EWP Fact Sheets

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Open Access
Advancing rural conservation-based economic development : framing our community in Elk City, ID
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2016) Ellison, Autumn; Davis, Emily Jane
Across the U.S. West, many rural communities adjacent to publicly owned federal lands have been greatly affected by changes to federal land management policies and by economic restructuring of the wood products industry. In the late 1980s through the early 2000s, federal forest policy changes led to reductions in both federal timber harvests and timber industry employment. At the same time, a combination of industry competition, automation, and relocation created additional uncertainty in communities traditionally dependent upon wood products employment. Elk City, Idaho, like many other communities surrounded by large tracts of federal land across the West, was profoundly affected by these changes. In 1999, local leaders and citizens founded a community-based organization called Framing Our Community to help the community navigate this transition while maintaining ties to natural resource activities and employment. Like other community-based organizations, Framing Our Community works with multiple public, private, and non-profit entities at multiple scales to facilitate sustainable natural resource-based economic development at the local community level. This Fact Sheet documents the origins of Framing Our Community and illustrates how the organization has helped to foster conservation-based economic development in Elk City and beyond.
Open Access
Application of the forest restoration and utilization calculator : economic effects from potential forest management in Jackson County, OR
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2015) White, Eric M.; Bennett, Drew E.
Forest management to achieve ecological objectives can also create desirable social and economic outcomes in local communities. We developed the Forest Restoration and Utilization Calculator to estimate the economic effects of forest management in Oregon. We used the calculator to explore potential economic effects from a federal forest management project in Jackson County, Oregon. Forest management projects often include a mix of commercial timber harvest and non-commercial forest and watershed treatments, such as thinning and piling of fuels. We tested a hypothetical forest project in Jackson County that included a mix of commercial timber harvest and non-commercial fuels reduction activities using local information on typical forest treatments, stand characteristics, and implementation costs.
Open Access
Bad goat, good business : byproducts bring big gains for watershed restoration
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2013) University of Oregon. Ecosystem Workforce Program
Restoration contractors in western Montana are fostering ecosystem services on private lands while offering a variety of services to landowners. One such business, Watershed Consulting, LLC, has developed a successful business model that centers on the provision of ecological expertise and highly skilled work across the watershed in forest, range, and riparian land types. Watershed Consulting also markets wood harvested during restoration projects, through Bad Goat Forest Products, LLC. Selling these sustainably harvested wood products in niche markets, or working with landowners to utilize their own wood in building projects, can be seen as an embedded payment for ecosystem services, especially if they garner market share or a premium price because of the ecosystem values associated with the wood.
Open Access
Beer, fish and water restoration certificates : a new way to restore rivers in Montana
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2013) University of Oregon. Ecosystem Workforce Program
In many places around the U.S. West, water is overallocated, harming not only water quality and native fish but also communities that make a living from river recreation and tourism. In Montana, where irrigation withdrawals leave nearly 3,000 miles of trout streams chronically dewatered, a new type of water deal gave the state’s biggest brewery, also a big water user, a way to put millions of gallons of water back into a long-dry creek to restore native fish while compensating landowners for water they were able to forgo. The deal was sealed by two non-profit organizations and a new kind of entrepreneur: an “eco-asset broker.”
Open Access
Boots on the ground, boots around the table : managing rangeland wildfire risk in Oregon and Idaho
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2019) Davis, Emily Jane
The rangelands of southeastern Oregon and southern Idaho have experienced increasingly large wildfires that threaten multiple values and can exceed Bureau of Land Management (BLM) response capacity. There has been interest in expanding suppression capabilities through the creation of rangeland fire protection associations (RFPAs), volunteer groups of landowners trained and authorized to respond to wildfires. Another key strategy has been the collaborative development of proactive mitigation measures to reduce the risk of large wildfires. This fact sheet examines how the multiple entities involved in rangeland wildfire mitigation and suppression are coordinating their actions and addressing shared risks through case studies of Harney County, Oregon and Owyhee County, Idaho.
