This article describes results from an assessment of the status of local environmental protection mechanisms in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, an area typical of many in the Great Lakes region that is experiencing settlement sprawl and declining or stabilizing population and that has a history of industrial pollution. The study was motivated by recent trends infederal and state requirements, shifts in environmental management paradigms, and changing environmental priorities that portend an increasing local role and require local governments to address increasingly sophisticated environmental problems. The study found that local governments operate in a fragmented institutional environment, rarely access technical or resource assistance programs, and seldom use planning and management strategies to enhance or maintain environmental quality. How well local governments can respond to change depends in part on their current environmental management system and their access to and use of technical assistance. Key to these factors is the role of state government, and several changes in state policies are recommended.
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