Oregon Department of Forestry's Landscape Resiliency Program : assessing the project selection process for the 2021-2023 biennium

35 pagesThe 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.Funding for this study was provided by the Oregon Department of Forestry to the University of Oregon’s Ecosystem Workforce Program (Agreement number M0177, Task order #5)

Oregon Wildfire Smoke Communications and Impacts: An Evaluation of the 2020 Wildfire Season

50 pagesOregon Health Authority and the University of Oregon partnered to conduct a survey-based evaluation of wildfire smoke communications and impacts experienced by Oregon residents during the 2020 wildfire season. The purpose of this survey was to (1) understand how Oregonians respond to wildfire smoke and (2) provide an open-source evaluation tool and data to support wildfire smoke communication practitioners in Oregon. This evaluation is intended to guide improvement of public risk communication, programs, and recommendations. This document is intended to inform practitioners and staff at public agencies (public health, emergency management, natural resource management), academics, and community members about key findings and recommendations from the survey related to: 1. patterns and correlations surrounding information sources and needs. 2. patterns around health behaviors related to preventing smoke exposure. 3. information relevant for raising awareness and preparedness of specific risk groups. 4. potential areas and questions for future research

ODF Landscape Resilience Program monitoring plan

16 pagesThe 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.This work was funded via an agreement with the Oregon Department of Forestry (Agreement number M0177, Task order 4)

Social-ecological enabling conditions for payments for ecosystem services

The concept of “enabling conditions” centers on conditions that facilitate approaches to addressing social and ecological challenges. Although multiple fields have independently addressed the concept of enabling conditions, the literature lacks a shared understanding or integration of concepts. We propose a more synthesized understanding of enabling conditions beyond disciplinary boundaries by focusing on the enabling conditions that influence the implementation of a range of environmental policies termed payments for ecosystem services (PES). Through an analysis of key literature from different disciplinary perspectives, we examined how researchers and practitioners refer to and identify enabling conditions within the context of PES. Through our synthesis, we identified 24 distinct enabling conditions organized within 4 broad themes: biophysical, economic, governance, and social-cultural conditions. We found that the literature coalesces around certain enabling conditions, such as strong ecosystem science and existing institutions, regardless of disciplinary background or journal audience. We also observed key differences in how authors perceive the direction of influence for property type, program objectives, and number of actors. Additionally, we noted an emphasis on the importance of the contextual nature of many enabling conditions that may cause certain conditions to have a disproportionate impact on successful implementation in some circumstances. Unraveling the relative importance of specific enabling conditions in diverse contexts remains a research frontier. Ultimately, no single disciplinary perspective is likely to provide all necessary insights for PES creation, and given the intertwined nature of enabling conditions, practitioners need to consider insights from multiple dimensions. Our work suggests opportunities to better connect diverse conversations through integration of concepts, a common vocabulary, and a synthetic framework

Wildfire smoke and athletic events : understanding public concerns, experiences, and preparedness

21 pagesThe 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.Funding for this study was provided by the University of Oregon

Oregon Department of Forestry's Landscape Resiliency Program : assessing implementation and outcomes for the 2021-2023 biennium

41 pagesThe 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.Funding for this study was provided by the Oregon Department of Forestry to the University of Oregon’s Ecosystem Workforce Program (Agreement number M0177, Task order #5)

Monitoring investments in Oregon's Federal Forest Restoration Program, 2019-2021 biennium

36 pagesThe Federal Forest Restoration Program (FFR Program) is a partnership between the state of Oregon, federal forest managers, and public lands stakeholders to increase forest restoration and economic opportunity on federal forest lands across Oregon. The purpose of this working paper is to provide an update for the investments made by the FFR Program for the 2019–2021 state funding biennium as well as an assessment of the tangible and intangible impacts of those investments over the same period. Previous findings for Oregon state fiscal years (FY) 2014–2019, including a cumulative report, are reported elsewhere. This report presents: 1) FFR Program expenditures, 2) economic impacts of FFR Program expenditures, 3) on-the-ground accomplishments of FFR Program expenditures, and 4) stakeholders’ perspectives about FFR Program successes and current and future challenges.Funding for this study was provided by the Oregon Department of Forestry to the University of Oregon (M0177, Task order #2), Oregon State University (Task order #191-677-3), and the USDA Forest Service (#20-CO-11261979-021)

Monitoring investments in Oregon's Federal Forest Restoration Program, 2021-2023 biennium

35 pagesThe 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.Funding for this study was provided by the Oregon Department of Forestry to the University of Oregon’s Ecosystem Workforce Program (Agreement number M0177, Task order #5)

Private contracting on national forest lands : preseason contracting and fire response

22 pagesThe U.S. Forest Service is facing unprecedented challenges in wildfire suppression, and increasingly depends on private wildfire suppression to bolster capacity for direct attack resources, such as aerial resources, firefighter hand crews and other equipment. The processes and procedures employed for contracting such resources are complex and can be difficult to follow and understand. The purpose of this paper is to provide a clear and step-wise presentation of the private contracting system for wildfire suppression on federal lands, highlighting the key actors, actions, policies and procedures used throughout.This study was made possible by funding from the Joint Fire Sciences Program

"Call when needed" : private contracting for wildfire suppression in an unpredictable work environment

2 pagesThe 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.This research was supported by funding from the Joint Fire Science Program