EWP Briefing Papers

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/1794/13126

Founded in 1994, the Ecosystem Workforce Program was created to help lead the rural Pacific Northwest into the age of ecosystem management--management for healthy communities and healthy environments. The EWP believes that, by creating high skill forest and watershed jobs that enable people to work near their homes, we will establish a structure for long term resource stewardship. Our goal is to demonstrate the linkages between a quality workforce, a healthy economy, healthy community, and effective management for forest ecosystems.

For more information, visit the web site at: http://ewp.uoregon.edu/

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 26

Open Access
The benefits of USDA Forest Service agreements with community-based organizations
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2012) Davis, Emily Jane; Moseley, Cassandra
The federal government is the largest landowner in many western communities. It can contribute to local socioeconomic vitality by providing opportunities for businesses and partners to perform land management activities and process natural resources. However, little is known about how the Forest Service engages nonprofit partners to accomplish this work and produce community benefits. We examined how formal agreements between the Forest Service and community based-organizations under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in 2009-2010 created social and livelihood benefits. We found that different kinds of agreement structures can make these benefits possible.
Open Access
Challenges to developing new socioeconomic performance measures
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2012) Moseley, Cassandra; Davis, Emily Jane; Medley-Daniel, Michelle
The USDA Forest Service needs performance measures to track the social and economic outcomes of its investments. But there are inherent challenges to developing, adapting, and using new measures in the Forest Service’s accountability system. Measuring socioeconomic outcomes can also be complex. We describe these barriers and suggest possible solutions for developing and integrating new socioeconomic performance measures.
Open Access
Cost-effective hazardous fuels reduction and biomass utilization : a case study from Wallowa County, Oregon
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2012) Davis, Emily Jane; Christoffersen, Nils; Couch, Kyle; Moseley, Cassandra
Utilizing woody biomass from hazardous fuels reduction projects may make forest restoration more cost effective while creating local economic benefits. However, there is a lack of evidence about how projects can be designed for these outcomes. Wallowa Resources and the Wallowa- Whitman National Forest (WWNF) partnered to test if mechanical treatment with biomass utilization was cost effective in comparison to hand thinning, piling, and burning using a hazardous fuels reduction project called Reservoir Biomass. We studied the benefits and challenges of this approach.
Open Access
Economic development service provision for natural resource-based economic development
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2011) Davis, Emily Jane; Moseley, Cassandra; Pomeroy, Alaina; Enzer, Maia J.
Over the last fifteen years, rural communities in the Pacific Northwest have been trying to redevelop their economies to meet new federal land management priorities. Numerous state and federal agencies and nonprofit organizations work to promote rural economic development. These entities offer grants and low-interest loans; they seek to recruit new businesses and retain existing ones; and they provide business development tools, worker training, and employment opportunities. However, the extent to which economic development and land management agencies work together to foster economic development associated with stewardship of natural resources and public lands is unclear. The purpose of this study was to understand how economic development service providers engage in natural resource–based economic development, and their perspectives on the challenges and opportunities that it presents.
Open Access
The economic effects of large fires : main findings
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2012) Moseley, Cassandra; Nielsen-Pincus, Max; Davis, Emily Jane; Evers, Cody; Ellison, Autumn
Large wildfires disrupt the lives of families, workers, and employers. However, fire suppression and recovery efforts may provide economic opportunities. Unlike with other natural hazards, there has been little research about how wildfires affect local economies. The purpose of this Joint Fire Science Program-funded project was to analyze the effects of large wildfires on labor markets and examine how fire suppression spending may mediate these effects.
Open Access
The economic impacts of Oregon's south coast restoration industry
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2011) Sundstrom, Shiloh; Davis, Emily Jane; Moseley, Cassandra
Oregon’s South Coast communities have long relied on their forests and watersheds for forestry, fishing, agriculture, and sustenance. Over the past 20 years, logging and fishing activity has declined. The Northwest Forest Plan and the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds have created opportunities to restore forest and watershed health and create quality local jobs. Although forest and watershed restoration will not replace all lost forestry and fisheries jobs, it offers new natural resource-based employment and local work for South Coast businesses. However, little is known about the restoration industry and the economic benefits it produces.
