EWP Working Papers

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/1794/13127

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/

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Browsing EWP Working Papers by Subject "Air quality"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    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.
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    Perceptions of Air Quality and Smoke in Oakridge, Oregon Perceptions Oregon: Results from pilot interviews with key informants
    (Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2022) University of Oregon. Ecosystem Workforce Program; Kaplowitz, Grace; Deak, Alison; Coughlan, Michael; Huber-Stearns, Heidi; Smith, Hollie; Shafer, Autumn
    This report summarizes the results of the Oakridge Air community key informant (or community leader) interviews on air quality and smoke. This research was conducted as a pilot project to discern community understanding, perceptions, and awareness of air quality and smoke issues in the Oregon communities of Oakridge and Westfir, and to inform a survey to be distributed to households in Oakridge-Westfir for further study. Oakridge 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 (wood stove) and wildfire smoke. Due to the steep topography of the area and Oakridge’s location in a basin-shaped valley bottom, the community is prone to atmospheric inversions that trap seasonal wildfire smoke and wintertime home heating woodsmoke in the community.
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    West Bend Prescribed Fire Pilot after action review: executive summary
    (Ecosystem Workforce Program, University of Oregon, 2024-12) Huber-Stearns, Heidi R.; Downey, Jess
    The West Bend Prescribed Fire Pilot Project was an ambitious and unprecedented effort in pace and scale in the area, designed in response to wildfire and climate crises, and centering public health. Overall, the project aligned with most of the five guiding principles of the PNW Regional Joint Statement of Intent. The pilot demonstrated efficient implementation of larger prescribed burns through enhanced inter-agency collaboration, improved communication, expedited timelines, and a strong commitment to addressing wildfire risks, achieving significant acreage while advancing shared goals for future wildfire management. This report highlights shared learning opportunities in public outreach, communication, inter- and intra-organizational coordination, and cross-agency collaboration. Participants identified several key areas for improvement, including enhancing inter-agency coordination, providing year-round public health support to help communities and airsheds become smoke ready, developing more aligned public health metrics to assess the effectiveness of risk reduction efforts, and improving integration of smoke forecasting, modeling, and implementation in future strategies. Supplemental material includes: AAR survey questionnaire, Data collection and tracking document, and communications and outreach material.
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    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.