Program on the Environment

Current environmental governance structures frequently make decisions that fail to serve communities, ecosystems, and social systems holistically. Growing research highlights the value of incorporating place-based local knowledge in environmental governance, particularly in the context of accelerating climate change. This study analyzes how local knowledge can be incorporated into environmental decisionmaking effectively within a collaborative governance model. Working as an oral historian with Washington Sea Grant’s Willapa-Grays Harbor Estuary Collaborative (WGHEC), I conducted oral history interviews with stakeholders and rightsholders in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor estuaries. I also contributed to the facilitation of quarterly stakeholder meetings, and prepared a comparative literature analysis of collaborative governance theory to inform my research on local knowledge integration. Through my research I identified three key pillars of WGHEC’s collaborative governance model: (1) oral history as a mechanism of building trust and sharing local knowledge, (2) consistent stakeholder engagement, and (3) co-created social-ecological system modelling. Together, these pillars form a transferable framework for integrating diverse knowledge systems into environmental decision-making. Outcomes of this study suggest that these pillars contribute to more inclusive, engaged, and resilient governance. These findings support coastal natural resource industries by providing replicable structure for other collaborative governance initiatives. This work is particularly valuable for coastal communities, as increasing climate and environmental pressures continue to change our oceans and coasts.