The U.S. Forest Service estimates that 132 million acres of forested public and private land are at risk from unnatural fire. This situation poses a serious threat to the social and economic vitality of forested communities. Moreover, these lands fall short in their ability to provide wildlife habitat, a full complement of watershed values, and other ecosystem service benefits. The goal of the Southwest Forest Restoration Institutes (SWERI) is to help convert this potential liability into an asset

Egan, D.

OpenKnowledge@NAU

 Working Together to Restore Ecological and Community Health: The Challenge and the Goal The U.S. Forest Service estimates that 132 million acres of forested public and private land are at risk from unnatural fire. This situation poses a serious threat to the social and economic vitality of forested communities. Moreover, these lands fall short in their ability to provide wildlife habitat, a full complement of watershed values, and other ecosystem service benefits. The goal of the Southwest Forest Restoration Institutes (SWERI) is to help convert this potential liability into an asset.   Many managers, from resource specialists to land managers, recognize that thinning, burning, and other forest resto-ration techniques can be effective in restoring forest health and reducing the threat of unnatural fire in the frequent-fire forest types of the Interior West. A central question is how to use the best science in order to do restoration in the most effective and efficient way possible, while learning how to improve our treatments as we move forward. Al-though there are clear needs for the discovery of additional scientific information, the flood of existing scientific lit-erature, the disconnected sources of information, and the complexity of environmental analysis can overwhelm the resources of practitioners, stakeholders, and decision-makers. Nevertheless, wildland ecosystems and their depend-ent human communities are the ultimate victims if managers cannot mobilize the critical information for rapid, thor-ough, and scientifically defensible environmental analysis. The SWERI are designed to provide accurate, scientific information for those purposes and to move the restoration process forward in a manner that helps to establish sus-tainable forests, aid communities in forested areas, and strengthen local and regional economies.  Congress, the States, and the Western Governors' Association Recognize the Need  Signed on October 5, 2004, the Southwest Forest Health and Wildfire Prevention Act established institutes in Ari-zona, Colorado, and New Mexico for the purpose of ensuring the best available science is used in the development, implementation, and monitoring of forest restoration treatments. Congressional intent clearly recognized that hazard-ous fuel reduction treatments should incorporate science-based restoration approaches that will simultaneously im-prove forest health, reduce the threat of unnatural wildfire, and provide economic and social benefits to forested communities. The Congress also recognized the importance of this work for all land management agencies. The U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and National Park Service, therefore, contribute to the development and approval of the annual work plans for each institute.  The Act has also stimulated interest and support at the state level. The governors of Colorado, New Mexico, and Ari-zona along with the Southwest Ecological Restoration Institutes (SWERI) universities signed a charter formalizing the role of the states and universities to provide a framework for collaboration and implementation. The charter es-tablishes the SWERI Coordinating Committee, which includes representatives of the three governors, the three state foresters, directors of the institutes, and a representative of the Western Governors Association.   Who We Are and What We Do The SWERI include the Colorado Forest Restoration Institute at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, the Eco-logical Restoration Institute at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, and the New Mexico Forest & Watershed Restoration Institute at New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, New Mexico. The purpose of the SWERI is to bring the unique strengths of the member universities—individually, collectively, and in cooperation with other institutions—to help support land managers and their collaborators as they work to achieve comprehensive ecologi-cal restoration treatments on the ground.    The SWERI are dedicated to developing relevant knowledge and delivering effective service. Communities, stake-holders, and land managers are the ultimate customers for these services. These groups identify information needs, inform effective methods of knowledge transfer, and, ultimately, report on the effectiveness of our work. They in-clude, federal land management agencies, state governments, tribal governments, elected officials, local govern-ments, collaborative community groups and environmentalists, the Western Governors’ Association, and businesses.  Recent Projects The following list is an example of joint projects undertaken by the SWERI:  In 2006, the SWERI sponsored a workshop to explore the unique features of frequent-fire, old-growth forests in the western United States. The results of the workshop have been published in the on-line journal, Ecology and Society. The papers include perspectives on human history and cultural perspectives, appropriate definitions and unique characteristics of old-growth, and policy and management recommendations.   In 2008, the SWERI convened a panel of scientists and land managers to develop a simple, yet robust, set of biophysical monitoring variables that can be simply measured by practitioners to adaptively inform manage-ment practices. This workshop was convened in response to concerns expressed by land mangers that monitor-ing goals could not be met due to the amount of resource required to adequately track the effects land manage-ment treatments. A report of this workshop is available from the Ecological Restoration Institute.  In 2008, personnel from the San Juan National Forest finished implementing a series of restoration treatments on Lower Middle Mountain in the national forest. The treatments were designed by scientists from the Colo-rado Forest Restoration Institute and the Ecological Restoration Institute. Ecologists from the two institutes are now monitoring the results of the treatments in this area of warm/dry mixed conifer forest. Initial indications suggest a generally successful response to thin/burn, “full restoration” treatments.  In 2009, ecologists from the Colorado Forest Institute and the Ecological Restoration Institute, along with sci-entists from several federal agencies (BLM, DOD, NPS, USFS, USGS) and The Nature Conservancy com-pleted research into the historical and modern disturbance regimes, stand structures, and landscape dynamics of pinyon-juniper vegetation in the western United States. A published article of this work appears in the May 2009 issue of Rangeland Ecology & Management.    In 2009, the SWERI expect to partner with the U.S. Forest Service on a pilot project to develop and test priori-tizing restoration-based, fuel-reduction treatments that use the best available science and a collaborative proc-ess. The pilot project would advance the consensus that exists with respect to science-based forest thinning from the theoretical realm to on-the-ground restoration. The first pilot project is expected to occur on four na-tional forests in Arizona, with future landscape efforts expected in both New Mexico and Colorado.  These joint projects complement numerous projects undertaken individually by each of the institutes in order to serve their local and statewide constituencies. Among others, these projects include ecological and social science research, working in collaborative groups to advise on state and local forestry and land management policy, con-ducting on-site consultations, producing publications about topics of interest to stakeholders, holding conferences and workshops, and creating and maintaining databases and web sites to provide information outlets for interested parties.  FOR MORE INFORMATION  Contact:  Dr. Wally Covington, Executive Director, Ecological Restoration Institute, 928-523-7182, wally.covington@nau.edu or see http://www.eri.nau.edu.   Dr. Tony Cheng, Director, Colorado Forest Restoration Institute, 970-491-1900, Tony.cheng@colostate.edu or see http://welcome.warnercnr.colostate.edu/cfri-home/index.php. Dr. Ken Reid, Interim Director, New Mexico Forest & Watershed Restoration Institute, 505-426-2145, rkreid@nmhu.edu or see http://www.nmfwri.org/.  

