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/

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 88

Open Access
Adopting stewardship contracting : lessons from four national forests
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2011) Moseley, Cassandra; Donoghue, Ellen M. (Ellen Mary); Charnley, Susan; MacFarland, Kate
Congress granted broad stewardship contracting authority to the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management in the FY 2003 appropriations act to help these agencies accomplish restoration and hazardous fuels reduction and increase community benefit from these activities. During the first several years of the authority, the use of stewardship contracting was uneven, with some national forests making significant use of the authorities while others hardly used stewardship contracting at all. Although the stewardship contracting has become more wide spread in recent years, it is not clear why some national forests were early adopters and others were more hesitant to use the authorities. This study provides insight into the question of why the use of stewardship contracting was initially so variable.
Open Access
Barriers and preferences for landowner participation in conservation programs in the interior Northwest
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2013) Gosnell, Hannah; Burright, Harmony S. J.; Nielsen-Pincus, Max; Ellison, Autumn; Moseley, Cassandra
Small and medium-sized forest and range landowners have a significant impact on ecosystem health. Conservation programs such as those offered by the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and environmentally-oriented markets offer incentives to conserve ecological functions while helping improve landowner prosperity. However, only a minority of forest and rangeland owners participate in conservation programs. To better understand the influences on landowner participation conservation programs and opportunities to improve participation, we examined landowner concerns and preferences in the interior Pacific Northwest.
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
"Call when needed" : private contracting for wildfire suppression in an unpredictable work environment
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2015) Huber-Stearns, Heidi; Bixler, R. Patrick (Richard Patrick); Ellison, Autumn; Moseley, Cassandra
The U.S. Forest Service is facing unprecedented challenges in wildfire suppression, and increasingly depends on resources outside the agency to maintain adequate wildfire response capacity. Reliance on private wildfire suppression contractors has increased over time, especially in bolstering capacity for direct attack resources, such as aerial resources, firefighter hand crews and other equipment. However, little is known about private contracting businesses, in particular how they navigate the same fundamental challenge: to maintain and grow their businesses that directly depend on unpredictable fire seasons and agency needs. This briefing paper reports findings from a case study in southern Oregon, as part of a larger project investigating the role of private wildfire suppression contracting on national forests.
Open Access
Capacity of community-based organizations for natural resource management
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2011) Moseley, Cassandra; MacFarland, Kate; Nielsen-Pincus, Max; Grimm, Kerry; Pomeroy, Alaina; Enzer, Maia J.
Reliance on community-based natural resource management in the western US has been growing since the 1990s. Collaboration is increasingly essential, and community-based organizations are often relied upon to facilitate this collaboration. This is particularly true in the face of decreasing resources within federal land management agencies and the growing complexity of natural resource issues. The proposed Forest Service Planning Rule, the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program, and other programs rely heavily on collaboration to achieve their goals. Community-based organizations, including nonprofits and informal collaborative groups, work to build public agreement around the management of federal lands; develop local business and workforce capacity for forest and watershed restoration; and ensure that the benefits of restoration activity flow to rural communities. The resources, structure, relationships, and other characteristics of these organizations are less well understood than their strategies, approaches, and activities. This paper seeks to provide insight into the organizational capacity of community-based organizations in the American West and to give recommendations to enhance and grow their impact.
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
Collaborative landscape restoration on forests without CFLRP or Joint Chiefs' investments
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2018) Ellison, Autumn; Kooistra, Chad; Schultz, Courtney A.; Moseley, Cassandra
In 2017, we studied two restoration initiatives: the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) and the Joint Chiefs Landscape Restoration Partnership (JCLRP). Both programs competitively award multi-year funding for collaborative, landscape-scale restoration work on high-priority landscapes. To understand how other forests and landscapes viewed these programs and accomplish high-priority restoration work, we interviewed forest-level leadership and collaborative partners on national forests that had never participated in either program. Through interviews with 38 people on 20 national forests, we investigated how forests are conducting large-scale collaborative restoration in the absence of these targeted funding initiatives.
Open Access
Community wildfire protection plans in the American West
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2014) Abrams, Jesse; Ellison, Autumn; Knapp, Melanie; Moseley, Cassandra; Paveglio, Travis; Nielsen-Pincus, Max
Large wildfires are increasingly common in the American West. The federal government is responsible for the majority of suppression costs, and has a significant interest in policies that can improve resilience at the community level. The Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) of 2003 encourages communities to complete Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs). While not mandatory, CWPPs give communities access to federal and state funding for activities highlighted in plans. HFRA allows flexibility to adapt plans to local contexts; however, little is known about whether communities have capitalized on the opportunity to develop site-specific plans that meet the needs of individual communities. This research analyzed CWPP structure and content to better understand variability between plans.
Open Access
Community-based collaboration in national forest management: experiences in two Oregon stewardship contracting pilots
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2003) Fitzpatrick, Kathleen Kristin, 1974-
There is a growing movement towards community-based approaches in national forest management, due in part to the failure of traditional management strategies to reach ecological and political goals. This study looked at community-based collaborative efforts in two USDA Forest Service stewardship contracting pilots- in the Siuslaw and Metolius basins in Oregon- to assess whether these approaches contributed to higher trust and innovative strategies able to address place-specific ecological, social, and economic challenges. It also looked specifically at the challenges associated with incorporating deliberative approaches into traditional Forest Service management. Findings suggest that community-based groups played key roles in building trust, and in providing the breadth of perspectives necessary to design strategies that met ecological and socioeconomic goals. Agency understandings of and attitudes towards community involvement, however, significantly empowered or constrained this potential. Support from agency leadership, the cultivation of a risk-taking culture, and openness towards multiple forms of knowledge were important contributors to proactive agency attitudes concerning collaboration.
