EXAMINING STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT FOR INCLUSIVE TRANSBOUNDARY WATER MANAGEMENT & AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY IN THE KLAMATH RIVER BASIN

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1028163
• Grant No.: 2022-67011-36571
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $119,966.00
• Proposal No.: 2021-09465
• Project Start Date: Jan 3, 2022
• Project End Date: Jan 2, 2024
• Grant Year: 2022
• Program Code: [A7101]- AFRI Predoctoral Fellowships

Recipient Organization
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
408 Old Main
UNIVERSITY PARK,PA 16802-1505

Performing Department
Agricultural Economics, Sociol

Non Technical Summary
Rivers and other bodies of water are increasingly contested venues where knowledge diversity and collaborative stakeholder engagement are critical for effective governance and the sustainable management of water resources. Although we know a great deal about the rationale and design of collaborative governance, the issue of how inclusive and equitable these processes and outcomes are remain puzzling for those who study, design, and sponsor engagement programs. By explicitly accounting for power in the study and design of river basin governance, this project will develop new knowledge of historical, legal, political, and cultural processes that have led to current water governance structures and collaboration processes. Ultimately, project findings will promote sustainable agriculture and natural resources by identifying how power is manifested in multi-level water governance organizations and uncovering how power disparities can lead to differential outcomes and inequities for stakeholders. I will achieve this goal by conducting an in-depth case study of the Klamath River Basin, a region traversing the Oregon-California border undergoing historic resource governance changes. The case study will involve multiple modes of qualitative inquiry, including policy analysis, archival research, in-depth interviews, focus groups, and participant observation. Highlighting the local knowledge of farmers and ranchers, tribal scientists, natural resource managers, and other under-represented parties, these data generation techniques will determine how institutions, regulatory agencies, and policies can create more effective and equitable approaches to addressing environment and natural resource issues. A four-pronged dissemination strategy will share findings with regional stakeholders, Extension and policymakers, the socio-behavioral scholarly community, and the broader public.

Animal Health Component

30%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

50%

Applied

30%

Developmental

20%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
112	6050	3080	100%

Knowledge Area
112 - Watershed Protection and Management;

Subject Of Investigation
6050 - Communities, areas, and regions;

Field Of Science
3080 - Sociology;

