Source: UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA submitted to
RESEARCH, CAPACITY BUILDING, AND TRAINING FOR MEETING THE CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGES IN WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN ALASKA
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
NEW
Funding Source
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1018914
Grant No.
(N/A)
Project No.
ALK19-03
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Mar 11, 2019
Project End Date
Sep 30, 2023
Grant Year
(N/A)
Project Director
Trainor, SA.
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA
(N/A)
FAIRBANKS,AK 99775
Performing Department
Natural Resources Management
Non Technical Summary
This proposal for Hatch Regular, long-term funding directly addresses the two core Hatch UAF theme areas of Natural Resources and Community Development and Climate Change and Ecosystem Management. The work centers around advancing the field of sustainability science, building capacity in rural Indigenous communities in Alaska for climate change adaptation and planning, and meeting the information needs of wildfire managers in Alaska. The project goals are to:Advance theoretical and practical knowledge of sustainability science/ use-inspired research/ stakeholder engagement.Develop research, tools, training, and partnerships that build capacity and advance rural community development that is fully informed by changing climate, ecosystems, and natural resourcesPromote and develop integrated undergraduate and graduate research conducted in partnership with stakeholders.The corresponding key target audiences are: 1) the scientific community studying the theory and process of conducting use-inspired basic research to advance sustainability science, 2) rural Indigenous communities in Alaska and the organizations that serve them, 3) the wildfire and land management community in Alaska, 4) UAF students.Project goal 1 will be achieved with the assistance of a post-doctoral research fellow and a PhD student through qualitative and quantitative research methods including internet and literature searches, document analysis, semi-structured directed interviews, surveys, focus groups and group interviews known as historical scan. Project goal 2 will be achieved through on-going PI partnership with the BIA Tribal Climate Liaison and the assistance of a cadre of student interns. Project goal 3 will be achieved through PI training, revising core curriculum to include class projects with practical application, and establishing a sustainability science student internship program. Project evaluation will be conducted by an evaluation specialist in the UAF Cooperative Extension Service, with specific emphasis on student learning outcomes. Products include peer-reviewed papers, fact-sheets, videos, websites, databases and at least one leveraged peer review proposal. The work proposed here will benefit the State of Alaska by 1) providing management and policy-relevant science outreach and delivery products, 2) promoting the development of knowledge co-production between University scientists and State agencies, 3) enhancing the knowledge, awareness and application of wildland fire science for land and wildfire management, 4) increasing the capacity of rural communities in climate adaptation and planning.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
34%
Applied
33%
Developmental
33%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
13260993080100%
Knowledge Area
132 - Weather and Climate;

Subject Of Investigation
6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
3080 - Sociology;
Goals / Objectives
This project takes a three-pronged approach including research, community development, and education.1. Research: This research aims to advance the theoretical and practical knowledge of sustainability science, use-inspired research, and stakeholder engagement. Outlined here are the three research goals and related research questions.Research Goal 1: Increase our understanding of the processes and mechanisms that produce actionable science specific to wildfire management and climate change adaptation in Alaska.Research Questions: With specific case studies of the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy and the Alaska Fire Science Consortium we will inquire: What actions, activities, skills and processes promote translational ecology and use-inspired science? What barriers have been experienced and how have they been overcome? What evidence exists for boundary spanning and science communication to be a driver of landscape change? What are the specific mechanisms by which this can occur?Research Goal 2: Advance the theory and tools available for evaluating use-inspired science, translational ecology, and knowledge co-production in the context of wildfire and climate change in Alaska.Research Questions: In the context of wildfire management and climate change adaptation in Alaska, do perceptions of success in use-inspired science, translational ecology, and knowledge co-production differ between scientists and practitioners or stakeholders? If so, how? What metrics of success are most salient for each constituency? How can meaningful economic metrics be created and assessed? What are the most salient temporal scales for evaluation of boundary-spanning and knowledge co-production?Research Goal 3: Assess the status of knowledge co-production training in the USA. Develop and test experimental training curricula for implementation.Research Questions: What training programs exist to build capacity among both scientists and practitioners for increased development of knowledge co-production in climate adaptation and adaptive management? Who are the primary audiences? What skills are taught? What evaluation metrics are used? Are cross-cultural collaborations between local Indigenous knowledge and academic science included? If so, what do they cover and how?2. Community Development: Build capacity and advance rural community development in Alaska that is fully informed by changing climate, ecosystems, and natural resources3. Education: Promote and develop integrated undergraduate and graduate research conducted in partnership with stakeholders.