Open Access
The effect of large wildfires on local labor markets
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2012) Ellison, Autumn; Moseley, Cassandra; Nielsen-Pincus, Max; Davis, Emily Jane
Large wildfires can have diverse socioeconomic impacts on nearby communities. Fires may have negative economic impacts on some sectors, but fire suppression efforts may positively affect employment and wages during the fire. However, there is little understanding of these effects and their implications for communities. This study examines the effects of large wildfires on local employment and wages in the western United States.
Open Access
Federal investment in natural resource-based economic development in Oregon
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2012) Davis, Emily Jane; Sundstrom, Shiloh; Moseley, Cassandra
Natural resource-based economic development in public lands communities requires robust businesses, a supportive policy environment, and institutions to create local benefits from land management. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service fosters economic development through service work, timber sales, and other mechanisms. USDA Rural Development Business and Cooperative Service (RDBCS) assists rural businesses through loans, loan guarantees, and grants. Currently, there is not broad understanding of how their resources reach the ground. This study considers how these agencies invested in natural resource and economic development activities in Oregon from 2007-2011.
Open Access
Impacts of the Woody Biomass Utilization Grant program in eastern Oregon
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2014) Davis, Emily Jane; Moseley, Cassandra; Lucas, Anne Mottek; Kim, Yeon-Su; Nielsen-Pincus, Max; Bilek, Edward M.
Utilizing woody biomass from public lands may help reduce agency costs, enhance community wildfire protection, and create employment and economic activity. Yet communities adjacent to public land often lack the business capacity to harvest and utilize biomass. Businesses face challenges such as limited access to capital and markets, technical assistance, and inconsistent material supply. From 2005–2010, the USDA Forest Service’s Woody Biomass Utilization Grant program provided resources to address these barriers. We evaluated the impacts of this program on business capacity in eastern Oregon.
Open Access
Integrating socioeconomic considerations into the Watershed Condition Framework
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2012) Moseley, Cassandra; Davis, Emily Jane; Medley-Daniel, Michelle
The Watershed Condition Framework (WCF) will help national forests assess and prioritize activities, and measure progress towards improved watershed condition. The USDA Forest Service also expects restoration to create social and economic benefits. However, strategies for assessing, integrating, or tracking these dimensions were not explicitly incorporated into the WCF. We offer some strategies to help integrate socioeconomic and biophysical dimensions of restoration.
Open Access
Lessons learned from the Blue Mountains restoration strategy team
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2018) Huber-Stearns, Heidi; Santo, Anna; Davis, Emily Jane; Moseley, Cassandra; Ellison, Autumn
In January 2013, the Pacific Northwest Region of the Forest Service initiated the Eastside Restoration Strategy to improve forest health conditions by accelerating the pace and scale of restoration on national forests in eastern Oregon and Washington. As part of this effort, the Region created a dedicated interdisciplinary (ID) Blue Mountains Restoration Strategy team to conduct landscape-level planning across three national forests and innovate strategies to more effectively reach planning decisions. The team worked on two NEPA processes: a 100,000-acre project on one forest, and 600,000 acres of dry forest restoration activities across three forests. In 2016, the Forest Service requested a review to identify transferrable insights from the project.
Open Access
Local Capture: Bringing Strong Regional Forest Management Capacities Closer to Home
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2010) Gordon, Josef; Nielsen-Pincus, Max; Davis, Emily Jane; Moseley, Cassandra
Open Access
Measuring socioeconomic outcomes of forest and watershed restoration : state of the field
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2012) Davis, Emily Jane; Moseley, Cassandra; Medley-Daniel, Michelle
The USDA Forest Service has emphasized how forest and watershed restoration can support jobs and economic development. However, the Forest Service currently has few performance measures to track the socioeconomic outcomes of restoration. There are a number of monitoring guidebooks that suggest measures for these impacts. Taken together these guidebooks offer hundreds of related indicators that can be organized into four major categories: adaptive capacity, economic impacts, social equity, and provision of ecosystem services. Building on these measures, the Forest Service can find ways to document its diverse roles in fostering socioeconomic resilience.
Open Access
A midterm report on the state of the Dry Forest Zone and its communities
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2012) Davis, Emily Jane
The Dry Forest Zone (DFZ) project is a five-year collaborative effort to foster an integrated approach to forest stewardship and economic development in eastern Oregon and northern California. The DFZ project invests in capacities for community-based natural resource management at multiple scales, creating enabling conditions for transformative change. We conducted a mid-term assessment to document the impacts of the DFZ project to date.