Keywords

collaboration

equity

river basin governance

social sustainability

stakeholder engagement

Goals / Objectives
The primary goal of this project is to answer the research question: how can we make transboundary water governance in the American West more collaborative, inclusive, and equitable?The Klamath Basin, a 110-million-acre watershed traversing the Oregon-California border, has wrestled with water conflicts for more than a century, regularly pitting conservationists, tribes, farmers, fishers, counties, state and federal agencies against each other. Contemporary frustrations over regional water management have been documented in the media since 2001 when the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation prohibited the Klamath Project from diverting water for irrigated agriculture to protect two species of fish protected by the Endangered Species Act. In May 2001, more than 15,000 people converged in Klamath Falls, Oregon, to protest the Bureau of Reclamation's decision to disallow water for irrigated agriculture. A comparable conflict took place during the spring of 2021 when, on April 8, the Bureau of Reclamation released a statement notifying water users that it would not release water into the central canal that feeds the bulk of the Klamath Reclamation Project - the reservoir used by hundreds of area farmers and ranchers for irrigation. Protests erupted in early May, and the Canal A gates of the Upper Klamath were occupied by farmers, ranchers and armed militia members for several weeks.With future water allocation an uncertainty for the region, frustration and anxieties regarding the future of Basin water allocation remain high. In November 2020, Basin stakeholder solidified their third attempt at an interstate, stakeholder-drive compact to improve water in the Basin by signing a Memorandum of Agreement between California and Oregon, leaders of the Yurok and Karuk Tribes, and Berkshire Hathaway-owned PacifiCorp to remove four regional dams by 2025. These Klamath Dam removals are a test case for stakeholders working together to better manage water in the West. Recent calls have been for tribal, agricultural, regional, state and federal stakeholders to participate in formal, collaborative engagement processes that address the future of water governance in the Basin. Whether these calls for stakeholder engagement will be answered, however, are to be determined.River Basins, like the Klamath, sited in transboundary locations are increasingly contested venues where knowledge diversity and collaborative engagement are critical for peaceful, effective governance and the sustainable management of water resources. Although academics know a great deal about the rationale and design of collaborative governance and public sector network management processes, the issue of how inclusive and equitable these processes and outcomes are remains puzzling for those who study, design, and sponsor collaborative resource engagement. This project seeks to address these scholarly shortcomings by explicitly accounting for power in the study and design of collaborative approaches to transboundary water governance.The key research goals of this study are motivated by the following questions:How does power manifest in multi-level water governance organizations in the Klamath Basin?How inclusive, equitable, and collaborative are the Basin's water governance processes and outcomes?How can power disparities in the Basin's water governance processes lead to differential outcomes and inequities for stakeholders?I address these questions in the specific context of the Klamath Basin because the watershed is a unique location at the crossroads of inimitable, historic resource governance conflict. The Basin is an exemplar case study due to its overlapping geographic and political boundaries, which engage more than 40 formal stakeholder groups. By applying a power-based analysis to this case study, I will directly address concerns of water governance and stakeholder engagement equity and inclusivity, which will ultimately improve the design, study, and practice of collaborative approaches to resource governance.Objective 1: To develop new knowledge of the historical, legal, political, and cultural processes that have led to the current water governance structure and collaboration processes in the Klamath Basin. This will be achieved by analyzing archival and policy documents, attending participant observation events, conducting semi-structured interviews, and conducting an institutional analysis of multi-level water governance organizations in the region.Objective 2: To determine how and by whom collaborative natural resource agendas are set in the Klamath Basin. This will be achieved by analyzing archival and policy documents, attending participant observation events, and conducting semi-structured interviews.Objective 3: To identify the knowledge, information, and perspectives used and valued in the Klamath Basin's multi-level water governance organizations and stakeholder engagement processes. This will be achieved by analyzing archival and policy documents, attending participant observation events, conducting semi-structured interviews, and carrying out an institutional analysis of multi-level water governance organizations in the region.Objective 4: To compare Klamath Basin stakeholders' experiences with multi-level water governance and management organizations. This will be achieved through attending participant observation events and conducting semi-structured interviews.Objective 5: To identify the multi-scalar, inter-related mechanisms through which power differences and power exertion affect collaborative processes and outcomes in agricultural and natural resource stakeholder engagement in the Klamath Basin. This will be achieved through policy analysis, attending participant observation events, conducting semi-structured interviews, and conducting an institutional analysis of multi-level water governance organizations in the region.Objective 6: To describe how institutions in the Klamath Basin interact with traditional sources and exercises of power and either transform or reproduce those systems. This will be achieved through policy analysis, attending participant observation events, conducting semi-structured interviews, and conducting an institutional analysis of multi-level water governance organizations in the region.Objective 7: To share study findings with research participants and community members in focus groups at two points: once during a preliminary stage to solicit feedback and a second time at the study conclusion to share results. This will be achieved by carrying out two focus groups.Evaluation of the project goals will be measured according to a research schedule and accompanying metrics established with input from the Project Mentor and Advisory Committee. Research activities (i.e., archival research, policy analysis, participant observation, interviews, and institutional analysis) are linked to specific periods of time, and each period includes targets for research activities conducted.The PD will meet the following targets to answer key research questions and address all seven research objectives: (1) conduct no less than 12 months of ethnographic research, (2) engage in participant observation through no less than 40 events, (3) conduct no less than 60 interviews, (4) conduct archival research at no fewer than three (3) museums, historical societies, archive repositories, or related institutions.

