7 Journal of Park and Recreation Administration Volume 24, Number 1 Spring 2006 pp. 7-31 Creating Racially/Ethnically Inclusive Partnerships in Natural Resource Management and Outdoor Recreation: The Challenges, Issues, and Strategies Richard O. B. Makopondo EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Collaborative approaches to natural re- source management are being promoted as promising ways to deal with complex and contentious natural resource issues (Conley & Mootie, 2003). The National Park Service and the National Conservation and Park Association have recently adopted collaboration as a strategy for promot- ing racial and ethnic diversity in park planning, outdoor recreation, and environmental conservation education. However, many units within the National Park System have encountered major challenges in their efforts to attract minorities (National Parks Conservation Association, 2001). This study drew on Inter-organizational Collaboration Theory by Gray (1985), Wondolleck and Yaffee (2000), and Wood and Gray (1991) to investigate factors that impede efforts by the Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area Partnership to include racial and ethnic minorities in natural resource management, outdoor recreation activities, and pro- grams. Qualitative research methods were used to collect the evidence. The study found that collaboration and partnerships are viable mecha- nisms for enhancing racial and ethnic diversity in natural resource manage- ment, environmental conservation education, and outdoor recreation. However, there are major challenges and constraints to creating racially and ethnically inclusive collaborations and partnerships. The results indi- cate that whether and how racial and ethnic minorities got involved with the Partnership, and its activities and programs were influenced by several factors including: (1) the process through which the Partnership was established; (2) problems related to the structure of the Partnership and Advisory Council; (3) gaps in the missions, goals, and values of the Partnership and minority-based organizations; (4) the approaches, chal- lenges, and difficulties in the Partnership’s public involvement process; (5) the presence of sensitive leaders with the skills and commitment to racial and cultural diversity; and (6) the relevance of partnership activities and programs to the lives of racial and ethnic minorities. The study supports the contentions by Wondolleck and Yaffee (2000) and Gray and Wood (1991) that collaboration and partnerships are about relationships and that effective collaboration is able to create structures and processes through which relationships are developed among diverse partners. It also supports previous findings that people of color (racial and ethnic minorities) and low-income communities are more preoccupied with quality-of-life issues and think of the environment in terms of quality-of-life, social and environmental justice issues (Bullard & Johnson, 2000; Floyd & Johnson, 2002; Taylor, 2000a). Four major recommendations for creating racially and ethnically inclusive collaboration and partnerships are offered: (1) The