1566004S
ACTIONABLE SCIENCE THEME PATHWAYS FOR SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL ADAPTATION TO INCREASING WILDFIRE ACTIVITY STATE AND FEDERAL LAND MANAGERS, CONSERVATION ORGANIZATIONS, NGOS, AND THE PUBLIC ARE FACED WITH IMMENSE CHALLENGES RELATED TO HOW WE ANTICIPATE AND RESPOND TO INCREASING WILDFIRE ACTIVITY IN THE NORTH CENTRAL CASC (NC CASC) REGION AND BEYOND. FOR EXAMPLE, CLIMATE CHANGE AND HUMAN ACTIVITIES ARE COMPOUNDING TO RESULT IN MORE SEVERE HUMAN AND ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF WILDFIRES (E.G., HOME AND STRUCTURE LOSS, ECOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION). KEY QUESTIONS CENTER AROUND ELUCIDATING THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS ON ECOLOGICAL AND HUMAN SYSTEMS, AND IDENTIFYING ACTIONABLE PATHWAYS FOR MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION TO CHANGE. FOR EXAMPLE, MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ARE BEING INVESTED IN REDUCING FIRE HAZARD IN FOREST ECOSYSTEMS ACROSS THE WESTERN UNITED STATES, INCLUDING THE NC CASC REGION. MANAGERS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS NEED INFORMATION TO HELP PRIORITIZE HOW AND WHERE THESE EFFORTS CAN BE FOCUSED, AND WHAT EXPECTATIONS ARE REALISTIC FOR FUTURE OUTCOMES. BROADLY, THIS SCIENCE THEME LINKS TO A NUMBER OF USGS/DOI PRIORITIES FOCUSED ON FIRE IMPACTS AND MANAGEMENT OPTIONS, ECOSYSTEM TRANSFORMATION, RESILIENCE TO EXTREME EVENTS, AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF ECOLOGICAL DROUGHT. IMMEDIATELY ACTIONABLE SCIENCE RELATED TO THIS THEME: INTEGRATING RISK OF WILDFIRE-CAUSED CARBON LOSS INTO PRE- AND POST-FIRE PLANNING POSTDOC JAMIE PEELER IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON WAYS TO HELP AGENCIES AND COMMUNITIES DEVELOP PLACE-BASED ASSESSMENTS THAT INFORM FOREST AND FIRE MANAGEMENT PLANNING. HER WORK PROVIDES PLACE-BASED ASSESSMENTS FOR THREE WESTERN US LANDSCAPES, INCLUDING ONE WITHIN THE NC-CASC REGION. IT COMBINES SCIENCE, LOCAL KNOWLEDGE, AND PRE-WILDFIRE STRATEGIC PLANNING TO MITIGATE THE RISK OF WILDFIRE-CAUSED CARBON LOSS. THE PROJECT WILL PRODUCE A FRAMEWORK FOR ESTIMATING CHANGES TO CARBON BUDGETS UNDER SCENARIOS OF WILDFIRE, PRESCRIBED FIRE, MECHANICAL TREATMENTS, AND OTHER HAZARD MITIGATION ACTIONS. THIS WORK WILL ALSO PRODUCE A PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLE TO SHOWCASE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CARBON OUTCOMES AND THEIR POTENTIAL TRADE-OFFS WITH OTHER HIGHLY VALUED RESOURCES AND ASSETS (HVRAS). SCENARIOS FOR MITIGATING WILDFIRE-CAUSED HOME AND STRUCTURE LOSS THE FRAMEWORK UTILIZED IN THE ABOVE PROJECT CAN ALSO BE DIRECTLY APPLIED TO PRIORITIES FOCUSED ON MINIMIZING WILDFIRE-CAUSED HOME AND STRUCTURE LOSS. THIS WORK WILL EXPAND ON RECENT WORK FOCUSED ON QUANTIFYING HOW SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL FACTORS ARE CONTRIBUTING TO ELEVATED HOME AND STRUCTURE LOSS ACROSS THE WEST AND NC-CASC REGION. CO-PI HIGUERA, POST DOC PEELER, AND A MS STUDENT WILL WORK