Discourse and Argument in Bureau of Land Management Wilderness Environmental Impact Statements |
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| Authors: | Clare Ginger |
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| Institution: | assistant professor of natural resources at the University of Vermont. Her research focuses on public policy and planning processes with specialization in bureaucratic organizations, human geography, and applications to environmental issues. |
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| Abstract: | This study examines argument as a link between technical information and policy recommendations in wilderness environmental impact statements (EISs) produced by the Bureau of Land Management. As the EISs went from draft to final form, their structure and content changed. The changes reflect a shift to incorporate wilderness protection into the policy agenda for public lands. The analysis suggests that EISs can be understood as a form of argumentative discourse in which agency personnel frame issues and make normative arguments through technical analyses. |
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