Fact sheet: Southwestern Ecological Restoration Institutes (SWERI)

 
Working Together to Restore Ecological and Community Health: The Challenge and the Goal 
The U.S. Forest Service estimates that 132 million acres of forested public and private land are at risk from unnatural 
fire. This situation poses a serious threat to the social and economic vitality of forested communities. Moreover, 
these lands fall short in their ability to provide wildlife habitat, a full complement of watershed values, and other 
ecosystem service benefits. The goal of the Southwest Forest Restoration Institutes (SWERI) is to help convert this 
potential liability into an asset.  
 
Many managers, from resource specialists to land managers, recognize that thinning, burning, and other forest resto-
ration techniques can be effective in restoring forest health and reducing the threat of unnatural fire in the frequent-
fire forest types of the Interior West. A central question is how to use the best science in order to do restoration in the 
most effective and efficient way possible, while learning how to improve our treatments as we move forward. Al-
though there are clear needs for the discovery of additional scientific information, the flood of existing scientific lit-
erature, the disconnected sources of information, and the complexity of environmental analysis can overwhelm the 
resources of practitioners, stakeholders, and decision-makers. Nevertheless, wildland ecosystems and their depend-
ent human communities are the ultimate victims if managers cannot mobilize the critical information for rapid, thor-
ough, and scientifically defensible environmental analysis. The SWERI are designed to provide accurate, scientific 
information for those purposes and to move the restoration process forward in a manner that helps to establish sus-
tainable forests, aid communities in forested areas, and strengthen local and regional economies. 
 
Congress, the States, and the Western Governors' Association Recognize the Need  
Signed on October 5, 2004, the Southwest Forest Health and Wildfire Prevention Act established institutes in Ari-
zona, Colorado, and New Mexico for the purpose of ensuring the best available science is used in the development, 
implementation, and monitoring of forest restoration treatments. Congressional intent clearly recognized that hazard-
ous fuel reduction treatments should incorporate science-based restoration approaches that will simultaneously im-
prove forest health, reduce the threat of unnatural wildfire, and provide economic and social benefits to forested 
communities. The Congress also recognized the importance of this work for all land management agencies. The U.S. 
Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and National 
Park Service, therefore, contribute to the development and approval of the annual work plans for each institute. 
 
