WCC1003: Coordination of Western Regional Extension Forestry Activities
(Multistate Research Coordinating Committee and Information Exchange Group)
Status: Approved Pending Start Date
WCC1003: Coordination of Western Regional Extension Forestry Activities
Duration: 10/01/2024 to 09/30/2029
Administrative Advisor(s):
NIFA Reps:
Non-Technical Summary
Owners and managers of forested lands across the Western U.S. face challenges associated with managing, mitigating, and recovering from threats such as changing climatic conditions, heightened risk of destructive wildfires, acute needs for reforestation and rehabilitation following wildfires, growing abundance and proliferation of invasive species, changing landownership patterns, and limited public understanding of the benefits of active forest management. Adjacent communities also deal with associated threats, such as wildfires and post-fire flooding.
Dissemination of science-based information using audience-appropriate materials and approaches is one essential component of ensuring sustainable management of forests to foster ecosystem services, healthy communities, and healthy economies. Coordination among Extension Foresters in the Western states could enable more efficient and effective use of limited resources available for educating about natural resource management in a collaborative manner and help build crucial professional capacity within a small cadre of specialized educators. This is the intent of the Western Coordinating Committee of Extension Foresters.
Statement of Issues and Justification
The Western states have 345 million acres of forested lands, approximately 71% of which are in the public domain while 29% are owned by non-governmental entities (source: Congressional Research Service R46976; https://crsreports.congress.gov). Owners and managers of the vast acreage of forested lands across the region face challenges associated with managing, mitigating, and recovering from threats such as changing climatic conditions, heightened risk of destructive wildfires, acute needs for reforestation and rehabilitation following wildfires, growing abundance and proliferation of invasive species, changing landownership patterns, and limited public understanding of the benefits of active forest management. Adjacent communities also deal with threats associated with forests and wildlands, such as wildfires and post-fire flooding.
Dissemination of science-based information using audience-appropriate materials and approaches is one essential component of ensuring sustainable management of forests to foster ecosystem services, healthy communities, and healthy economies. Coordination among Extension Foresters in the Western states could enable more efficient and effective use of limited resources available for educating about natural resource management in a collaborative manner.
The mission of the Western Coordination Committee (WCC) is to foster communication and multi-state, multi-institution, and multi-disciplinary collaboration among Extension forestry programs that span the Western states. Currently, the Western states Extension forestry programs vary widely in scope and depth. Numerous states have only one or very few agents or specialists predominantly dedicated to forestry, with only one state having over 20. Because of this disparity, the opportunity for a structured meeting as outlined below is crucial for professional networking and capacity building, especially for states with smaller Extension programs or only one forestry educator.
Objectives
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To strengthen regional partnerships by meeting annually to exchange information and ideas and have shared experiences during field tours.
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To identify opportunities for multistate collaboration and integrated activities that would enable collaborate, multi-state responses to emerging issues.
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To jointly pursue extramural funding sources to support multi-state educational efforts.
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To seek opportunities for shared scholarship through the creation of publications and other educational products co-created by Extension personnel across state lines.
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To leverage resources by identifying synergistic interests with partners such as the USDA Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Natural Resources Conservation Service, state agencies, and NGOs.
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To fortify the group through continued recruiting of new members.
Procedures and Activities
WCC members will meet in-person annually to address the objectives listed above. The intent of these gatherings is to identify present and emerging forest resource management issues of large-scale significance and evaluate potential interest and capacity for addressing them using a multi-state approach. Meetings will typically include 5 primary components: introductions and networking; information sharing on issues of multi-state interest including a round-robin discussion of recent events, newly created products and resources, and ongoing efforts likely of mutual interest; conversations about present and emerging issues of concern that span state boundaries, including discussion of potential opportunities to work together and exploration of funding opportunities that could be jointly pursued; updates from USDA-NIFA; and a field tour with local experts to see forestry issues on the ground. An email listserv will be updated annually to enable communication among WCC members between gatherings.
Expected Outcomes and Impacts
- Increased awareness among Extension personnel of natural resource issues and trends across the region, and challenges facing Extension programs in their states.
- Enhanced opportunities for multi-state collaboration and integration among forestry Extension personnel.
- Additional innovation in program design and implementation.
- Improved ability to reach traditional clientele groups and new audiences.
- Improved effectiveness and accountability of existing programs.
Projected Participation
View Appendix E: ParticipationEducational Plan
The WCC Education Plan is to create opportunities to intentionally share information amongst peers to help Western Extension faculty address challenges and develop opportunities that are both relevant to their state forestry educational efforts and common across the region.
Organization/Governance
Operational structure includes a chair and secretary/chair-elect. These individuals will be selected from participating western Extension forestry representatives with rotating, one-year terms. These individuals, along with the WCC Administrative Coordinator, will together be responsible for coordinating meetings and writing annual reports of accomplishment. The Administrative Advisor will submit the annual report to NIMMS.