WITH INTERESTED PARTIES TO HELP DEVELOP FUTURE SCENARIOS THAT HELP ELUCIDATE TRADE-OFFS BETWEEN MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION ACTIONS (E.G., MODIFYING THE HOME ENVIRONMENT TO REDUCE FLAMMABILITY; TAKING ACTION TO REDUCE ACCIDENTAL HUMAN-RELATED IGNITIONS). SUPPORT AND MENTORING FOR EARLY CAREER SCIENTIST CURRENT POSTDOC DR. JAMIE PEELER EARNED HER PHD IN SPRING 2021. STARTING HER THIRD YEAR AS A POSTDOC, SHE IS STARTING THE TRANSITION TO AN INDEPENDENT RESEARCH SCIENTIST. PARTICIPATING IN THE NC CASC WILL HELP EXPOSE HER TO IMPORTANT CAREER DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES, WHILE HELPING SHAPE HER CURRENT WORK IN A WAY THAT WILL HELP MAKE IT MORE BROADLY APPLICABLE OUTSIDE OF THE USFS (A CURRENT PROJECT FUNDER), INCLUDING USDI AGENCY PARTNERS AND BEYOND. HOSTING A CONSORTIUM MEETING AND CLIMATE SCIENCE TRAINING WORKSHOPS UM HAS FACILITIES ON CAMPUS AND IN NEARBY FIELD STATIONS (E.G., FLATHEAD LAKE BIOLOGICAL STATION) THAT ARE WELL SUITED TO HOST A CONSORTIUM MEETING OR TRAINING WORKSHOP. HIGUERA WOULD BE HAPPY TO WORK WITH NC-CASC PERSONNEL TO HELP ORGANIZE AND HOST A CONSORTIUM MEETING OR SCIENCE TRAINING WORKSHOP. PARTICIPATION AND CO-DEVELOPING SCIENCE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES HIGUERA WILL PARTICIPATE IN CONSORTIUM PARTNERS AND THE NC-CASC LEADERSHIP TEAM AS FRUITFUL, AND POSTDOC PEELER WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO DO SO AS WELL. LIKEWISE, THE CORE UM
University Of Montana
Cooperative Agreement G24AC00632
$30.3k 10/10/24 1566006S
PART 1: LEVERAGE WORK WITH WESTERN ASSOCIATION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES (WAFWA) AND STAKEHOLDERS TO IDENTIFY AND IMPLEMENT CONSERVATION PRIORITIES ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS. COPI DAVIDSON WILL USE A PORTION OF CP FUNDS TO SUPPORT A RECENT EFFORT TO IDENTIFY PRIORITY AREAS FOR GRASSLAND CONSERVATION THAT CENTER ON THE PRAIRIE DOG ECOSYSTEM AND OVERLAP WITH PRIORITIES FOR BISON RECOVERY. THIS WORK HAS BEEN PART OF THE WESTERN ASSOCIAÔ ON OF FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIESÂ GRASSLAND INIÔ AÔ VE, AND A COLLABORAÔ VE EFFORT AMONG COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY, USDA AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE, HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES, KANSAS BIOLOGICAL SURVEY, COLORADO NATURAL HERITAGE PROGRAM, WORLD WILDLIFE FUND, THE NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVAÔ ON SERVICE, AND WAFWÂ S PRAIRIE DOG CONSERVAÔ ON TEAM (REPRESENTED BY EACH STATEÂ S GAME AND FISH DEPARTMENT). THE CP FUNDING WILL ENABLE DAVIDSON TO ORGANIZE AND PARÔ CIPATE IN BIMONTHLY MEEÔ NGS AND A TWO-DAY IN-PERSON MEEÔ NG (2024) WITH STAKEHOLDERS TO IDENÔ FY THE TOP PRIORITY AREAS ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS AND CONSERVAÔ ON ACÔ ONS NEEDED TO IMPLEMENT THOSE TARGETS ON THE GROUND. ONCE IDENÔ FIED, DAVIDSON AND COLLABORATORS WILL SEEK FUNDING TO SUPPORT THE INIÔ AÔ VES NEEDED TO REALIZE THE