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Wildlife governance principles (WGPs) identify desirable governance characteristics for wildlife conservation in the United States (US). The types of institutional, ecological, and socio-cultural challenges that WGPs are designed to address also affect governance of public natural resources other than wildlife and in places other than the US. This raises the possibility that a similar set of governance principles might help natural resource professionals working in other resource contexts address the particular challenges they face. We describe the process by which we developed WGPs and offer seven practically oriented questions to help natural resource professionals ascertain whether a similar set of principles could improve governance in their context. In some contexts, minor modification of WGPs might be appropriate; in others, the process by which we developed WGPs could serve as a blueprint for formulating appropriate principles.

Public trust thinking (PTT) promises to inspire ecologically and socially responsible wildlife governance in the United States, but its application is not straightforward. We describe eight broad challenges to comprehensive application of PTT including: increasing authority and capacity; overcoming resistance to change; achieving fair consideration of all public interests; facilitating broad public participation; and fulfilling commitments to future generations. We discuss potential solutions including: distributing responsibilities for public wildlife conservation among governmental and nongovernmental entities; adopting an expansive definition of “wildlife;” promoting an inclusive interpretation of PTT among public wildlife professionals; rejuvenating relationships between the public and wildlife agencies; and increasing public participation and accountability in decision-making processes. Efforts to address challenges in specific socioecological contexts should be led by people working in those...

Public trust thinking (PTT) offers a philosophical orientation toward natural resources and a means of addressing persistent and emerging challenges in environmental conservation. It has inspired laws and policies around the world and is receiving increasing attention among scholars and natural resource practitioners. Nevertheless, attempts to develop and implement PTT are hampered by lack of clarity: no clear single statement of principles that unite PTT’s diverse expressions exists. We address this need by synthesizing PTT literature across academic disciplines. We identify four areas that are in need of development and offer five principles that characterize PTT: (1) Human well-being is dependent on benefits provided by ecosystems; (2) Certain resources are not suitable for exclusive private ownership; (3) All beneficiaries are equal; (4) Future generations should be considered in current resource management decisions; and (5) Trustees are bound by fiduciary obligations and are publicly accountable.