Project Methods
The PD will conduct no fewer than 12 months of ethnographic research using the methods outlined below.Archival and Policy AnalysisArchival and policy research will focus on (1) Local archives at the Klamath County Library, the Klamath County Museum, the Siskiyou County Museum, and the Klamath Water Users Association headquarters; and (2) Regional archives at the Bureau of Land Management's Klamath Falls Field Office, the Bureau of Reclamation's California-Great Basin Office, the Oregon Historical Society's headquarters, Oregon State University's Archives, and the University of Oregon's Archives. Archival research will focus on records and reports that identify and describe historical conditions and policies that have shaped regional water governance. Policy analysis will determine what current policies and practices presently regulate engagement and water access/use and will examine the current role of stakeholders in the structures of these river basin models.ObservationsParticipant observation data will focus on events and other gatherings related to water issues and stakeholder engagement in the Basin. This data collection will occur at (online and in-person) public meetings hosted by agricultural and natural resource organizations in the Klamath River Basin. My goal is to identify the topics addressed during governance events, determine who is/is not present, who does/does not speak in the public forums, and observe interactions between those present. Handwritten notes taken throughout the event will be recorded by the PD. Following the conclusion of the event, notes will be coded thematically and destroyed after digitization.InterviewsSemi-structured in-person or phone/Zoom interviews will be conducted (using the interview protocol approved by the Pennsylvania State University IRB) with approximately 60 individuals who identify in one or more of the following four groups: (1) Agriculturalists in the Basin; (2) Tribal scientists affiliated with the Klamath Tribal Water Quality Consortium and Klamath Basin Monitoring Program; (3) government officials with the Oregon and California Departments of Environmental Quality, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Bureau of Land Management, and Oregon and California's Departments of Fish and Wildlife; and (4) regional natural resource professionals. Each subject will be visited one time, either in-person or via phone/Zoom, and a semi-structured interview will be conducted using the guide provided as a supplementary document. Notes will be taken during the interviews, and an audio recording will also be obtained with the participant's explicit permission. Written notes will also be recorded both during and after the interview. These notes will be destroyed after digitization. Interview transcription will be completed by the PD herself or professional transcription services such as Rev, GoTranscript, or Scribie, who follow strict policies to ensure data confidentiality. Participant information will be anonymized before any audio recordings are sent to the transcription service.Institutional AnalysisThe PD will conduct an institutional analysis of multi-level water governance organizations and actors in the Basin using Ostrom's (2011) Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework. Elinor Ostrom conceived the IAD framework in the 1980s to study commons pool resources and their governance by communities without state intervention (Clement 2010). The framework has been applied to several studies on how people collaborate and organize themselves across multi-scalar organizational boundaries to manage common resources such as water, forests, and fisheries. Of notable importance is that the IAD framework pays prominent attention to actors in their institutional contexts (McGinnis 2011). This focus leads me to believe that the framework is well-suited for integration with interpretations of power as a fluid, multi-dimensional relationship between groups and actors. By explicitly accounting for power in the study and design of river basin governance, using the IAD framework as an analytical tool, I will uncover how institutions, regulatory agencies, and other actors interact with each other and hypothesize ways in which these institutions can create more effective and equitable approaches for addressing environment and natural resource issues."Institutions" does not mean "organizations." While the former involves rules, organizations, and social norms that facilitate human organizational action, the latter refers to set structures that have either been created to take advantage of the opportunities for action provided by existing institutions or created to implement new institutions such as laws and regulations (Wageningen 2009, p. 3). Woodhill (2008) argues that institutions can be best viewed in terms of (1) giving meaning to our lives and the world we inhabit, (2) the associations we make to work together to achieve social, economic, and political objectives, and (3) the basis for control over what individuals and organizations should or can do. With this in mind, the IAD framework requires an analysis based on asking critical questions about different types of institutions based on action, association, meaning, and control.As a systematic method to document policy analysis, the IAD framework functions similar to analytic techniques commonly used by social science researchers to understand how institutions operate and change over time. IAD is unique in its ability to help explain and predict outcomes by formally exploring and documenting governance structures, actors' positions, and the informal and formal rules devised for individuals who have a stake in a common pool resource. Given the method's focus on natural resource governance and its ability to help explain and predict outcomes, this study employs an ideal analysis technique.TriangulationAll data collected as part of this study will be analyzed using inductive content analysis methods to draw semantic connections between interviewees and observations during participant observations. These findings will be compared with data collected from the archival research, policy analysis, and institutional analysis to see where data produced by different methods complement one another. This triangulation between methods will indicate what conclusions have the most significant empirical support.To maintain data reliability, research results will be shared with study participants and community members in focus groups at no less than two points: once during the preliminary stage to solicit feedback and engage in member checking (data validation) and a second time at the study conclusion to share results.Archival materials and ethnographic data will be stored in two public Data Commons upon completion of data analysis.EvaluationEvaluation of progress towards completing data collection and analysis will be measured according to a research and training schedule that the PD will develop with input from her Project Mentor. This evaluation of data collection, analysis, and communication of findings will occur over the two-year funding period. Documentation of research progress will include: documentation of connections made and relationships built, interviews conducted, meetings observed, and time spent conducting archival, policy, and institutional analysis. The logic model and project timeline will be discussed quarterly with the Primary Mentor to ensure adherence to deadlines. A dissemination plan will be developed during the first quarter of the grant in collaboration with the Project Mentor, Evaluation Team, and External Advisory Board.