The Act has also stimulated interest and support at the state level. The governors of Colorado, New Mexico, and Ari-
zona along with the Southwest Ecological Restoration Institutes (SWERI) universities signed a charter formalizing 
the role of the states and universities to provide a framework for collaboration and implementation. The charter es-
tablishes the SWERI Coordinating Committee, which includes representatives of the three governors, the three state 
foresters, directors of the institutes, and a representative of the Western Governors Association.  
 
Who We Are and What We Do 
The SWERI include the Colorado Forest Restoration Institute at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, the Eco-
logical Restoration Institute at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, and the New Mexico Forest & Watershed 
Restoration Institute at New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, New Mexico. The purpose of the SWERI is 
to bring the unique strengths of the member universities—individually, collectively, and in cooperation with other 
institutions—to help support land managers and their collaborators as they work to achieve comprehensive ecologi-
cal restoration treatments on the ground.   
 
The SWERI are dedicated to developing relevant knowledge and delivering effective service. Communities, stake-
holders, and land managers are the ultimate customers for these services. These groups identify information needs, 
inform effective methods of knowledge transfer, and, ultimately, report on the effectiveness of our work. They in-
clude, federal land management agencies, state governments, tribal governments, elected officials, local govern-
ments, collaborative community groups and environmentalists, the Western Governors’ Association, and businesses. 
 
Recent Projects 
The following list is an example of joint projects undertaken by the SWERI: 
 
In 2006, the SWERI sponsored a workshop to explore the unique features of frequent-fire, old-growth forests in 
the western United States. The results of the workshop have been published in the on-line journal, Ecology and 
Society. The papers include perspectives on human history and cultural perspectives, appropriate definitions 
and unique characteristics of old-growth, and policy and management recommendations.  
 
In 2008, the SWERI convened a panel of scientists and land managers to develop a simple, yet robust, set of 
biophysical monitoring variables that can be simply measured by practitioners to adaptively inform manage-
ment practices. This workshop was convened in response to concerns expressed by land mangers that monitor-
ing goals could not be met due to the amount of resource required to adequately track the effects land manage-
ment treatments. A report of this workshop is available from the Ecological Restoration Institute. 
 
In 2008, personnel from the San Juan National Forest finished implementing a series of restoration treatments 
on Lower Middle Mountain in the national forest. The treatments were designed by scientists from the Colo-
rado Forest Restoration Institute and the Ecological Restoration Institute. Ecologists from the two institutes are 
now monitoring the results of the treatments in this area of warm/dry mixed conifer forest. Initial indications 
suggest a generally successful response to thin/burn, “full restoration” treatments. 
 
In 2009, ecologists from the Colorado Forest Institute and the Ecological Restoration Institute, along with sci-
entists from several federal agencies (BLM, DOD, NPS, USFS, USGS) and The Nature Conservancy com-
pleted research into the historical and modern disturbance regimes, stand structures, and landscape dynamics of 
pinyon-juniper vegetation in the western United States. A published article of this work appears in the May 
2009 issue of Rangeland Ecology & Management. 
 
  In 2009, the SWERI expect to partner with the U.S. Forest Service on a pilot project to develop and test priori-
tizing restoration-based, fuel-reduction treatments that use the best available science and a collaborative proc-
ess. The pilot project would advance the consensus that exists with respect to science-based forest thinning 
from the theoretical realm to on-the-ground restoration. The first pilot project is expected to occur on four na-
tional forests in Arizona, with future landscape efforts expected in both New Mexico and Colorado. 
 
These joint projects complement numerous projects undertaken individually by each of the institutes in order to 
serve their local and statewide constituencies. Among others, these projects include ecological and social science 
research, working in collaborative groups to advise on state and local forestry and land management policy, con-
ducting on-site consultations, producing publications about topics of interest to stakeholders, holding conferences 
and workshops, and creating and maintaining databases and web sites to provide information outlets for interested 
parties. 
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION  
Contact:  
Dr. Wally Covington, Executive Director, Ecological Restoration Institute, 928-523-7182, 
wally.covington@nau.edu or see http://www.eri.nau.edu.   
Dr. Tony Cheng, Director, Colorado Forest Restoration Institute, 970-491-1900, Tony.cheng@colostate.edu or see 
http://welcome.warnercnr.colostate.edu/cfri-home/index.php. 
Dr. Ken Reid, Interim Director, New Mexico Forest & Watershed Restoration Institute, 505-426-2145, 
rkreid@nmhu.edu or see http://www.nmfwri.org/. 
 


http://openknowledge.nau.edu/1272/7/Egan_2009_ERIFactSheet_swerifactsheet%281%29.pdf

Fact sheet: Southwestern Ecological Restoration Institutes (SWERI)

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

OpenKnowledge@NAU

OpenKnowledge@NAU