WCC_OLD1003: Coordination of Western Regional Extension Forestry Activities
(Multistate Research Coordinating Committee and Information Exchange Group)
Status: Inactive/Terminating
WCC_OLD1003: Coordination of Western Regional Extension Forestry Activities
Duration: 10/01/2003 to 09/30/2009
Administrative Advisor(s):
NIFA Reps:
Non-Technical Summary
Statement of Issues and Justification
The West has 233 million acres of forests, approximately 66 % of these forests are in the public domain while 34 % of these are owned by non-governmental entities (source: National Association of State Foresters www.stateforesters.org.) These non-governmental stakeholders constitute a primary target for educational programs in woodland and forest management and wildlife habitat enhancement. Communities in and closely adjacent to forests are another important consumer of extension forestry information. There is a need across the western states extension programs to develop coordinated extension forestry efforts on a multi-state basis to achieve both programmatic and administrative efficiency and to help meet the requirements of the Agricultural, Research, Extension and Education Reform Act (AREERA).
This effort will coordinate the wide diversity of resources committed to the Western Forestry Coordinating Committee. Currently, the western states Extension Forestry programs vary widely in scope and depth. Numerous states have only one or a few staff who are predominantly dedicated to forestry, several have 6-11 individuals with forestry assignments, and only two states have 20 or more (Biles, 2001 In Hibbard and Ellefson, 2002, Draft National Report on Sustainable Forests: Criterion 7, Indicator 53).
The Western Extension Directors (WED) in early 2001, established an ad hoc group to further investigate and make a recommendation regarding establishment of an approach to more effective regional forestry programming. Members included:
Larry Biles, USDA, CSREES
Dave Bryant, Montana State University
Tony Nakazawa, University of Alaska (Chair)
Paul McCawley, University of Idaho
Scott Reed, Oregon State University (Co-chair)
Milan Rewerts, Colorado State University
Jack Payne, Utah State University
Mike Harrington, Western Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors
The group recognized current issues driving increased public attention to western forests and rangelands include wildfires, forest health, water quality and quantity, and sustainable productivity of forest resources for the benefit of communities and economies, and recommended establishment of key partnerships in the West with the Council of Western State Foresters, Western Governors Association and the new Western Forestry Leadership Coalition based in Lakewood Colorado.
Additional Linkages:
Proposed partnerships and collaborators would include:
1. Participating western states with extension forestry capacity-active interest and Appendix E information anticipated from AK, UT, OR, AZ, WA, MT, ID, and CO.
2. USDA Forest Service Cooperative Forestry
3. Council of Western State Foresters
4. USDA Forest Service Regional Foresters (western region)
5. Western Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) Program Ldrs
6. National Association of Professional Forestry Schools and Colleges (NAPFSC) (western region)
7. National Program Leader for Forestry USDA-CSREES
8. USDA Forest Service Research
Objectives
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1. Identify existing successful state forestry programs and coordinate their expansion through shared information and resources.
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2. . Conduct a regional needs assessment related to forestry.
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3. Coordinate regional responses to funding opportunities and collaborative responses to emerging issues:
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4. Develop potential regional partnerships with USFS, EPA, other partners, including the private sector.
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5. Develop regional forestry programs and publications. A current example is the successful grant project from the National Web-Based Learning Center.
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Procedures and Activities
Expected Outcomes and Impacts
- Development of new innovations in program design and implementation.
- Deeper reach into common clientele groups i.e. more people reached with Extension education
- More effective integration of relevant natural resource disciplines into program design.
- Improved effectiveness and accountability of existing programs (eg. Renewable Resources Extension Act and GPRA Goals 1, 4, and 5).
- Enhanced regional opportunities for integrated extension-research
- Regular and coordinated collaboration with the regional forestry community including US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Council of Western States Foresters, Western Rural Development Center, Western Governors Association, and similar stakeholders. Development of new resources, including funding increases through appropriation and extramural vehicles. Improvement in the targeting of technical and cost-share programs through expanded educational programs that serve as the precursor to such policy tools.
Projected Participation
View Appendix E: ParticipationEducational Plan
Educ. Plan: The purpose of the Educational Plan of this WCC would be to continue and extend in a more coordinated manner information (re: opportunities/challenges) directly to western extension faculty that is relevant to their regional/state forestry discussions, to include the ECOP forestry liaison committee efforts and other relevant educational activities and opportunities. (Note: Extension Leadership through the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy established a Forestry Liaison Team in May 2000 specifically to 1) raise the dialogue about forest landowner education and outreach, conservation education, and community economic development, 2) prepare Extension leadership to work with the 2002 Farm Bill and 3) consider action regarding an updated USDA Interagency Agreement of Forestry.)
Organization/Governance
Operational structure: Two co-chairs will be jointly responsible for coordinating meetings, writing reports, and communicating with administrative advisors. One of the initial co-chairs is proposed to be Scott Reed, Oregon State University. The other will be designated at a later date from among the stakeholder groups. Between them they would be responsible for meeting notes, distributing minutes to WCC members and advisors. (Note: There would be no committee secretary.) An email listserve will be set up for committee members and will meet once a year to address the objectives listed above.
Literature Cited