Project Methods
The research proposed here will proceed in close collaboration with identified partners and stakeholders. Specific research questions and tasks will be pursued through a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods including internet and literature searches, document analysis, semi-structured directed interviews, surveys, focus groups and group interviews known as historical scan (Bernard 1995; Miles and Huberman 1994; Strauss and Corbin 1990; Earl et al 2001). Qualitative data will be transcribed and coded using software such as NVivo or Atlas TI. All research involving human subjects will be approved by the UAF Institutional Review Board in advance.

Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20

Outputs
Target Audience:The audiences reached in the reporting period are: 1. Rural Indigenous communities in Alaska were targeted through collaborations with the BIA Tribal Climate Liaison, for the DOI Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center. Other Tribal groups were engaged as part of post-doctoral fellow's work related to workforce development. Additionally the community of Kake, Alaska was heavily involved in efforts related to water monitoring. 2. The wildfire and land management community in Alaska were targeted through existing relationships with the Alaska Fire Science Consortium (AFSC). Specific agencies involved include federal (BLM Alaska Fire Service, National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, BLM Lands, Bureau of Indian Affairs, US Forest Service, US Geological Survey) and state (Department of Natural Resource, Division of Forestry, Alaska Department of Fish & Game). Native Non-Profit Organizations including Chugatchmiut, the Association of Village Council Presidents, and Tanana Chiefs Conference are also key wildland fire constituents, as is the Alaska Wildland Fire Coordinating Group and their sub-committees such as the Research Development and Application Committee and the Fire Behavior and Modeling Group. 3. UAF graduate and undergraduate students are a target audience. In this reporting period we worked with students in the Natural Resource Management and Northern Studies programs. We also continued dialog with the Rural Development department which serves Alaska Native students. Changes/Problems:Covid-19 has restricted travel both to rural communities and to local, regional, national, and international conferences and gatherings. Work has continued virtually when possible but some gatherings and presentations have been postponed until in-person events are again feasible. It has beenextremely difficult to manage project funds and plan for graduate student and post-doctoral projects because we did not know whether funds could be carried over until the very end of the fiscal year. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?2020 Juneau Innovation Summit: Business in a Changing Climate On invitation from the Director of the Juneau Economic Development Council, Trainor and others played a prominent role leading the 'Business in a Changing Climate' track of the Juneau Business Innovation Summit-February 2020. Based in the state capital, the summit hosted a diverse array of talks, work sessions, and experiences designed to foster relationships and inspire new perspectives. Sarah Trainor worked extensively with summit organizers to organize the climate change track, facilitate an "ask an expert '' deep dive session, and lead an exercise to help businesses think about climate impacts and possible innovative responses. Learning from one another The Business Innovation Summit provided a venue for participants to learn from experts, as well as each other. The Summit was a success in raising awareness within the Juneau business community of the myriad of research and resources ongoing at the University of Alaska and the resources the University has to offer. The response to the "ask the expert" deep dive session was overwhelmingly positive and it is hoped will foster more engagement and connections with business leaders and the economic sector in Southeast Alaska. Trainor et al. were invited to give subsequent talks but in-person engagement has been put on hold due to the COVID-19 situation. Overall this was a valuable relationship building experience and Trainor intend to continue engaging future Summits and with participants we connected with during the conference. Workforce Development Adelheid Herrmann, post-doctoral fellow began work on building the capacity of rural communities to respond and adapt to climate change. Many of the Tribes in rural Alaska have been working on an adaptation, resilience, and mitigation planning process, and this project addresses the capacity of these Tribes to carry out and implement their planning processes. The major themes examined in the context of climate resilience are: 1. Tribal economic and workforce development, 2. Tribal governance, and 3. Protocols related to research in rural communities. In Alaska, there are often many individuals, research groups, NonGovernmental Organizations (NGOs), Tribes, and Tribal organizations working independently on issues of climate change, but they do not communicate with one another. We refer to this as the 'silo effect.' Within the themes noted above, Herrmann will examine and offer solutions to the 'silo effect' within organizations working on climate change and adaptation methods in order to help support Tribes planning for their future. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Postdoctoral Fellow E. Figus has met and presented more than 6 times with project partners in Kake Alaska to share information and coproduce research objectives and methods. She continues to work closely with project partners to make sure all information is shared and accessed in a fair and equatible manner. Additionally she has presented to school groups in Kake and at the Alaska Marine Science Symposium (AMSS). Postdoctoral fellow A. Herrmann is an active participant in many Indigenous working groups. She continues to collect information and synthesis and share with the various region, statewide, and international working groups she is part of. Indigenous PhD student M. Rudolph continues to lead a successful Traditional Ecological Knowledge webinar series where information on co-production is shared across the University of Alaska system as well as to a broader public and agency audience. Her work on the process of co-production is ongoing and will be shared at a later date. Indigenous MS student E. Burk meets on an on-going basis with tribal leadership and community members about her research and projects. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Work will continue as possible under current covid-19 restrictions and guidelines.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Impacts Outcomes in this project reporting period are: Project Accomplishments Goal 1: increase our understanding of the processes and mechanisms that produce actionable science specific to climate change adaptation in Alaska. CLIMATE KNOWLEDGE CO-PRODUCTION WITH KAKE, AK The Tribe and community in Kake, Alaska, are concerned about how the surrounding ocean waters and marine ecosystems are impacted by global climate change in conjunction with local stressors. Elizabeth Figus, postdoctoral fellow, is carrying out a climate change case study using an Indigenous partnership co-production process. This summer, there is an unprecedented low marine traffic, especially cruise ship traffic, due to cancellations and travel restrictions put in place as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Project partners are taking advantage of this low level of marine traffic to document baseline data about ocean waters around Kake. ACCAP, the Organized Village of Kake, and Kake Tribal Corporation aim to document key climate and pollutant indicators (e.g., pH, salinity, temperature, nutrients, dissolved metals, fecal coliform) that may affect the cleanliness and safety of ocean waters and shellfish around Kake. Goal 3 part 2: Workforce Development Indigenous post-doctoral fellow, Adelheid Herrmann,began work on building the capacity of rural communities to respond and adapt to climate change. Many of the Tribes in rural Alaska have been working on an adaptation, resilience, and mitigation planning process, and this project addresses the capacity of these Tribes to carry out and implement their planning processes. The major themes examined in the context of climate resilience are: 1. Tribal economic and workforce development, 2. Tribal governance, and 3. Protocols related to research in rural communities. In Alaska, there are often many individuals, research groups, NonGovernmental Organizations (NGOs), Tribes, and Tribal organizations working independently on issues of climate change, but they do not communicate with one another. We refer to this as the 'silo effect.' Within the themes noted above, Herrmann will examine and offer solutions to the 'silo effect' within organizations working on climate change and adaptation methods in order to help support Tribes planning for their future. Goal 3: Indigenous Food Security, Health and Well-Being Indigenous graduate student Eva Burk expanded previous work on Indigenous village food soveriegnty and security, especially related to using biomass to provide heat for buildings and greenhouses, if applicable. COVID-19 played a part in delaying some work that was planned. Burk also spent the summer living onthe land at a remote site, building a traditional fishcamp and working with other members of her village community. Initial research questions were developed and research interviewees identified.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Kettle, N.P., Walsh, J.E., Heaney, L. et al. Integrating archival analysis, observational data, and climate projections to assess extreme event impacts in Alaska. Climatic Change (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-020-02907-y
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Postdoctoral fellow E. Figus presented at the Society of Applied Anthropology Meeting.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2021 Citation: Brown, C., S.F. Trainor, C.N. Knapp, N. Kettle (Under Review) Alaskan wild food harvester information needs and adaptation strategies. Ecology and Society.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Abdel-Fattah, Dina. 2020. Stakeholder Needs and Information Use in Cryospheric Hazard Planning and Response: Case Studies from Alaska. University of Alaska, Fairbanks. https://search.proquest.com/openview/b40d3b4c3d216b27440551caa3d26907/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y    


Progress 03/11/19 to 09/30/19

Outputs
