Individual Principle #2
Look to the locals
To start at the beginning of this series on Individual Principles for Long Enduring Common Pool Resources, please read the introduction here.
Congruence between appropriation and provision rules and local conditions
Translating Ostrom’s second principle is simple.
“In all these cases, the rules reflect the specific attributes of the particular resources.” - Elinor Ostrom.
This concept of matching rules to the local conditions reminds me of a phone call I received about fly fishing in Northeast Ohio. The man on the other end of the line seemed to be an eager angler, either new to the area or visiting. As any wise angler will know, the locals know where the fish are found. He asked specifically about brook trout. As readers of Afield Notes, you will now know that brook trout are endangered in Ohio and only found in a few select, carefully managed headwater streams. In Ohio, it is illegal to fish for brook trout. As I shared this with the caller the line fell silent and he promptly hung up. I guess it wasn’t the answer he was looking for. Had the curious angler called a local just across the border in Pennsylvania, he would have found a plethora of streams supporting brook trout he could have enjoyed. He even may have found fish in the headwaters of Western Maryland. But, we never made it that far in our conversation.
The same concept can be applied to steelhead. In Northeast Ohio, our fish are stocked in the rivers, mature in Lake Erie, and return to the rivers of their youth. There is some limited reproduction of steelhead that can find the appropriate cold water tributaries of Steelhead Alley, but much of the angling regulatory system revolves around the put-and-take stocking program. Anglers are allowed to keep two steelhead per day, though most fly anglers release their catch. Regardless of individual preferences within the rules, it would be a mistake for me to assume the same rules in the native steelhead waters of the Pacific Northwest. Due to a variety of factors including a changing climate, dams, hatchery genetics, and untold challenges in the fish’s lifecycle in the Pacific Ocean, many famous steelhead rivers are in trouble. In 2021, the steelhead returns were so low that fly shops chose to voluntarily shut down their guiding season. Considering this is their main source of revenue and their livelihood, it is an immense decision. This is all to say that what I am used to here in Ohio, applies little to the situation on the west coast.
The examples of brook trout and steelhead are similar to variations in hunting regulations, as well as access rules for motorized vehicles and river permits. Some roads are fun to drive on, some roads are meant to be quiet. Whatever the situation, I find it’s often best to lean on the locals who have spent the time and given their attention to the resource. But what about an individual principle? What about something we can do on our own to make sure we carry forward Ostrom’s Principles of Long Enduring Common Pool Resource Institutions?
