan

151

 

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152

APPENDIX B:

Sample fact sheet for conjoint survey

153

Facts about the Eastern UP

For this survey, the Eastern UP consists of Chippewa, Luce, and Mackinac Counties.
There are:

53,436 residents

30,871 households

9,372 seasonal homes

1,777,100 acres of forested land

1,112,436 acres of land available for public recreation
310 miles of off-road vehicle trails

150 hotels and motels

16,663 resident annual ﬁshing licenses sold

This survey uses a few natural resource-related deﬁnitions:

W harvests all trees in a given area, regardless of age or species. This method is
used for tree species that require full sunlight to grow.

W harvests small clusters of trees in a given area, creating openings
in the forest for tree seedlings that require full sunlight to grow.

Wm harvests individual trees while allowing surrounding trees to
continue growing.

ﬁrctcctedsatllralareas are places set aside where
0 there is no forest harvesting,

there are no facilities developed for recreation,
no motorized recreational vehicles (such as snowmobiles or all-terrain vehicles) are
allowed, but

0 activities like hunting, hiking, and berry picking are allowed.

In the survey, when we say there is a...

SMALL CHANGE we mean a 10% INCREASE OR DECREASE
MODERATE CHANGE we mean a 25% INCREASE OR DECREASE
LARGE CHANGE we mean a 50% INCREASE OR DECREASE

154

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155

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