Progress 01/03/22 to 08/22/23

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences for this project were: Agricultural and natural resource professionals, practitioners, extension professionals, and researchers with whom I shared preliminary and final research findings, outcomes, and lessons learned. Multiple regional and national audiences of those interested were reached through invited lectures, professional presentations, general audience publications, and participation in interviews. Elected officials, state and federal agency representatives, and policy advocates. Contact with individuals representing these audiences was made through print and social media coverage. Discussion about the application of my findings in governance and policy settings is ongoing and is being led by Oregon State Representative Emily McIntire (HD 56). Formal observations of agricultural and natural resource governance agencies were conducted at multiple sites, including those hosted by: Bureau of Reclamation Klamath Basin Improvement District Klamath Drainage District Klamath Irrigation District Klamath Project Drought Response Agency Klamath Water Users Association Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board Oregon Water Resources Congress Tulelake Irrigation District Interview participants were conducted with 32 individuals representing various agencies, organizations, technical service providers and agricultural retailers, and farm/ranching statuses. Due to the overlapping nature of many participants' identities, some people held multiple titles. Project participants included members representing: Local news media outlets Energy Trust of Oregon Family Farm Alliance Klamath County government Klamath Drainage District Klamath Irrigation District Klamath Soil and Water Conservation District Klamath Water Users Association Oregon Department of Agriculture Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Oregon Farm Bureau Oregon State University Oregon State University Extension Trout Unlimited USDA Farm Service Agency U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Socio-behavioral, environmental and natural resource undergraduate and graduate students and academic researchers were reached through a number of invited seminars and public presentations. These audiences include: The Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society American Water Resources Association European Society for Rural Sociology Congress International Association for Society and Natural Resources Law, Environment, and Agriculture Policy Club, Oregon State University McGill University Montana State University Penn State Law Rural Sociology Graduate Program, Penn State Rural Sociological Society Public Policy Program, Oregon State University Sociology Program, Oregon State University The World Ag Expo World Interdisciplinary Network for Institutional Research In addition, citizens, agricultural and natural resource organizations, and other community members were reached via public access publications, an online blog and podcast, newspaper articles, social media outlets, and three community presentations. Changes/Problems:Two changes to this project's methods and data analysis arose during the reporting period. The first change concerns Objective 6, particularly the proposed use of the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework as the conceptual tool for conducting an institutional analysis of multi-level water governance organizations. Upon an in-depth review of the literature and participation in a professional development course hosted by the Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, I determined that the situational analysis approach is better suited for this project and its objectives. Situational analyses invite researchers to examine the complexities of relations within a situation by carefully examining how situations are embedded in larger social contexts. When conducting a situational analysis, a researcher empirically builds up a portrait of a situation in all its uniqueness, then analyzes the complexities with a series of relational maps. A "thick analysis" of the unique situation is thereby built, which allows emerging phenomena to emerge to the analytic forefront (Clarke, Washburn, and Friese 2022, p. 25). Practically, the analysis is completed by making four analytical maps and following through with analytical work and memos of various kinds to document and detail the analysis in progress. Each map analyzes the situation being studied from a different angle of vision. This research will used situational analysis methods to examine how institutions in the Klamath Basin interact with traditional sources and exercises of power. The second concerns the proposed number of interviews included in this project's data collection process. In the initial Fellowship application, I stated that no less than 60 interviews would be conducted as part of this research. During fifteen months of ethnographic fieldwork, from September 2021 to December 2022, I had countless informal conversations with Klamath Basin farmers and ranchers, their spouses and partners, and their children. As described in my proposal, I originally intended interviews to comprise a larger portion of my data, but around interview 24, I reached a point where I could reasonably easily predict respondents' answers to specific questions (i.e., I reached data saturation). Saturation refers to the point in the data collection process when no new information is discovered. Data saturation is reached in interviews when the researcher begins to hear the same comments again and again. Once saturation was reached, the active recruitment of interview participants ceased. In total, 32 people were interviewed for this research. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Conferences attended The Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society Conference (Boston, MA) Congress of Qualitative Inquiry (virtual) European Society for Rural Sociology Congress (Rennes, France) International Association for Society and Natural Resources (Portland, ME) Oregon Water Resources Association Annual Meeting x2 (Hood River, OR) Pacific Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Sacramento, CA Rural Sociological Society (Burlington, VT) Rural Studies Student Conference x2 (one virtual, one in-person in University Park, PA) Traditional Ecological Knowledge Summit (virtual) University Network on Collaborative Governance x2 (one virtual, one in-person in Moran, WY) Water in the West Workshop, Montana State University World Ag Expo (Tulare, CA) World Interdisciplinary Network on Institutional Research (virtual) World Congress of Rural Sociology (Carnes, Australia) World Water Congress (Copenhagen, Denmark) Non-conference trainings 1 year as a Visiting Scholar in the School of Public Policy at Oregon State University 1 year as a Visiting Associate for the Writing Intensive Curriculum (WIC) program at Oregon State University 1 year as an