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
Certification rewards stewardship and assures future markets for Montana timber
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2013) University of Oregon. Ecosystem Workforce Program
Ecologically sound practices often cost landowners more than less environmentally friendly tactics. However, some consumers are willing to pay more for the assurance of production practices they value. Third-party certification is a way to acknowledge sustainable production practices beyond what is required by law. The market for such products is often new and relatively small, but one company is betting that in the future, certification will be essential to market access. A certified timber company and sawmill in Northwest Montana is using log-buying policies to incentivize certified sustainable forestry practices on private lands. Stewardship is rewarded, and both landowners and the mill benefit by being better prepared in evolving markets.
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
Collaboration and stewardship authority : the Ashland Forest Resiliency project
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2015) Davis, Emily Jane; White, Eric M.
Forest collaborative groups in Oregon integrate ecological, economic, and social objectives in their missions. While they spend much of their time on vegetation, aquatic, and other natural resource issues, they have less direct experience with dialogue and data about social and economic issues. This fact sheet and its companion (Fact Sheet 8: Collaboration and the Malheur 10-year Stewardship Contract) illustrate how collaboratives and stakeholders have engaged in innovative contracting to increase outcomes such as local jobs, business health, and community wildfire risk reduction.
Open Access
Collaboration and the Malheur ten-year stewardship contract
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2015) Davis, Emily Jane; White, Eric M.; Bennett, Drew E.
Forest collaborative groups in Oregon integrate ecological, economic, and social objectives in their missions. However, those groups often focus, in practice, on biophysical natural resource issues and have less direct experience with dialogue and data about social and economic issues. This fact sheet illustrates how collaboratives and stakeholders have engaged in innovative contracting to increase social and economic outcomes such as local jobs, business health, and community wildfire risk reduction.
Open Access
Collaborative capacity and outcomes from Oregon's Federal Forest Restoration Program
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2019) Davis, Emily Jane; Santo, Anna; White, Eric M.
Over the past two decades, numerous federal forest collaboratives have emerged in the state of Oregon. Although they generally do not possess any formal decision-making authority, their efforts are considered important in building social agreement for programs of work on federal forestlands. This study analyzed the use and outcomes of the State of Oregon’s investments in these forest collaborative groups through Collaborative Capacity Grants made by the Federal Forest Restoration Program from state fiscal years 2014-2019. Investments were made with the expectation that collaborative groups would increase the pace, scale, and quality of federal forest restoration; and there is a need to understand results from supporting these groups. We examined several types of outcomes from these grants, including collaborative capacity to foster accelerated restoration, acreages and types of activities planned and implemented with collaborative input, economic impacts, and effects of grants on organizational capacity.
Open Access
Collaborative capacity for accelerated restoration
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2015) Davis, Emily Jane; Moseley, Cassandra
Forest collaborative groups that seek ecological, economic, and social outcomes have become common in eastern and southern Oregon. These multi-stakeholder groups work together to develop agreement on local public forest management, often in association with the federal environmental planning process. In 2014-2015, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) provided grants to nine of the region’s collaboratives through the Federal Forest Health Collaborative Capacity Assistance Program.
Open Access
Collaborative processes and connections to community wellbeing
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2021) Davis, Emily Jane
Many communities in the rural western United States seek ecological, economic, and social wellbeing and resilience of their people and landscapes through collaborative groups. Increasingly, these groups have recognized a need to engage with social science to inform the connections between their work and community wellbeing. This requires understanding of collaborative processes, their connection to community wellbeing, and applicable social science approaches. This fact sheet and its companion were created to assist collaborative groups supported by the High Desert Partnership in Harney County, Oregon.
Open Access
Considerations for working with social science and scientists in a collaborative setting
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2021) Davis, Emily Jane
Many communities use collaborative processes and groups to pursue common goals. Social science can aid in these processes. For successful application of social science in a collaborative setting, practitioners can benefit from basic understanding of social science is, how it may be conducted, and how to engage with social scientists. It is important to assess the quality and rigor of available social science, its applicability to a collaborative’s interests, and the skills and capacities of potential scientific partners. This fact sheet and its companion were created to assist collaborative groups supported by the High Desert Partnership in Harney County, Oregon.
