Institute for Resilient Organizations, Communities, and Environments (IROCE)

Permanent URI for this community

https://hdl.handle.net/1794/13125

The Institute for Resilient Organizations, Communities, and Environments (IROCE) at the University of Oregon links, leverages, and aligns applied social science research and resources to help organizations and communities adapt and thrive in the face of adversity.

Note: The organization was formerly known as The Institute for a Sustainable Environment

For more information, visit the web site at: https://resilient.uoregon.edu

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 431

Open Access
Fire in the heart of the Oregon Cascades: exceptional variability in fire across the western Cascades
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, University of Oregon, 2024-08) Coughlan, Michael R.; Cummings, Tressa; Derr, Kelly M.; Johnson, Bart R.; Johnston, James D. (James Daniel); Lewis, David G. (David Gene), 1965-
Wildland fire is a fundamental forest ecosystem process. However, resilience to wildfires is declining in forests of the western US, in part because of the loss of complex and varied forest structures that can reduce wildfire spread and severity. In the past, Indigenous traditions served the ecological and spiritual needs of human communities and landscapes through land stewardship practices such as cultural burning and selective harvesting of natural resources. We hypothesize that these practices played a critical role in the maintenance of fire regimes and resilience of the forest to catastrophic wildfire and climate change broadly. Displacement and genocide of Indigenous peoples and prohibition of their cultural practices led to the diminishment of cultural burning. This, coupled with fire exclusion and suppression policies by federal and state agencies, has contributed to a decline in forest health and a shift toward less resilient landscapes.
Open Access
Federal Forest Restoration Program update: activities and outcomes
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2024-07) Sullivan-Astor, Kyle; Coughlan, Michael R.; Serio, Naomi; Ellison, Autumn
The Oregon Department of Forestry’s (ODF) Federal Forest Restoration (FFR) Program is pleased to share updates at the mid-point of the 2023-25 biennium. This period has seen significant progress in our ongoing efforts to enhance the resilience of Oregon’s federal forests and support rural economies. The biennial investments in forest collaboratives and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) planning have been awarded, and the program’s activities under the Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) are entering a busy summer season. This report shares where the program’s collaboration and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) planning investments are targeted this biennium and shows the accomplished on-the-ground work over time and across the state.
Open Access
Oakridge-Westfir Smoke and Air Quality: Community Survey
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, University of Oregon, 2024) Coughlan, Michael R.; Downey, Jess; Huber-Stearns, Heidi; Serio, Naomi; Smith, Hollie
This report summarizes the results of a 2024 Oakridge Air community survey on air quality and smoke from wildfire and woodstoves. This community survey was informed by interviews conducted with community leaders to identify key information needs and actions related to air quality and smoke locally. Oakridge, in Lane County, Oregon, has historically been ranked among the top 20 communities in the United States with the worst air quality due to high concentrations of particulate matter (PM2.5) from home wood heating (woodstove) and wildfire smoke. Supplemental materials that accompany this report include two appendices: Appendix I: Oakridge Smoke & Air Quality Survey is the survey instrument, Consent Form, Gift Card form, and Oakridge Air Survey Hand-Out. Appendix II: Detailed Survey Methods and Results reports all response categories for all survey questions, in the order the survey was designed. The full de-identified survey results are also included.
Open Access
Social and economic monitoring for Klamath-Lake Forest Health Partnership : 2023 updates
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, University of Oregon, 2024-03) University of Oregon. Ecosystem Workforce Program
In 2021, Klamath-Lake Forest Health Partnership (KLFHP), together with the Ecosystem Workforce Program (EWP) at the University of Oregon and Lake County Resource Initiative (LCRI) drafted a new plan for the socioeconomic and ecological monitoring of all-lands projects led by the KLFHP. After nearly a decade of monitoring focused on the Lakeview Stewardship Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP), monitoring efforts under the new plan are shifting beyond the CFLRP footprint to include all-lands restoration projects. This factsheet provides an overview of KLFHP’s accomplishments during FY 2023 and an update on socioeconomic monitoring results.
Open Access
Federal Forest Restoration Program update : 2016-2024 activities and outcomes
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, University of Oregon, 2024-01) Sullivan-Astor, Kyle; Coughlan, Michael R.; Serio, Naomi; Ellison, Autumn
