Recent federal forest and wildfire policies have increasingly united around a vision of restoring forest resilience in the face of destructive and expensive wildfires driven by altered forest conditions and climate change. But what does resilience mean, what does it take to plan for resilient landscapes, and what other factors complicate the achievement of resilient landscape outcomes? This research investigates how resilience has been operationalized within the U.S. Forest Service, what obstacles to achieving resilience have been identified, and what solutions appear to hold promise for overcoming the complexities of managing for resilience.
Approach
This research involved three elements:
- A content analysis of Environmental Impact Statements;
- A survey of USFS staff that have been involved in interdisciplinary planning efforts
- Case studies of three national forests that have recently revised their forest plans
Publications
Working papers
2020: Land Manager Experiences with Resilience in National Forest Planning and Management
2020: Planning and Managing for Resilience: Lessons from National Forest Plan Revisions
2017: Resilience in Land Management Planning: Policy Mandates, Approaches, and Resources
Quick Guide
Incorporating Resilience in National Forest Planning and Management: A Quick Guide
Briefing papers
2020: Land Manager Expriences with Resilience in National Forest Planning and Management
2020: Planning and Managing for Resilience: Lessons from National Forest Plan Revisions
Scientific journal articles
Abrams, J. 2019. The emergence of network governance in U.S. national forest administration: Causal factors and propositions for future research. Forest Policy and Economics 106: 101977. doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2019.101977
Thomas J. Timberlake , Courtney A. Schultz , Alexander Evans & Jesse B. Abrams (2020): Working on institutions while planning for forest resilience: a case study of public land management in the United States, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. DOI:10.1080/09640568.2020.1817730
More coming soon!
Webinar of results
Resilience in National Forest Planning. 2020. Presented by Jesse Abrams for the Southwest Fire Science Consortium and the Northwest Fire Science Consortium.