LEARNING TOGETHER: GREAT BASIN SCIENCE DELIVERY

• Sponsoring Institution: State Agricultural Experiment Station
• Project Status: TERMINATED
• Funding Source: STATE
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0224068
• Project No.: NEV052XJ
• Project Start Date: Sep 19, 2010
• Project End Date: Sep 18, 2012

Project Director
LEGER, EL, A.

Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA
(N/A)
RENO,NV 89557

Performing Department
Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences

Non Technical Summary
In July 2009, a science needs assessment was initiated to determine the types of science information and technical assistance sought by Great Basin land managers and the science delivery mechanisms that they preferred. The needs assessment was part of a Joint Fire Science Program Project, "Learning Together - Great Basin Science Delivery," to develop a science delivery program focused on understanding and managing fire and fire effects in Great Basin ecosystems. The science needs assessment targeted technical specialists in the BLM, USFS, NPS and FWS who design and implement land management treatments related to fire, fuels, emergency stabilization and rehabilitation, hydrology and soils, range management, invasive species and wildlife. Eleven focus groups then met in Salt Lake City, Boise, Reno, Burns, Cedar City, Winnemucca, Ely and Great Basin National Park. Phone conversations were held with individuals from FWS Ruby Marsh National Wildlife Refuge and the Nevada BLM Fuels Group. The information collected from the focus groups was used to develop a model for science delivery that was included in the implementation proposal. The model includes using the focus group results and periodic reassessments to identify priority issues and technical needs, and synthesizing scientific and agency information that will be used to provide content for delivery activities. The project's delivery activities include: information syntheses, online training, a web-based clearinghouse of information, a network of experts from management agencies and research agencies, and field workshops. Progress will be evaluated through annual evaluations and other feedback from land managers and researchers in the Great Basin.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
122	0120	1070	100%

Knowledge Area
122 - Management and Control of Forest and Range Fires;

Subject Of Investigation
0120 - Land;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology;

Keywords

science delivery

fire

fire effects

land management

Goals / Objectives
Improving the effectiveness of fire, fuels, and post-fire management in the fire-ruled sagebrush biome is essential to protecting Great Basin resources. Fire and fuels-related research in the Great Basin is providing much of the information needed to improve management (e.g., http://www.firescience.gov). However, the penetration of this information to public land managers and its application on the ground is uneven and often limited. Fire frequency and size are increasing and the invasive species are gaining ground. Participants of the 2006 "Workshop on Collaborative Research and Management in the Great Basin," the 2008 "Wildfire and Invasive Plants in American Deserts Conference," and the 111 land managers who participated in the science needs assessment conducted for this project provided direction about the kinds of science information they need and delivery mechanisms they are more inclined to use. The goals of this project are to: Empower Great Basin land managers to identify their technical needs with respect to fuels, fire, and post-fire vegetation Develop information and technical tools to meet the these needs Provide the needed information and tools through venues most preferred by field staff, field office managers, and higher administrative levels. The Science Delivery Project proposes to meet these goals through: 1.Ongoing needs assessments 2.Information syntheses 3.Online training 4.Web-based clearinghouse of information 5.Network of experts from management agencies and research agencies 6.Field workshops 7.Evaluation.

Project Methods
Needs assessments of federal agency land managers were conducted from November 2009 through January 2010. The seven questions asked of the 111 focus group participants were: What sources of information do you use and how are you now getting this information What are your critical unmet technical assistance needs for planning, implementation, and monitoring related to fire and fuels What are the best ways, places, or media for delivering technical information If you could spend a day with a technical expert, what topic would you discuss What channels are needed to communicate with this expert What do you need in order to effectively collaborate with other offices/agencies What do you need to communicate with researchers What one institutional hurdle needs to be broken down to improve technology transfer Responses to these questions were used to develop a manager-researcher knowledge exchange model. Syntheses of scientific and agency information will be produced that include agency data and information to the degree possible. These syntheses will be used to provide information content for delivery activities. They also will identify data gaps for future research and monitoring. Products include not only peer-reviewed publications, but also white papers and technical summaries for managers. Web-based training will be developed that specifically addresses Great Basin fire science needs, and a web-based clearing house of information is already being developed in cooperation between the Great Basin Research and Management Partnership and the USGS National Biological Information Initiative, Great Basin Information Project. Services provided by the website include directories of experts and collaborative organizations, a bibliography, a science and management project locator, metadata server, upcoming meetings and links, and a list server. Field workshops will be organized by the project coordinator to connect training and syntheses to local issues and solutions. They will supplement and be an integral part of the web-based training for the Great Basin. And finally, networks of experts will be developed that include (1) cadres of vegetation restoration and management specialists to provide technical support for their home offices and on an interagency/regional basis, and (2) experienced agency specialists, academic and federal scientists and extension specialists who will serve as technical experts for and with the agencies. Annual program evaluations are scheduled to take place in order to assess the effectiveness of these deliverables, and the project as a whole.

Progress 09/19/10 to 09/18/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: For additional information, please contact Beth Leger at 775-784-7582 or [e-mail] PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
For additional information, please contact Beth Leger at 775-784-7582 or [e-mail]

Publications

• No publications reported this period

Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: This project received implementation funding in September of 2010, hence 2011 was this project's first full year of implementation. Significant activities during this period included development of the fall/winter webinar series, our first two-day fire and fuels workshop, our first field day, development of a 26-member interagency Great Basin Restoration Cadre, development of our website, and a transition of our list serve from a generic email format to the professional email service, Mail Chimp. We also hired a synthesis writer in the fall to write two syntheses for us, one on vegetation treatments and one on soils, which will be published in the summer/fall of 2012. PARTICIPANTS: The Project Principal Investigators (PIs) form the Steering Committee and are responsible for program planning, implementation, effectiveness monitoring and reporting, and for communication and coordination with target agencies. Also, each PI is responsible for one of the planned activities in section IV.C. The Project PIs are: Mike Pellant, PI, BLM, responsible for overall program administration and lead on restoration cadre network development; Jeanne Chambers, Co-PI, USFS, lead web-based clearinghouse; Brad Schultz, Co-PI, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, lead program effectiveness assessments; Beth Leger, Co-PI, University of Nevada, lead synthesis development; Stephen Bunting, Co-PI, University of Idaho, lead web-based training; and Cheri Howell, USFS, lead field workshops. The project coordinator, Eugenie MontBlanc, is responsible for coordination of the different science delivery activities, communication both within the project and with the end-user communities, budgeting and office administration. She reports to PI Pellant and Co-PI Leger. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audiences for this project are federal, state, tribal, NGO, and private fire and resource land managers and researchers in the Great Basin. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
In 2011 we hosted seven webinars with a total of 450 attendees and 334 recorded webinar views. We had 85 people participate in our first workshop and field tour. Our Restoration Cadre has produced two blog discussions for the website. The number of unique visitors to the website has nearly doubled from 124 visitors in September of 2010 to 451 visitors in September of 2011. We have gained three new partners in the Great Basin Landscape Conservation Cooperative, the Association for Fire Ecology, and the National Wildfire Coordinating Group's Fire Behavior Subcommittee. We continue to receive positive feedback about our efforts from evaluations as well as unsolicited emails and phone calls from members of the Great Basin management and research community.

Publications

• LeQuire, Elise. 2011. Knowledge Exchange: A Two-Way Street. Fire Science Digest, Joint Fire Science Program, August 2011