Marine Protected Areas, Multiple-Agency Management, and Monumental Surprise in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

Box 4

Root cause of conflicts.

(a) “There are still some core legal issues that we’re starting to work through that are causing points of conflict between

you know, between NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and (the U.S.) Fish and Wildlife Service.

Its wilderness and what wilderness means. It definitely means something to them and doesn’t mean anything to us.”

(b) “We would have less conflict if we could clearly articulate what our statutory authorities are.”

(c) “(A) lot of it had to do, I think, with the pressure of getting the management plan. We had pressure to get our jobs done,

pressure to get the management plan done before the end of the year. We were under a [deadline]…in a forced time frame when

there is so much confusion… emotions were high, stress level was high…. You know what, just get the management plan done.

We focused on that, got the thing out.”

(d) “One is the interpersonal relationships or the personality conflicts at the ground level... I would say

the interpersonal relationships were the number one.”

(e) “I think, we all are competing for limited resources.”

(f) “I still think it’s the corporate difference, the corporate culture difference and jurisdiction…that everything stems from those.”