Affiliate of the Oregon Policy Analysis Lab at Oregon State University Linguistic Inclusiveness Learning Community, Oregon State University WIC program Ethnographic Field School, Comitas Institute for Anthropology, Columbia University (virtual) Colloquium for Preparing and Navigating the Professional World, Penn State University Webinars/talks attended Semester-long TA for "Mediation of Environmental and Public Conflicts," Penn State Law People & Nature Seminars, Oregon State University PPOL 511 lectures, Oregon State University Handling Hot Moments in your Classroom, Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, Penn Stae How to Write an Inviting/Engaging Syllabi, Oregon State University WIC program Writing Your Diversity Statement, Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, Penn State Catalyzing Advocacy in Science and Engineering Workshop, American Association for the Advancement of Science Informal Writing to Promote Active Learning, Oregon State University WIC program School of Public Policy Brown Bag lectures, Oregon State University COMPASS Sci-Comm Workshop Stories from the Field, Penn State Center for Community Development Black Lives Matter in Academic Spaces: Three Lessons in Critical Literacy, Oregon State University WIC program Grounded Knowledge Panel, Smith College Establishing Good Mentor/Mentee Relationships, Penn State Office of the Senior Vice President for Research Race and Reclamation, Harvard Science, Technology, Society Circle The Challenge Series, Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education, Penn State Supporting Multilingual Student Writers, Oregon State University WIC program Communicating Your Research to Diverse Audiences, American Sociological Association Section on Applied Sociology Sustainable Livelihoods and Behavioral Health: Strategies and Partnerships to Address Farm Stress and Suicide, United States Department of Agriculture Teaching Environmental Sociology in a Time of Radical Flux, American Sociological Association Section on Environmental Sociology "Lessons Learned" workshop, Water for Agriculture Project Reflecting on Teaching and Revising Classes and Assignments, Oregon State University WIC Program Teaching Sensitive Topics to High School and First Year College Students, American Sociological Association Introduction to Maps in Power BI and ArcGIS, Oregon State University Libraries Conducting Research and Evaluation in a Good Way with Indigenous Nations and People: Bridging Indigenous and Western Rigor, University of Alaska A Student Members-Only Event with Three ASA Presidents- Webinar, American Sociological Association Lessons Learned in Navigating the Applied Workplace, American Sociological Association Gilbert F. White Lecture, Energy Justice and Justice40: Made for this Moment, National Academy of Sciences Climate Change in Transboundary River Basins: A Look at the Blue Nile River, NASEM Policy and Global Affairs NERCRD Webinar: Dealing with Contentious Public Issues, Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development Doing Team Sciences, Institute for Sustainable Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Science (SAFES), Penn State "Data Visualization with Tableau," Penn State Libraries "GIS 101," Penn State Libraries "Science on Tap: Human Impacts on Water Quality and How to Mitigate Them," Penn State How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Findings have been disseminated to communities of interest via oral and poster presentations and through conversations with agricultural and natural resource practitioners, extension professionals, and researchers at the following events: 1 presentation to the Klamath Water Users Association 1 presentation to the Klamath Irrigation District 1 community presentation at the Klamath County Library- Main Branch in Klamath Falls, OR 1 poster presentation at the American Water Resources Association 1 presentation to the International Association for Society and Natural Resources 1 presentation at Montana State University 1 presentation at the Rural Studies Student Conference 1 presentation to the World Interdisciplinary Network for Institutional Research 1 presentation to the Pacific Sociological Association 1 presentation to the Penn State Association of Water Students 3 presentations to the Rural Sociological Society 3 presentations to the International Association for Society and Natural Resources 1 presentation at the World Ag Expo 1 presentation at the Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society Conference 1 presentation at the European Society for Rural Sociology Congress 2 presentations to Penn State Law 2 presentations to the University Network for Collaborative Governance Member-checking, a form of qualitative research validation, was conducted with five individuals who represent organizations that include Klamath County Governments Klamath Drainage District, Klamath Irrigation District, Klamath Water Users Association, Oregon State Extension, and Oregon State University. As of late-August 2023, one-on-one conversations have begun with representatives of the Oregon State legislature regarding project findings and potential implementation. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During Year 1 (from September 2021 to December 2022), I spent 15 months in Klamath Falls, OR, collecting in-person ethnographic data that includes more than 100 meeting observations, 32 in-depth interviews, archival research at 7 different museums and records centers, and significant policy and social media data. At this stage, all data collection for this project is complete. Preliminary study findings were shared with communities of interest on nine different inclusions, not including informal conversations with community stakeholders, agricultural and natural resource professionals, and socio-behavioral researchers. I underwent significant professional development and methodological training, including my year spent as a Visiting Scholar in the School of Public Policy at Oregon State University. During Year 2 (from January 2023 to August 2023), the research that came from this project was analyzed and successfully defended for a PhD in Rural Sociology and Human Dimensions of Natural Resources and the Environment from Pennsylvania State University. Findings were member-checked with a sample of study participants and findings from the final dissertation were shared with study participants, community stakeholders, agricultural and natural resource professionals, and socio-behavioral researchers. A plan for publishing peer-reviewed journal articles using this data has been drafted. Articles are currently in preparation for the Journal of Rural Studies, Society & Natural Resources, and Rural Sociology. A potential book manuscript may also arise from this study's findings. The Project PI secured employment as a postdoctoral research associate of collaborative governance and social marketing at Virginia Tech's Occoquan Watershed Monitoring Lab in Manassas, Virginia.

