THE AUTHORS WISH to acknowledge and thank the many students who contributed to the development of rural environmental plans at the Universities of Vermont and New Mexico. Gratitude also is extended to various academics, practitioners, and professionals who provided information for the case studies and examples featured in this text. Special recognition goes to the Southwest Hispanic Research Institute at the University of New Mexico, particularly Frances Rico and Rosemarie Romero, for seeing the manuscript through many drafts. José A. Rivera, director of the Institute, served as managing editor of the manuscript from inception.