ON-THE-GROUND CONSERVAÔ ON GOALS. THESE INIÔ AÔ VES WILL INCLUDE FUNDING TO PROMOTE HUMAN-WILDLIFE COEXISTENCE, SUCH AS GRASSBANKS, COMMUNITY OUTREACH, AND ECONOMIC INCENÔ VES AS WELL AS FUNDS FOR CLIMATE ADAPTAÔ ON, PLAGUE MIÔ GAÔ ON (TO MAINTAIN PRAIRIE COLONIES AND BLACK-FOOTED FERRETS), PURCHASING CONSERVAÔ ON EASEMENTS, AND FENCE REMOVAL. THE CONSERVAÔ ON PRIORIÔ ES FROM THIS WORK WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO THE CENTRAL GRASSLANDS ROADMAP EFFORT (HTPS://WWW.GRASSLANDSROADMAP.ORG/). CP FUNDING WILL ALLOW DAVIDSON AND STAKEHOLDERS TO: Â ¢ IDENTIFY PRIORITY AREAS ACROSS THE NORTHERN PRAIRIE [TIMELINE: OCTOBER 2024-APRIL 2025] Â ¢ IDENTIFY CONSERVATION ACTIONS NEEDED FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF PRIORITY AREAS [TIMELINE: APRIL 2025-OCTOBER 2025] Â ¢ FINDINGS WILL BE INCLUDED IN WAFWAS GRASSLAND INITIATIVE STRATEGIC PLAN [TIMELINE: DECEMBER 2025] Â ¢ SEEK FUNDING TO SUPPORT CONSERVATION ACTIONS IDENTIFIED [TIMELINE: OCTOBER 2025- SEPTEMBER 2028] Â ¢ OUR FINDINGS WILL BE PRESENTED AT BFFIT, GPCN AND NC-CASC PARTNERS MEETING, AS WELL AS OTHER REGIONAL CONFERENCES. [TIMELINE: APRIL 2025-OCTOBER 2026] PART 1 DELIVERABLES: Â ¢ PROPOSAL(S) TO SEEK FUNDING FOR IMPLEMENTING PRIORITY AREA CONSERVATION Â ¢ WAFWAÂ S GRASSLAND INITIATIVE STRATEGIC PLAN, UPDATED PRAIRIE DOGS. DAVIDSON PROPOSES TO USE THE OTHER PORTION OF CP FUNDS TO BUILD ON HER RECENTLY FUNDED NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION RESEARCH AIMED AT UNDERSTANDING PLAGUE RESISTANCE IN PRAIRIE DOGS. PLAGUE IS PROBABLY THE GREATEST THREAT TO THE PRAIRIE DOG ECOSYSTEM AND BLACK-FOOTED FERRET RECOVERY. IT IS A NON-NATIVE DISEASE, TO WHICH PRAIRIE DOGS HAVE LIMITED IMMUNITY. CONSEQUENTLY, PRAIRIE DOG COLONIES COLLAPSE DURING PLAGUE EPIZOOTICS, WITH CASCADING DECLINES IN ASSOCIATED SPECIES. HOWEVER, SOME PRAIRIE DOGS IN SOME PARTS OF THEIR RANGE HAVE BEEN SHOWING SOME SIGNS OF RESISTANCE TO PLAGUE. THE CP FUNDS WILL BE USED TO EXPAND DAVIDSONÂ S CAPACITY TO COLLABORATE WITH REGIONAL PARTNERS (USGS, NPS, TRIBES, USDA-ARS,NGOS, AND STATE AGENCIES) TO OBTAIN SAMPLES FROM EXISTING RESEARCH EFFORTS AND ANALYZE AND SYNTHESIZE DATA FROM THIS RESEARCH. ADDITIONALLY, NSF FUNDS WILL SUPPORT ONE DOCTORAL STUDENT ON THE PROJECT, A FIELD TECHNICIAN, AND A SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE TO CONDUCT MARK-RECAPTURE SAMPLING OF PRAIRIE DOGS AT SEVERAL LONG-TERM SITES AS WELL AS COLLECTING TISSUE SAMPLES FROM PRAIRIE DOGS ACROSS THE RANGE OF BLACK-TAILED AND GUNNISONÂ S PRAIRIE DOGS. THE NSF PROJECT INCLUDES FUNDS FOR NATIVE AMERICAN STUDENTS TO WORK ON THE PROJECT IN THE SOUTHERN PLAINS; DAVIDSON WILL USE CP FUNDS TO HIRE A NATIVE AMERICAN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT EACH SUMMER TO WORK WITH THE FIELD CREW WORKING ACROSS THE NORTHERN PRAIRIE. CP FUNDING WILL BE USED TO: Â EXPAND ON REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS FOR FIELD SAMPLING
Colorado State University
Cooperative Agreement G24AC00632
$56.4k 10/15/24