Oregon Department of Forestry’s (ODF) Federal Forest Restoration (FFR) Program looks forward to playing a role in implementing Oregon’s 20-year Landscape Resiliency Strategy, which has identified over five million acres of forestland as a top priority for treatment due to high wildfire risk, and other ecological and social factors. 57% of these priority geographies are under federal jurisdiction. The FFR Program’s federal partnership and work with forest collaboratives will play a key role in helping realize the strategy. The work of the FFR Program is also guided by the Oregon state law ORS 526.275 which created “…the policy of the state to pursue projects under the [Good Neighbor Authority] that increase timber harvest volume, contribute to job creation, reduce wildfire risks to all lands, improve wildlife habitat and watershed health, and stimulate local economies.” For this biennium, the FFR Program will be releasing four fact sheets roughly every six months containing program updates, activities and outcomes instead of one comprehensive monitoring report released prior to the end of the biennium. After June 30, 2025, the program will publish a comprehensive report that captures all activities within the 2023-25 biennium.
Open Access
Indigenous fire stewardship for fire management and ecological restoration in the Pacific Northwest
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, University of Oregon, 2023) Coughlan, Michael R.; Serio, Naomi; Loeb, Harper; Lewis, David G. (David Gene), 1965-; Thompson, Sally
Indigenous fire stewardship (IFS) plays a critical role in the maintenance of North American forest resilience. This synthesis reviews literature on IFS in the PNW as represented in scholarly peer reviewed publications. We also conducted a systematic search of the internet to identify informational resources, networks, and organizations engaged with IFS in the PNW. This paper synthesizes information on ecological, social, and policy aspects of IFS that are relevant to fire managers and restoration practitioners in the PNW. We identify current knowledge and knowledge gaps, as well as policy opportunities and barriers relevant to the application of IFS to fire management and ecological restoration. Supplemental information on spreadsheets: 1. Search_Citations.csv: This is a list of citations identified in the systematic review. It identifies the database and search terms associated with the article, information on citations, authorship, article type, and ranking used for annotation. 2. Columndescriptions.csv: Defines column headings for the Search_Citations spreadsheet. 3. SearchLog.csv: Provides details for each systematic search. 4. IFS_Websites.csv: List of websites related to Indigenous fire stewardship in the PNW.
Open Access
Wildfire smoke and athletic events : understanding public concerns, experiences, and preparedness
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, University of Oregon, 2023) Coughlan, Michael R.; Serio, Naomi; Huber-Stearns, Heidi; Clark, Benjamin Y., 1977-; Smith, Hollie M., 1986-
The increasingly longer and more severe wildfire smoke events in the Pacific Northwest are likely to occur during outdoor athletic events. We investigated wildfire smoke concerns, air quality communication preferences, and protective action behaviors among sporting event attendees through a survey created by our interdisciplinary research team from the UO. This report presents survey results and implications for improving communication and protocol for air quality and smoke during future outdoor athletic events.
Open Access
Communication Audit: Oakridge Air
(Center for Science Communication Research, School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, 2023-05) Smith, Hollie; Shafer, Autumn
Oakridge Air serves the communities of Oakridge and Westfir and promotes healthy air quality through individual and community resources. Oakridge Air, which is funded by the Environmental Protection Agency, has five program areas: home heating upgrades, community firewood, school education, cleaner indoor air, and code enforcement. Oakridge Air uses several communication strategies to engage community members in these programs. This audit provides an overview of Oakridge Air’s communication engagement and messaging strategy, focusing on messaging from 2021-2022, to provide strategic communication recommendations for future work. This audit focuses primarily on the Oakridge Air Communication Plan and messaging templates, community newsletters, text messaging service, Oakridge Air’s Facebook page, and Oakridge Air’s website. The newsletters and text messaging service have been essential and valued communication tools with substantial engagement growth spurred by major wildfire smoke events in 2022. The Facebook page and website are likely one of the first channels community members use to begin engaging with Oakridge Air. The communication plan and messaging templates provide internal guidance for message design and delivery. Given the increased engagement with Oakridge Air, there is an opportunity to leverage the positive experience and community-supported impact of these communication efforts to motivate more understanding of air quality and wildfire smoke effects along with short and long-term actions to mitigate risk and impacts.
Open Access
Oregon Department of Forestry's Landscape Resiliency Program : assessing implementation and outcomes for the 2021-2023 biennium
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, University of Oregon, 2023) Serio, Naomi; Coughlan, Michael R.; Huber-Stearns, Heidi; Santo, Anna; McEvoy, Andy, 1987-; White, Eric M.
The Oregon Department of Forestry’s (ODF) Landscape Resiliency Program (LRP) is a grant program to support cross-boundary restoration of landscape resiliency and fuels reduction within Oregon. In fall 2021, ODF requested the Ecosystem Workforce Program (EWP) at the University of Oregon (UO) to devise and carry out a plan for monitoring investments and outcomes of the LRP. The LRP monitoring plan focused on three stages: Project Selection, Implementation, and Outcomes. The purpose of this working paper is to report the results of the Implementation and Outcomes monitoring phases. This report presents 1) an overview of selected projects, 2) project participants' experiences with project implementation successes, challenges, and lessons learned, 3) on-the-ground accomplishments of LRP projects, and 4) an assessment of the economic aspects of LRP.
