"West Texas is the setting for an unintended experiment in commons resource management. Dispersed, autonomous, local groundwater districts use non-regulatory strategies to promote conservation and groundwater
quality. The central force driving this organizational form appears to be ideological. West Texans do not appear ready to accept state management of groundwater pumping. This paper uses key informant interviews to evaluate the strength of ideology in explaining West Texas groundwater policy and provides a theoretical framework for discussing the importance of the 'local solution'."