Open Access
Coordinated salmon habitat restoration on private lands
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2013) University of Oregon. Ecosystem Workforce Program
Salmon recovery requires restoration of spawning habitat to improve egg-to-smolt survival. Private lands play a crucial role. Funds for restoration are available from both federal appropriations and legal settlements for dam mitigation. Federal agencies responsible for recovery are often limited in their ability to work on private lands however, not only by legal authority, but also by the absence of landowner trust. In the Methow River Valley in north central Washington, an innovative partnership between a federal agency and a local nonprofit is bridging that gap by working together to facilitate and fund salmon habitat restoration on private lands. The partnership merges available funding with local knowledge to deploy funding strategically across the Valley. Landowners benefit from assistance for restoration projects that often increase the value of their properties beyond the small match required for the funding, in addition to increased irrigation efficiencies.
Open Access
Eastern Oregon restoration benefits businesses statewide : distribution of timber buyers & service contractors
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2015) White, Eric M.; Bennett, Drew E.; Ellison, Autumn
Restoration projects on national forests often have far-reaching economic effects that extend beyond local areas around the national forests. To better understand the distribution of economic effects from restoration projects on eastern Oregon national forests, we examined timber sales and service contract records for timber harvesting and forest and watershed restoration treatments on the national forests between 2009 and 2014. We found that service contractors and timber buyers across the state benefit from restoration on eastern Oregon’s forests with a large number of contractors and buyers located in the Willamette Valley and southern Oregon.
Open Access
Economic activity from the Malheur 10-year stewardship contract : 2015-2017
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2018) White, Eric M.
In September of 2013, the US Forest Service awarded a 10-year stewardship contract for restoration work on Malheur National Forest. The contract’s goals were to promote ecological restoration, reduced wildfire risk, and economic vitality in Grant and Harney counties. The duration of this contract was expected to provide greater certainty and consistency in the offering of restoration work and timber volume. The Forest Service used anticipated local economic benefit as a criterion in selecting the contract awardee. The contract was developed through partnership with two local forest collaborative groups, the Blue Mountains Forest Partners and Harney County Restoration Collaborative. This fact sheet analyzes some of the economic activity in Grant and Harney counties associated with work under the contract in years 2015 through 2017. A prior fact sheet examined the 2014 economic activity.
Open Access
Economic impacts from Blue Mountains national forests restoration : tracking investments in eastern Oregon
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2015) White, Eric M.; Bennett, Drew E.; Ellison, Autumn
Restoration projects on national forests can have significant economic impacts in addition to the ecological benefits they provide. To better understand the economic impact of increased restoration in Blue Mountains national forests, we examined timber sales and service contract records for timber harvesting and forest and watershed restoration activities on the forests. We compared economic outcomes from years 2013 and 2014 to baseline years of 2009 through 2012. We found that service contract values and timber sale volumes from the Blue Mountains national forests have increased relative to the baseline, resulting in greater economic activity in eastern Oregon in recent years. In 2014, Blue Mountains restoration projects awarded to eastern Oregon businesses supported more than 1,000 jobs and created more than $195 million in business sales in eastern Oregon.
Open Access
Economic impacts from the Malheur 10-year stewardship contract : evaluating year one
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2015) Bennett, Drew E.; Davis, Emily Jane; White, Eric M.; Ellison, Autumn
In September of 2013, the US Forest Service awarded a 10-year stewardship contract intended to promote ecological restoration, wildfire risk reduction, and economic vitality in Grant and Harney counties. This contract has received significant attention because of its duration and the local benefits it is expected to provide. It is also one of the first projects implemented as part of the Forest Service’s Eastside Restoration Strategy. We found that the first year of the contract resulted in $2.16 million in economic activity, supported 101 private sector jobs, and provided new optimism for local businesses in Grant County.
Open Access
Ecosystem services online : an overview of web-based resources
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2013) University of Oregon. Ecosystem Workforce Program
As the concepts of ecosystem services and payments for ecosystem services (PES) have evolved, numerous web-based resources have been created to 1) provide and exchange information about ecosystem services, and 2) facilitate transactions between those who provide ecosystem services and those who wish to compensate those providers, also commonly referred to as “buyers and sellers” of ecosystem services. In 2011, a broad internet search for web-based ecosystem services resources by the research team yielded many results which were reviewed and compiled into a catalog. In 2013, this catalog was updated with new information and made available on the project website. It provides a comprehensive listing of available resources to those interested in ecosystem services, including landowners. This fact sheet provides an overview of the different types of resources that are available in the catalog, along with points to consider while browsing them. An accompanying fact sheet highlights useful resources in each of the four categories outlined below.