Publications

• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. Reflections on 15 Months of Ethnographic Fieldwork in the Klamath Basin. Water Cooler Discussion Series, Penn State Association of Water Students, The Pennsylvania State University.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. A Power-based Analysis of 2021-2022 Water Year Actions and Outcomes in the Klamath Project (USA). Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society (Burlington, VT).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Eaton, Wes, Curt Davidson, Jill Weiss, Lauren Redmore, Hannah Whitley, and Emily Reinhardt. Navigating Conflict in Natural Resource Recreation: Toward an Updated Research and Practice Agenda. International Association for Society and Natural Resources (Portland, ME).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. A Practical Guide to Photovoice: Using Pictures and Storytelling to Document Your Farms Struggles & Strengths. World Ag Expo (Tulare, CA).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. The Ag in the Basin Photovoice Project: Stories of Strength and Struggle in One of Americas Most Contentious Watersheds. The Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society Conference (Boston, MA).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. Stakeholder Engagement within Water Governance Processes in the Klamath Basin (USA): A Power theory-based Analysis. International Association for Society and Natural Resources Conference (Portland, ME).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. Historical Contention Over Natural Resources in the State of Jefferson and its Effects on Contemporary Water Governance Processes. Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society (Burlington, VT).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. A (Very) Brief History of Mediation Efforts in the Klamath Basin. Mediation of Environmental and Public Conflicts (EXPR 972), Penn State Law (University Park, PA).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. Unlikely Allies: Building Community Between Birders and Agricultural Irrigators Amid Intense Socio-political Conflict in the Western U.S. International Association for Society and Natural Resources Conference (Portland, ME).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. A Situational Analysis of Water Allocation Processes and Outcomes in the Klamath Irrigation Project (USA). Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society (Burlington, VT).
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. Human Dynamics of Klamath Basin Negotiation Efforts. Mediation of Environmental and Public Conflicts (EXPR 972), Penn State Law (University Park, PA).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. We don't talk about that kind of bullshit here: A call to examine the impact of water scarcity on mental health and mental health care in rural agricultural communities. European Society for Rural Sociology Congress (Rennes, France).
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2023 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. Stakeholder Engagement Within Water Governance Processes in the Klamath Basin: A Power-Based Analysis. The Pennsylvania State University, PhD Dissertation.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. Revolutionizing water decision-making in the face of political polarization. Pennsylvania Association of Water Students (PAWS) Summer Paper Series. Available at: https://medium.com/@psuwaterstudentgroup/revolutionizing-water-decision-making-in-the-face-of-political-polarization-ca8a04eb236b
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. Collaborative governance, political polarization, and the publics growing distrust of science: Brainstorming best practices for sharing findings on politically-charged topics with various audiences. University Network for Collaborative Governance Retreat (Moran, WY).

