| As federal environmental policy moves increasingly toward relying on local communities for implementation of its mandates, it becomes important to study how well public policies work where implementation depends on local citizen collective action. Vermont's antidegradation water policy to protect pristine streams provides a good example of this type of implementation. Stream reclassification from "B" to "A" (pristine), is triggered by a local citizen petition to the state. This qualitative study utilized a critical case study design to understand what motivates individuals in three watershed communities to participate in a process of collective action named "precautionary environmental action" or PEA, by addressing the following question:; Under what conditions do citizens undertake collective action in order to implement environmental policy designed by the state of Vermont to prevent degradation of streams?; Collective action can take many forms, and has been studied most commonly to understand large social movements. However, some theorists, most notably the sociologist Alberto Melucci, feel that contemporary collective actions may follow a different, individualized and symbolic pattern that stems from challenging codes that are deep-seated in our post-industrial society (Melucci, 1996). A conceptual framework focusing on eight key conditions was developed from Melucci's model and a multiple perspective analysis of literature.; Through replication logic, the conceptual model was tested in the three cases of Cold Brook, Kidder Brook, and Nulhegan Waters, through an analysis based on individual interviews, focus groups, archival documents, and a survey.; The model was upheld by all three cases. Evidence was weak in Nulhegan Waters for two conditions: the formation of a collective identity with a resultant challenge to underlying codes. In this case, the petition was withdrawn, probably indicating that all the elements in the conceptual model need to be present for PEA to occur successfully, and for effective collective action to implement policy. The model created to analyze this type of collective action is grounded in social constructionism, a complex, dynamic process involving a number of conditions that could be applied to other settings as a predictor of successful outcome. |
