As is the case in many other domains of public action, the institutionalization of environmental politics has given rise to a number of administrative procedures, the purposes of which are to implement and enforce standards of environmental management. These procedures have taken the shape of management systems where contractual arrangements, assessment procedures and results-oriented management have become key issues. This article will use the example of a Dutch nature protection policy, to argue that these systems are characterized by rationalizing and disciplinary logics which render the nature conservation projects operational. The goal of such management systems is twofold; it allows the objectives of nature protection to be standardized while mobilizing the farmers and conservationist organizations and controlling the outcome of their activity. The article also shows that a complementary educational component of mediation is needed to make this system sustainable.