Rebecca McLain

PO Box 6688
Portland, OR 97228

During the past twenty years, Rebecca McLain has designed and implemented a wide range of applied policy research projects aimed at helping policy-makers and citizens to better understand the links between socio-cultural and bio-physical elements of sustainable natural resource management systems. Her major areas of focus include participatory natural resource policy processes, community-based forestry, and non-timber forest products policy. Participatory, collaborative, and interdisciplinary approaches to natural resource policy research have always been an integral part of her work and education (B.A. in Cultural Anthropology; M.S. in Land Resources; Ph.D. in Social Science and Forestry).

Rebecca has field experience in international and domestic natural resource policy research and analysis. Her areas of geographical specialization include North America and Africa. Between 1987 and 1991 she directed applied research projects on land tenure and forest management in West Africa and Haiti for the University of Wisconsin’s Land Tenure Center. Between 1992-1996 she served as team leader of natural resource co-management feasibility studies and project evaluations for non-governmental organizations operating in West Africa including CARE-International, Near East Foundation, and SOS-Sahel/Great Britain. She is currently working with Precillia Ijang Tata, research associate with the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD) in Cameroon, and Elvis Tata, IFCAE intern, on a study of wild mushroom harvesting issues in the northwestern region of Cameroon.

Rebecca’s work in North America has focused on natural resource management issues in the Pacific Northwest, Northern Rockies, and Alaska.  She has conducted projects looking at issues ranging from adaptive management of fisheries and river basins to evaluating the impacts of regional forest policies on rural communities to user group participation in nontimber forest policy making. She is co-editor of two textbooks on nontimber forest product management and policy in the United States.

Rebecca’s work has been published in a variety of venues, including peer-review academic journals, the University of Wisconsin Land Tenure Center’s Research Paper series, and the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station General Technical Report series. She has also presented her work in forums ranging from informal community meetings to natural resource agency workshops and seminars to national and international academic conferences.

Rebecca's hobbies include wild mushroom gathering, cooking, reading and traveling.