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2018 Forest Policy Conference Recordings
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View these 6 presentations under the Contents tab:
Forest Science and the Impact of Vetocracy in Collaborative Management in Oregon Forests. Adrienne Strubb, University of Minnesota
Rethinking Riparian Policy for Federal and Private Forests in Oregon. Gordon Reeves, Oregon State University
Review of the Effects of Conservation Easements on Surrounding Property Values. Tyler Reeves, University of Georgia
Science and Policy for Novelty, Persistence, and Restoration in Forest Management. Adena Rissman, University of Wisconsin - Madison
Scientists and Policy-Makers: What is the Connection? Jo Ellen Force, University of Idaho
Using Best Available Science Information: Defining Best and Available. Bryce Esch, Ecological Restoration Institute
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Forest Science and the Impact of Vetocracy in Collaborative Management in Oregon Forests
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Challenges in environmental conservation intensify as competing socio-ecological stressors frame decisions in a changing world. In this paper, I evaluate the impact of a diverse forestry counsel network in diffusing innovation in the Pacific Northwest. Incorporating forestry science into this decision-making realm becomes a prominent response of forestry experts. Public agencies, somewhat constrained by function of their own institutions, find that partnerships with external entities can increase their access to knowledge, expand the reach of their finances, and increase their decision-making validity with the public. These collaborations between public agencies and external entities is a way to foster the use of innovation in forestry management, however it can also cause inefficiency when too many actors have veto power over agency decisions. A phenomenon known as vetocracy, some public agencies have struggled to make best decision on available data. I evaluate the capacity of collaboration between public agencies and outside entities to foster innovation in the face of increasing stakeholder input. Interviews and a survey of federal and state forestry employees in Oregon over 2017—2018 sheds light on the phenomenon of vetocracy and its impact on forest science. A social network analysis offers a way to highlight streams of forest science diffusion in collaborative management of Oregon forests. Adrienne Strubb, University of Minnesota.
Rethinking Riparian Policy for Federal and Private Forests in Oregon
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Aquatic ecosystems within the forested watersheds of western Oregon provide habitat for many fish and riparian-dependent species, in addition to providing other valuable ecosystem processes. Furthermore, these watersheds have the potential to provide significant timber harvest volumes. Current policies set fixed-width riparian buffers based on land ownership and stream type or size. Federal forest buffers follow the Aquatic Conservation Strategy of the Northwest Forest Plan and non-federal (mostly private) forest buffers follow the State of Oregon forest practice rules, resulting in federal buffers many times larger than those on non-federal lands. Using recent scientific and technical advances, we have applied an approach to equilibrating these buffer systems, both within and among owners, to reflect the differential ecological sensitivity of stream segments on seven watersheds in western Oregon. With a geospatial tool, NetMap, we classified stream-reach sensitivity for maintaining critical aquatic ecosystem processes on both fish-bearing and non-fish bearing streams. Across our study watersheds, we identified 40 percent of all forested streams as important for maintaining these processes, with fish-bearing and non-fish bearing streams contributing equally. For federal lands, we then modeled a riparian management approach that uses this identification to guide a variable buffer strategy for the federal forest allocation (Matrix) that allows sustained yield of timber production as a goal, while still achieving aquatic ecosystem goals of the Northwest Forest Plan. With many of the most ecologically-important stream reaches on private lands, we also discuss how these analytical procedures can help target conservation efforts there. Gordon Reeves, Oregon State University.
Review of the Effects of Conservation Easements on Surrounding Property Values
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This review details the effects of conservation easements (CEs) on surrounding property values. A literature review was conducted, which examined the variable characteristics of CEs that influence property values. Key characteristics of CEs that influence surrounding property value are: permanence, the scale at which CEs are measured, proximity, the land use pattern within CEs, and the effects of agricultural and forest composition. Overall, proximity to CEs was found to increase surrounding property values. The tax implications of CEs were also examined. The effect of municipal services, effect of demand, and the potential for self-financing for additional CEs were discussed. CEs were largely found to increase tax revenue by increasing property values and have the potential for self-financing if designed properly. Tyler Reeves, University of Georgia.