Progress 01/03/22 to 01/02/23

Outputs
Target Audience:In the first year of this project, the main audiences included: Agricultural and natural resource professionals, practitioners, extension professionals, and researchers with whom I shared preliminary research findings, outcomes, and lessons learned. Multiple regional and national audiences of those interested were reached through invited lectures, professional presentations, general audience publications, and participation in interviews. Formal observations of agricultural and natural resource governance agencies were conducted at multiple sites, including those hosted by: Bureau of Reclamation Klamath Basin Improvement District Klamath Drainage District Klamath Irrigation District Klamath Project Drought Response Agency Klamath Water Users Association Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board Oregon Water Resources Congress Tulelake Irrigation District Interview participants were conducted with 32 individuals representing various agencies, organizations, technical service providers, agricultural retailers, and farm/ranching statuses. Due to the overlapping nature of many participants' identities, some people held multiple titles. Project participants included members representing: Local news media outlets Energy Trust of Oregon Family Farm Alliance Klamath County government Klamath Drainage District Klamath Irrigation District Klamath Soil and Water Conservation District Klamath Water Users Association Oregon Department of Agriculture Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Oregon Farm Bureau Oregon State University Oregon State University Extension Trout Unlimited USDA Farm Service Agency U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Socio-behavioral, environmental and natural resource undergraduate and graduate students and academic researchers were reached through a number of invited seminars and public presentations. These audiences include: American Water Resources Association International Association for Society and Natural Resources Law, Environment, and Agriculture Policy Club, Oregon State University McGill University Penn State Law Rural Sociology Graduate Program, Penn State Sociology Program, Oregon State University World Interdisciplinary Network for Institutional Research In addition, citizens, agricultural and natural resource organizations, and other community members were reached via public access publications, an online blog and podcast, social media outlets, and three community presentations. Changes/Problems:Two changes to this project's methods and data analysis have arisen during this reporting period. The first change concerns Objective 6, particularly the proposed use of the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework as the conceptual tool for conducting an institutional analysis of multi-level water governance organizations. Upon an in-depth review of the literature and participation in a professional development course hosted by the Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, I determined that the situational analysis approach is better suited for this project and its objectives. Situational analyses invite researchers to examine the complexities of relations within a situation by carefully examining how situations are embedded in larger social contexts. When conducting a situational analysis, a researcher empirically builds up a portrait of a situation in all its uniqueness, then analyzes the complexities with a series of relational maps. A "thick analysis" of the unique situation is thereby built, which allows emerging phenomena to emerge to the analytic forefront (Clarke, Washburn, and Friese 2022, p. 25). Practically, the analysis is completed by making four analytical maps and following through with analytical work and memos of various kinds to document and detail the analysis in progress. Each map analyzes the situation being studied from a different angle of vision. Moving forward, this research will use situational analysis to examine how institutions in the Klamath Basin interact with traditional sources and exercises of power. The second concerns the proposed number of interviews included in this project's data collection process. In the initial Fellowship application, I stated that no less than 60 interviews would be conducted as part of this research. During fifteen months of ethnographic fieldwork, from September 2021 to December 2022, I had countless informal conversations with Klamath Basin farmers and ranchers, their spouses and partners, and their children. As described in my proposal, I originally intended interviews to comprise a larger portion of my data, but around interview 24, I reached a point where I could reasonably easily predict respondents' answers to specific questions (i.e., I reached data saturation). Saturation refers to the point in the data collection process when no new information is discovered. Data saturation is reached in interviews when the researcher begins to hear the same comments again and again. Once saturation was reached, the active recruitment of interview participants ceased. In total, 32 people were interviewed for this research. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Conferences attended: University Network on Collaborative Governance (virtual) Rural Studies Student Conference x2 (one virtual, one in-person in University Park, PA) Pacific Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Sacramento, CA Traditional Ecological Knowledge Summit (virtual) Congress of Qualitative Inquiry (virtual) Water in the West Workshop, Montana State University World Interdisciplinary Network on Institutional Research (virtual) World Congress of Rural Sociology (Carnes, Australia) World Water Congress (Copenhagen, Denmark) Oregon Water Resources Association Annual Meeting x2 (Hood River, OR) Non-conference trainings: 1 year as a Visiting Scholar in the School of Public Policy at Oregon State University 1 year as a Visiting Associate for the Writing Intensive Curriculum (WIC) program at Oregon State University 1 year as an Affiliate of the Oregon Policy Analysis Lab at Oregon State University Linguistic Inclusiveness Learning Community, Oregon State University WIC program Ethnographic Field School, Comitas Institute for Anthropology, Columbia University (virtual) Webinars/talks attended: People & Nature Seminars, Oregon State University PPOL 511 lectures Handling Hot Moments in your Classroom, Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, Penn Stae How to Write an Inviting/Engaging Syllabi, Oregon State University WIC program Writing Your Diversity Statement, Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, Penn State Catalyzing Advocacy in Science and Engineering Workshop, American Association for the Advancement of Science Informal Writing to Promote Active Learning, Oregon State University WIC program School of Public Policy Brown Bag lectures, Oregon State University COMPASS Sci-Comm Workshop Stories from the Field, Penn State Center for Community Development Black Lives Matter in Academic Spaces: Three Lessons in Critical Literacy, Oregon State University WIC program Grounded Knowledge Panel, Smith College Establishing Good Mentor/Mentee Relationships, Penn State Office of the Senior Vice President for Research Race and Reclamation, Harvard Science, Technology, Society Circle The Challenge Series, Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education, Penn