Open Access
Mobilizing Human Resources for Watershed Restoration
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2010) MacDonald, Fraser; Moseley, Cassandra; Davis, Emily Jane; Nielsen-Pincus, Max; Ellison, Autumn
In Oregon, community-based organizations have become major agents of watershed restoration. The most common of these organizations are watershed councils, which began to emerge in the mid-1990s as the State of Oregon promoted voluntary local approaches to resolving conflict, restoring watershed health, and recovering endangered salmon. Because these nongovernmental organizations represent a significantly different approach to watershed management from traditional government management, regulatory, and extension models, it is important to understand how they mobilize human resources to manage themselves and carry out restoration work. How watershed councils mobilize resources greatly affects the scope and scale of restoration efforts in Oregon. This briefing paper summarizes the findings from a study that explores how watershed councils have built the organizational capacity and human resources necessary to manage themselves and implement watershed restoration.
Open Access
The money doesn't deliver itself : the importance of intermediaries in ecosystem services programs
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2013) Davis, Emily Jane; Moseley, Cassandra
Payments for ecosystem services (PES) and conservation programs that compensate landowners improve the resilience of working lands by creating markets for services such as clean air and water, carbon sequestration, and wildlife habitat. However, landowners can face difficulty accessing and navigating these programs. Program administrators may lack the resources to strategically align participants for broader conservation goals or build networks for successful market development. In this gap, intermediaries have emerged. They connect landowners and conservation resource providers, improving program delivery and environmental outcomes. To better understand the factors in program delivery and success, we examined how intermediaries interact with both program providers and recipient landowners in the rural West.
Open Access
Organizational capacity for natural resource management in Oregon
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2012) Davis, Emily Jane; Moseley, Cassandra; Evers, Cody; MacFarland, Kate; Nielsen-Pincus, Max; Pomeroy, Alaina; Enzer, Maia J.
Community-based organizations (CBOs) in Oregon are fostering natural resource management and economic development, particularly in public lands communities where the capacity of federal agencies, businesses, and others has dwindled as a result of policy and economic changes. Little is known about how CBOs accomplish a range of goals with limited resources. This study examined the organizational capacity of Oregon’s CBOs to build understanding of their financial and human resources, and their external relationships.
Open Access
A profile of community-based organizations in the U.S. West
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2016) Abrams, Jesse; Ellison, Autumn; Davis, Emily Jane; Moseley, Cassandra; Nowell, Branda
Community-based organizations (CBOs) are non-profit organizations based in rural communities that work on both local economic development and natural resource stewardship. CBOs were established in many places across the U.S. West to help struggling rural communities build sustainable natural resource-based economies. They often serve communities that were greatly affected by changes to public land policy and changes in the timber industry or other natural resource industries since the late 1980s. These communities have typically experienced social conflict, unemployment, and other challenges related to environmental management. In 2016 we conducted a survey of CBOs across the West to better understand their organizational characteristics and activities.
Open Access
A profile of federal timber purchases in the U.S. West
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2016) Davis, Emily Jane; Abrams, Jesse
The US Forest Service primarily engages the private sector through service contracts, stewardship contracts, and timber sales. Both stewardship project and timber sales can generate commercially valuable wood products, and some businesses may rely on these federal timber sources. However, little is known about the timber-purchasing businesses currently active on federal lands. To gain a better understanding of these businesses, we investigated their characteristics, business needs, challenges, and reliance on federal timber sales.
Open Access
A Profile of Forest and Watershed Restoration Contractors
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2010) Moseley, Cassandra; Nielsen-Pincus, Max; Davis, Emily Jane; Ellison, Autumn; MacDonald, Fraser
Over the past fifteen years, natural resource management on federal and private lands and streams has shifted toward restoration of ecological functions. I n addition to federal land management agencies, community-based organizations such as watershed councils have emerged as coordinators of forest and watershed management.1 This shift in opportunities and arrangements has changed the business environment for forest and watershed management contractors. This briefing paper is to summarizes the results of a study that sought to profile the businesses involved in implementing forest and watershed work in light of the rise of ecological restoration as a management focus.