Edwards & Steins (The Role of Contextual Factors in Common Pool Resource Analysis. Paper presented to 7th Conference of the International Association for the Study of Common Property, Vancouver, British Columbia, June 1998) developed an analytic framework for multiple-use common pool resource (CPR) regimes that emphasizes the importance of contextual factors. As a preliminary application of the framework, this paper 'backsolves' from outcomes to underlying contextual factors, and identifies primary cultural factors that occur in the development of American state wildlife management agencies. The factors are then placed into five categories: physical, political, economic, legal and scientific. The resulting examination of the management regime clarifies changes in agencies' action strategies, and potential patterns of interaction, as they respond to new institutional pressures from recreation and conservation interests. The paper concludes with four important research directions that have emerged from the discussion. (1) Are contextual factors better expressed as a matrix (network/decision tree/hierarchy) rather than a list? ( 2) To what extent do spatial factors influence contextual factors? (3) How do contextual factors affect decisions at the three levels of institutional choice: constitutional, collective and operational? (4) How can we develop a structured research agenda that examines increasingly complex CPRs as we refine the analytic framework? Copyright