It seems clear that additional citizen participation enhances policy capacity at the state and local level, but some programs designed to involve citizens in the policy process are more effective than others. Most scholars today recognize the desirability of going beyond the conventional hearing and public meeting to offer more direct and meaningful citizen access to policymaking. Citizen advisory committees, citizen panels, and similar mechanisms foster a more intense citizen engagement with the issues (Beierle and Hayford 2002). Governments at all levels continue to endorse collaborative decision making with local and regional stakeholders, especially on issues of urban planning and management, natural resource use, and the like. In many states smart growth planning, watershed management, and ecosystem restoration are heavily dependent on citizen councils of this kind (John and Mlay 1999; Paehlke 2003; Weber 2003)