Open Access
Monitoring investments in Oregon's Federal Forest Restoration Program, 2021-2023 biennium
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, University of Oregon, 2023) Coughlan, Michael R.; Serio, Naomi; Downey, Jess; Huber-Stearns, Heidi; Santo, Anna; White, Eric M.; Davis, Emily Jane
The Federal Forest Restoration (FFR) Program is a joint effort among the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), federal forest managers, and public lands stakeholders to increase the pace, scale, and quality of federal forest restoration across Oregon. The program supports management for forest resilience on federal lands as well as economic opportunities for surrounding communities. This working paper provides an update on FFR Program investments and outcomes for the 2021-2023 biennium. Reports from the previous biennium (2019-2021) can be found elsewhere. Here we report: 1) FFR Program expenditures, 2) economic activity from timber sales and the FFR grant investments, 3) on-the-ground accomplishments of the FFR Program, and 4) stakeholders’ perspectives on the FFR Program’s successes and challenges.
Open Access
OAKRIDGE CEDAR CREEK FIRE 2022 INTERNAL AFTER ACTION REPORT
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2023-01) Smith, Hollie; Huber-Stearns, Heidi; Serio, Naomi
An After Action Review workshop was facilitated on Monday, December 5, 2022 for City of Oakridge, Lane County staff, and Oakridge community members who participated in the emergency responses in Oakridge for wildfire evacuation and hazardous air quality related to the Cedar Creek Fire (see timeline for details). Oakridge had 37 days from August-October 2022 when air quality was unhealthy for sensitive groups (AQI of 101-150). In an effort to learn from this unprecedented and extended event, Southern Willamette Forest Collaboratives partnered with researchers at the University of Oregon to conduct this internal After Action Review. The review consisted of one workshop that lasted 2 hours and was broken up into two sessions: 1) evacuation and 2) smoke and air quality. For evacuation, participants noted that several components of the evacuation went well, primarily related to communication timing and modes, early planning, and the use of public resources (e.g., buses). Key areas for evacuation improvement include staffing capacity, establishing an Emergency Operation Center (EOC), and improving communication and emergency planning for multiple scenarios (with and without electricity or external funding and support). For smoke and air quality, participants noted the success of the air purifier distribution program, the installation of Purple Air sensors, a field trip for school children, and strong communication about cleaner air spaces. The key areas for improvement include communication and emergency planning for multiple scenarios, streamlining (and improving the accessibility of) the purifier screening criteria and resource availability, and providing additional support for schools. The remainder of this report is divided into: 1) summarized/overall recommendations from both events; 2) Evacuation Timeline; 3) Smoke Response Timeline; and 4) more information from the discussions from each session and the resulting recommendations.
Open Access
Oregon Department of Forestry's Landscape Resiliency Program : assessing the project selection process for the 2021-2023 biennium
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, University of Oregon, 2022) Serio, Naomi; Coughlan, Michael R.; Huber-Stearns, Heidi; Santo, Anna
The Oregon Department of Forestry’s (ODF) Landscape Resiliency Program (LRP) is a grant program to support cross-boundary restoration of landscape resiliency and fuels reduction within Oregon. In fall 2021, ODF requested the Ecosystem Workforce Program (EWP) at the University of Oregon (UO) devise and carry out a plan for monitoring investments and outcomes of the LRP. LRP monitoring focuses on three stages– Project Selection, Implementation, and Outcomes. The purpose of this working paper is to report the results of the Project Selection monitoring phase. This report presents 1) stakeholders’ experiences with the LRP program development, application process, and project selection, 2) characterization of grantee organizations, and 3) characterization of project geographies.
Open Access
Klamath-Lake Forest Health Partnership all-lands monitoring plan
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2021) Markus, Amy; Olszewski, Julia; Huber-Stearns, Heidi; Ellison, Autumn
To guide monitoring efforts within the Lakeview Stewardship Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project (CFLRP) and Klamath-Lake Forest Health Partnership (KLFHP) All-Lands Projects in Klamath and Lake Counties.
Open Access
ODF Landscape Resilience Program monitoring plan
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2022) Coughlan, Michael R.; Huber-Stearns, Heidi; Santo, Anna; McEvoy, Andy, 1987-; White, Eric M.
The Oregon Department of Forestry’s (ODF) Landscape Resiliency Program (LRP) is a grant program established by Senate Bill 762 (SB762), Section 18-20 (2021) to support crossboundary forest restoration and resiliency within Oregon. In early 2022, the grant program awarded funding in the amount of $20 million to nine landscape-scale projects to reduce wildfire risk on public and private forestlands and rangelands and around homes and critical infrastructure through the restoration of forest resiliency and hazardous fuels reduction for the 2021-2023 biennium. ODF requested the Ecosystem Workforce Program (EWP) at the University of Oregon (UO) to devise a plan for monitoring investments and outcomes of the LRP. This draft document outlines a monitoring plan that proposes questions, indicators, methods, deliverables, and timelines for the LRP monitoring.