Target Audience:Theaudiences reached in the reporting period March 11, 2019 to Sept 30, 2019 are: Rural Indigenous communities in Alaska were targeted through collaborations withthe BIA Tribal Climate Liaison, for theDOI Alaska ClimateAdaptation and Science Center. The wildfire and land management community in Alaskawere targeted through existing relationships with the Alaska Fire Science Consortium(AFSC). Specific agencies involved include federal (BLM Alaska Fire Service, National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, BLM Lands, Bureau of Indian Affairs, US Forest Service, US Geological Survey) and state (Department of Natural Resource, Division of Forestry, Alaska Department of Fish & Game). Native Non-Profit Organizations including Chugatchmiut, the Association of Village Council Presidents, and Tanana Chiefs Conference are also key wildland fire constituents, as is the Alaska Wildland Fire Coordinating Group and their sub-committees such as the Research Development and Application Committee and the Fire Behavior and Modeling Group. UAF graduate and undergraduate students are a target audience. In this reporting period we worked withstudents in the Natural Resource Management and Northern Studies programs. We also initiated dialog with theRural Development department which serves Alaska Native students. Changes/Problems:This reporting period was the first six months of the project (March 11, 2019 - Sept 30, 2020). Hiring students and post-doctoral fellows was slow to get off the ground because postings for the position came out in late spring, when many students and graduates have already secured positions. I have students and post-docs on board now so things will be moving forward from here. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In collaboration with the Alaska Fire Science Consortium (AFSC) a workshop was presentedfor wildland fire and land managers (state, federal, Native) in Alaska to make the most up-to-date and relevant fire science relevant and applicable in their work. (March 27, 2019, Fairbanks, Alaska). This workshop focused on risk assessment methods, tools andcurrent projectsincluded presentations and discussionon: spatial and temporal tools for fire risk assessment, Chugach risk assessment process and HVRA (Highly Valued Resources and Assets) assessment, STARFire budgeting and its shortcomings in risk assessment, resiliency and vulnerability of boreal forest habitat to the interaction of climate and fire disturbance, rapid assessment using UAS for habitat and fire risk, and managing fire hazard, potential and risk. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In collaboration with the Alaska Fire Science Consortium (AFSC) a workshop was presentedfor wildland fire and land managers (state, federal, Native) in Alaska to make the most up-to-date and relevant fire science relevant and applicable in their work. (March 27, 2019, Fairbanks, Alaska). This workshop focused on risk assessment methods, tools andcurrent projectsincluded presentations and discussionon: spatial and temporal tools for fire risk assessment, Chugach risk assessment process and HVRA (Highly Valued Resources and Assets) assessment, STARFire budgeting and its shortcomings in risk assessment, resiliency and vulnerability of boreal forest habitat to the interaction of climate and fire disturbance, rapid assessment using UAS for habitat and fire risk, and managing fire hazard, potential and risk. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?This reporting period was the first six months of the project. Since Sept 30, 2019, two post-doctoral research fellows, a Ph.D. student, a masters student and one additional undergraduate have been hired. These personnell are working to accomplish project goals in research and community development. Specifically, they are investigating evidence for boundary spanning and science communication as a driver of landscape change, how to conduct and evaluate knowledge co-production on climate related research in partnership with Alaska Native tribes, bridging scientific and local traditional knowledge in climate change adaptation planning in rural Alaska villages, the process of creating a local climate action plan in an urban setting (lessons learned, challenges/barriers, coalitions, communication strategies). Project goals in education will be acheived in the fall semester 2020 with a hands-on project-based curricullum for NRM 647 - Global to Local Sustainability taught at UAF.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Impacts Outcomes in this project reportingperiod are based on the workshop with fire managers held March 27, 2019 in collaboration with the Alaska Fire Science Consortium(AFSC). These outcomesinclude increased awareness of available products, increased awareness among scientists of current management needs, and increased awareness among both scientists and managers of opportunities for collaboration and of funding sources relevant to fire science. Project Accomplishments Research. Addressing Goals (1) & (2)above:In this reporting period the project lead published a peer-reviewed article analyzing the history, process and mechanisms by which translational ecology, also known as knowledge co-production, are achieved in bridging the wildfire management and science communities. The publication analyzes the actions, activities, skills and processes that promote use-inspired science as well as thebarriers experienced and overcome.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Colavito, M., S.F. Trainor, N. Kettle, A. York (2019) Making the Transition from Science Delivery to Knowledge Co-Production in Boundary Spanning: A Case Study of the Alaska Fire Science Consortium. Weather, Climate, and Society. DOI: 10.1175/WCAS-D-19-0009.1