Science and Policy for Novelty, Persistence, and Restoration in Forest Management
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The science of steady-state, equilibrium ecosystems that guided 20th century resource and environmental policy is not sufficient for forest management given rapid changes and the rise of novelty, yet it remains ingrained in policy, management, and public expectations. Forests face more frequent megafires, insect outbreaks, diseases, storms, droughts, invasive species, fragmentation, and parcelization. The research literature offers many conflicting recommendations for how managers should respond to ecosystem change and novelty. We propose a management framework in which a forest manager may combine strategies to achieve desired forest characteristics through 1) restoration of historic conditions, 2) persistence of current conditions, and 3) transition toward novel conditions. Drawing on ecological science, social science, and policy literatures, we synthesize research on factors that shape forest management responses to ecosystem novelty and change on public and private lands. Although the ecological literature suggests increasing transitions to novelty, we found a management focus on restoration and persistence strategies supported by landowners, private and public lands policy, and forest manager capacity and culture. We examine the framework in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, black ash wetlands in the Great Lakes states, and the choice in southeastern forests among plantation pine, longleaf pine restoration, and gene-edited eucalyptus. In this era of unprecedented change, managers and policymakers need to address novelty without eroding the policy and psychological support for forest conservation as they define desired forest conditions and attempt to avoid undesirable tradeoffs. Adena Rissman, University of Wisconsin - Madison.
Scientists and Policy-Makers: What Is the Connection?
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The impact of the knowledge gained from natural resource and environmental scientific research on the policy guidelines and management of our natural resources and the quality of our environment is difficult to assess. As part of the expected class activities for graduate students in two on-line natural resource graduate-level policy courses in the College of Natural Resources at the University of Idaho, students discussed the relationship between science, policy, and management with a wide variety of scientists and policy makers. Analysis of contextual data from these activities with approximately 100 scientists and 100 policy-makers working in a diverse set of organizations from locations across the US over the last five years will be presented. Although there are exceptions, many scientists have little knowledge about or evidence that verifies if and, if so, how the policies and management activities that are being implemented “on-the-ground” are based on their research and/or the efforts of other scientists to ensure that policy makers and managers are using the “best available science.” The analysis also suggests that many policy-makers at all levels of decision-making do not consider scientific research and knowledge as an important source of information available for informing and implementing policy and management decisions for the lands and environment for which they are responsible. The presentation will conclude with some recommendations for developing and improving the connections and communication channels between scientists and policy-makers that improve and increase the role of forest science in policy. Jo Ellen Force, University of Idaho.
Using Best Available Science Information: Defining Best and Available
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Public land and natural resource management policies in the United States commonly require the use of “best available science information” (BASI) in planning and implementation of management activities. However, there is little direction on what constitutes “best available science information” and how managers should discern between science sources. Definitions of “best available science information” vary across management agencies and within academia, though most include criteria emphasizing accuracy, reliability, and relevancy. While the highest standards of accuracy, reliability and relevancy are necessary in cases where there is conflicting science or disagreement on best management options, we suggest a broader range of accuracy and reliability can be used as best available science, determined by the question or need of the land manager. This flexible approach increases the applicability, availability, and relevance of BASI for federal land managers and their stakeholders. We provide examples of specific science needs and the best available science information used successfully in that particular context. By expanding potential sources of best available science beyond the most rigorous evidence-based conservation approach, managers have more options for fulfilling science needs with appropriate and timely science information.Public land and natural resource management policies in the United States commonly require the use of “best available science information” (BASI) in planning and implementation of management activities. However, there is little direction on what constitutes “best available science information” and how managers should discern between science sources. Definitions of “best available science information” vary across management agencies and within academia. Bryce Esch, Ecological Restoration Institute.