Open Access
Iconic places of the USDA Forest Service
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2019)
The purpose of this document is to introduce 46 of the Forest Service’s iconic places and to provide basic information about the values they protect and their histories. These places are found in over 40 different national forests in all nine Forest Service regions, ranging in size from less than 5,000acres to over 2 million acres. Designation of these iconic places began in the early 1960s to as recently as 2016. As such, these places represent over five decades of transitions in public land values, political administrations, and agency direction, as well as and other social, cultural, economic and ecological change. Through these transitions, the iconic places of the Forest Service have continued to expand in number, with their unique qualities and resources meriting special management or protection. The special areas included in this project are diverse in their type, size, designated values, and history. Each type of designation comprises distinct guidelines, intents, policies, and place-specific management objectives. This document provides a baseline understanding of these iconic places for agency personnel as well as the interested public, and can serve as a resource for future research or exploration into these areas.
Open Access
Lakeview Stewardship Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project : ecological, social, and economic monitoring report : 2012-2019
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2021) Olszewski, Julia; Ellison, Autumn
This report represents an analysis of ecological, social, and economic monitoring data for restoration activities conducted by the Lakeview Stewardship Group (LSG) from 2012 to 2019. The treatments analyzed here include commercial thinning, pre-commercial thinning, aspen release, stream enhancements, and prescribed/wildland fire. The socioeconomic monitoring questions analyze the impact that restoration treatments have for the local economy and beyond while considering the socioeconomic context and trends of the area. The results, recommendations, and lessons learned are presented here for the benefit of all collaborative members, and will be used to inform subsequent restoration activities and monitoring efforts.
Open Access
Rural youth futures : survey results
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2020)
As rural communities face changes in local economies, populations, and workforce needs, what does the next generation of residents and workers value and want? That question was the motivation for the Rural Youth Futures project. Researchers and extension agents from several universities joined forces with local non-profits to find out what middle and high schoolers think in two forest-dependent regions: Coos County in Oregon and Piscataquis/Northern Somerset Counties in Maine. This is one in a series of fact sheets designed to present summary information to each participating school and county about the perceptions and aspirations of local youth.
Open Access
Burning without borders : cooperatively managing wildfire risk in northern Colorado
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2020) Cheng, Antony S.
Because wildfires don’t stop at ownership boundaries, managers from governmental and nongovernmental organizations in Northern Colorado are taking steps to pro-actively “co-manage” wildfire risk through the Northern Colorado Fireshed Collaborative (NCFC). For this research project, co-management refers to the collective actions taken by organizations to share the resources, costs, and burdens associated with managing fire risk across a large landscape. We examine factors that facilitated and limited wildfire risk co-management in a case study of the NCFC.
Open Access
Co-managing wildfire suppression in southwestern Utah
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2020) Davis, Emily Jane; McAvoy, Darren J.
In a given area, there are commonly multiple agencies that manage wildfire suppression on different jurisdictions. These agencies can face divergent or even competing missions and mandates, yet must also address the cross-boundary nature of managing wildfire risk. Therefore, how can they more effectively co-manage fire suppression? Co-management in this context refers to communication, coordination, and collaboration between entities for meaningful collective action that shares the resources, costs, and burdens of managing fire risk. We examine factors that facilitated and limited co-management in a case study in southwestern Utah.
Open Access
Letting nature do the work : managing wildfires for resource objectives in New Mexico
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2019) Huber-Stearns, Heidi; Davis, Emily Jane; Evans, Alexander M.; Caggiano, Michael
In millions of acres of fire-adapted landscapes across the West, the need for forest restoration and wildfire mitigation outpaces capacity to respond, posing risks to homes, communities, and forest health. Land managers are increasingly looking for tools to help address these risks. One approach is to manage naturally ignited wildfires at appropriate intensities and severities to reduce fuel loads and improve forest health. This fact sheet describes managing naturally ignited wildfires for resource objectives and how multiple public, private and nongovernmental entities are working on wildfire mitigation, pre-planning, and suppression in northern New Mexico to foster the necessary conditions for this approach.