State Supporting Multilingual Student Writers, Oregon State University WIC program Communicating Your Research to Diverse Audiences, American Sociological Association Section on Applied Sociology Sustainable Livelihoods and Behavioral Health: Strategies and Partnerships to Address Farm Stress and Suicide, United States Department of Agriculture Teaching Environmental Sociology in a Time of Radical Flux, American Sociological Association Section on Environmental Sociology "Lessons Learned" workshop, Water for Agriculture Project Reflecting on Teaching and Revising Classes and Assignments, Oregon State University WIC Program Teaching Sensitive Topics to High School and First Year College Students, American Sociological Association Introduction to Maps in Power BI and ArcGIS, Oregon State University Libraries Conducting Research and Evaluation in a Good Way with Indigenous Nations and People: Bridging Indigenous and Western Rigor, University of Alaska A Student Members-Only Event with Three ASA Presidents- Webinar, American Sociological Association Lessons Learned in Navigating the Applied Workplace, American Sociological Association Gilbert F. White Lecture, Energy Justice and Justice40: Made for this Moment, National Academy of Sciences Climate Change in Transboundary River Basins: A Look at the Blue Nile River, NASEM Policy and Global Affairs Dealing with Contentious Public Issues, Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?During Year 1 of this project, preliminary findings have been disseminated to communities of interest via oral and poster presentations and through conversations with agricultural and natural resource practitioners, extension professionals, and researchers at the following events: 1 presentation to the Klamath Water Users Association 1 presentation to the Klamath Irrigation District 1 community presentation at the Klamath County Library- Main Branch in Klamath Falls, OR 1 poster presentation at the American Water Resources Association 1 presentation to the International Association for Society and Natural Resources 1 presentation at Montana State University 1 presentation at the Rural Studies Student Conference 1 presentation to the World Interdisciplinary Network for Institutional Research 1 presentation to the Pacific Sociological Association Member-checking, a form of qualitative research validation, was conducted with five individuals who represent organizations that include Klamath County Governments Klamath Drainage District, Klamath Irrigation District, Klamath Water Users Association, Oregon State Extension, and Oregon State University. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Year 2 will concentrate on data analysis, findings publication, and the completion of all 7 objectives outlined in the "major goals of this project." As of this report, five out of the expected nine chapters of my dissertation have been written. My estimated dissertation defense date is in the second week of June. In addition to project completion and dissertation defense, Year 2 will include findings dissemination to the following expected audiences: European Congress of Rural Sociology, the American Sociology Association, Society for the Study of Social Problems, the Rural Sociological Society, the Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society, the Northwest Agricultural Show, the Central Oregon Ag Show, and the World Ag Expo. This project's expected completion is in mid-July 2022.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Significant progress was made toward completion of this project in its first year. From September 2021 to December 2022, I spent 15 months in Klamath Falls, OR, collecting in-person ethnographic data that includes more than 100 meeting observations, 32 in-depth interviews, archival research at 7 different museums and records centers, and significant policy and social media data. At this stage, all data collection for this project is complete. Preliminary study findings were shared with communities of interest on nine different inclusions, not including informal conversations with community stakeholders, agricultural and natural resource professionals, and socio-behavioral researchers. I underwent significant professional development and methodological training, including my year spent as a Visiting Scholar in the School of Public Policy at Oregon State University.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. 2022. The Klamath Basin is Not a Lost Cause: Controversy and Compromise in Americas Most Contentious Domestic Watershed. American Water Resources Associations Water Resources IMPACT 24(5): 17-20. Available at: https://bit.ly/3D0EAfX
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. 2022. Agricultural Water Users Preparation for and Reaction to Klamath Project Water Governance During the 2022 Water Year. Rural Studies Student Conference (University Park, PA).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. 2022. Equitable Representation for All?: Water Governance in the Klamath Project During the 2022 Water Year (USA). International Association for Society and Natural Resources Conference (virtual).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. 2022. An Institutional Analysis of Irrigation Governance in the Upper Klamath Basin (Oregon, USA). World Interdisciplinary Network for Institutional Research Conference (virtual).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. 2022. Historical Contention over Natural Resources in the State of Jefferson and its Effects on Collaborative Governance. Pacific Sociological Association Annual Meeting (Sacramento, CA).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. 2022. Ethnography in Progress: How Regional Separatism Influences Collaborative Water Governance. Rural Studies Student Conference (virtual).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. 2022. The Upper Klamath Basin Restoration Summit: A Simulated Mediation Exercise. Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration (E-PARCC), Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Available at https://bit.ly/3QF7VkJ
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. 2022. Stakeholder Engagement within Water Governance Processes in the Klamath Basin: A Power-based Analysis. Water in the West Workshop, Montana State University (Bozeman, MT).
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. 2022. The Case for Stakeholder Engagement in an Era of Water Conflict, Climate Change, and Limited Water Allocation. Keynote address, GradInspire, Oregon State University (Corvallis, OR).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. 2022. Irrigated agriculturalists' perceptions of and adaptations to water scarcity in the Klamath Project (USA). American Water Resources Association, Annual Water Resources Conference (Renton, WA).
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. 2022. Agriculture and Environmental Change. Rural Life in Global Society (SOCI 355), McGill University (virtual).
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. 2022. Qualitative Research Methods in Sociology. Methods I: Research Design (SOC 315), Oregon State University (Corvallis, OR).
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Whitley, Hannah. 2022. Water Policy and Governance in the Klamath Basin. Law, Environment, and Agriculture Policy Club, Oregon State University (Corvallis, OR).