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
Creating community benefit: Community Stability Panel, Western Governor’s Association Healthy Forest Summit, Missoula, MT, June 17, 2003
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2004) Moseley, Cassandra
My message is basically that there are some positives trends, such the opportunities created by direct hiring and the Forest Service’s use of the local benefit criteria in its best value contracting in the Pacific Northwest. We can strengthen these successes further by focusing attention on how we structure contracts and by providing funding to community organizations to help build contractor and worker capacity. But there are also several worrisome trends as well--especially the competitive sourcing initiative and the use of increasingly large, multi-state or multi-forest contracts.
Open Access
Cross-trained local capacity for integrated wildfire managment
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2016) Huber-Stearns, Heidi; Ellison, Autumn; Moseley, Cassandra
The National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy is a collaborative effort that seeks, in part, to improve multi-jurisdictional coordination of wildfire management and expand local preparedness and response capacity. Local workforces that are trained to prepare for and respond to wildfire risks in their communities could play vital roles bringing together planning, risk reduction, and fire response. However, unpredictable work, limited state and federal budgets, diverse landowner objectives, and complicated contracting practices can create challenges for sustaining place-based workforces. How have some organizations developed local, cross-trained workforces to address wildfire risks alongside intensifying wildfire management needs?
Open Access
Defining Woody Biomass Uses
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2009) Sundstrom, Shiloh
Woody Biomass Uses – focused on utilization of residuals from hazardous fuels reduction, forest restoration, commercial timber harvest, forest products manufacturing, and plantation management.
Open Access
Drivers of wildfire suppression costs : a review
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2016) Ellison, Autumn; Moseley, Cassandra
As federal spending on wildland fire suppression has increased dramatically in recent decades, significant policymaking has been designed, at least in part, to address and temper rising costs. Effective strategies for controlling public spending and leveraging limited wildfire management resources depend on a comprehensive understanding of the drivers of suppression costs. Problematically, frequently noted drivers often do not explain variability between similar wildfires or comparable wildfire seasons. As speculation and scrutiny around rising costs have increased, so too have scholarly investigations into a variety of influences on suppression costs. This review gathered and synthesized recent literature that examines how different variables affect wildfire suppression costs in order to present a more complete understanding of what is known and not known about what drives suppression costs.
Open Access
Eco-labels on the range and in the forests of the interior Northwest
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2013) Gwin, Lauren; Ellison, Autumn; Moseley, Cassandra
For more than two decades, advocates have been developing programs to certify products as coming from well-managed lands. However, participation in certification programs is fairly low among landowners in at least some western states. Among the 800 landowners we surveyed in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana, fewer than 10 percent had participated in a livestock or crop certification program (e.g., Salmon Safe, Certified Organic, Predator Friendly), or a forest management certification program (e.g., Forest Stewardship Council, Sustainable Forestry Initiative, American Tree Farm). In comparison, 10 percent participated in environmental credit markets, and 27 percent in cost-share or grantfunded conservation programs. To better understand the value and potential of certification programs for enhancing ecosystem services, we examined barriers to participation as well as emerging opportunities to make certification programs more accessible for landowners.
Open Access
The economic and community effects of Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board investments in watershed restoration
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2002-07-15) Bonner, Kristin; Hibbard, Michael
Cooperative, community-level approaches to environmental management are emerging in a variety of contexts, in Oregon and elsewhere. The rise of these approaches has led to a new appreciation of the possibility of watershed restoration projects that also foster good jobs and strong local businesses. With millions of dollars to spend on its mission, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) plays a significant role in supporting local economies through grants to watershed councils, Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs), and other local restoration activities. The aim of this study is to document the level of that support. The specific question addressed by the study is: Did OWEB's 1997-99 grants improve socio-economic conditions in local communities in Oregon? To answer this question, the Ecosystem Workforce Program reviewed a sample of 1997-99 OWEB grants and also conducted telephone interviews with selected grantees. The purpose of the interviews was to help us understand the patterns of expenditure we found while reviewing the files. In conclusion, this study finds that OWEB grants and program expenditures improve or maintain economic stability in Oregon communities.
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
Economic effects of large fires : application to the Cold Springs fire
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2012) Moseley, Cassandra; Nielsen-Pincus, Max; Rishel, Branden
Large wildfires disrupt the lives of families, workers, and employers. However, fire suppression and recovery efforts may provide economic opportunities. Understanding the impacts of large fires can help fire managers, policy makers, and community leaders plan for the challenges and opportunities of wildfires. 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 fires on labor markets and how fire suppression spending may mediate these effects.
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
Economic Impact and Job Creation from Forest and Watershed Restoration: A Preliminary Assessment
(Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2009) Moseley, Cassandra; Nielsen-Pincus, Max
Investments in ecological restoration play a large role in public and private natural resource management with projects ranging from stream habitat enhancements and fish passage to irrigation canal improvements, riparian reforestation, road decommissioning, hazardous fuels reduction, forest thinning, and wildlife habitat enhancement. These restoration activities have considerable economic impact and job creation potential. Unlike other sectors of the economy, such as transportation infrastructure, there has been little research to quantify the economic potential of these activities. In this briefing paper, we link forest and watershed restoration activities to economic industries and provide a preliminary assessment of the potential economic and employment impacts for these activities.