As public lands continue to experience rapid change brought on by fire, invasive species, and climate change, there is a growing need for science-management partnerships to apply innovative research, technology and adaptation strategies at an accelerated pace.
Using funding from USGS and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, USGS and DOI land management agencies are creating the Innovation Landscape Network to apply advanced technology, modeling, and coproduction of knowledge to address changing fire risks and climate resilience with fuel treatment strategies.
An initial pilot landscape was established in SE Arizona including lands of San Carlos Apache Reservation, Buenos Aries NWR, Saguaro Nation Park, Bureau of Land Management and partners in the Alter Valley. Each Innovation Landscape node is challenged with testing new technology, such as terrestrial laser monitoring, evaluating advanced modeling tools of fire behavior or ecosystem response, and supporting research to improve our understanding of treatment effectiveness, adaptation strategies, and accomplishment of land management goals. In addition to fire risk modeling and fuel treatment effectiveness monitoring, funding from USGS Climate Adaptation Science Centers is being leveraged to understand how landscape scale treatment strategies can rapidly adapt to increase the resilience of these ecosystems.
Also critical to the success of this Network are USGS social science research teams working with DOI agencies, tribal partners, and adjacent communities to understand values at risk and how to prioritize treatments to increase community resilience. The Innovation Network will grow in the coming years as nodes are added in ecosystems across the US in partnership with JFSP, USFS, and DOI Bureaus. While recognizing all successful adaptation is local, the innovative solutions to the challenges addressed in each node is a learning opportunity to share successes and efficiently bring new tools and approaches to support managers at a pace required to address environmental change.
- Overview
As public lands continue to experience rapid change brought on by fire, invasive species, and climate change, there is a growing need for science-management partnerships to apply innovative research, technology and adaptation strategies at an accelerated pace.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Pronghorn in a grassland on the San Carlos Apache Reservation. Five pronghorn are grazing on the rolling hills. Using funding from USGS and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, USGS and DOI land management agencies are creating the Innovation Landscape Network to apply advanced technology, modeling, and coproduction of knowledge to address changing fire risks and climate resilience with fuel treatment strategies.
An initial pilot landscape was established in SE Arizona including lands of San Carlos Apache Reservation, Buenos Aries NWR, Saguaro Nation Park, Bureau of Land Management and partners in the Alter Valley. Each Innovation Landscape node is challenged with testing new technology, such as terrestrial laser monitoring, evaluating advanced modeling tools of fire behavior or ecosystem response, and supporting research to improve our understanding of treatment effectiveness, adaptation strategies, and accomplishment of land management goals. In addition to fire risk modeling and fuel treatment effectiveness monitoring, funding from USGS Climate Adaptation Science Centers is being leveraged to understand how landscape scale treatment strategies can rapidly adapt to increase the resilience of these ecosystems.
Also critical to the success of this Network are USGS social science research teams working with DOI agencies, tribal partners, and adjacent communities to understand values at risk and how to prioritize treatments to increase community resilience. The Innovation Network will grow in the coming years as nodes are added in ecosystems across the US in partnership with JFSP, USFS, and DOI Bureaus. While recognizing all successful adaptation is local, the innovative solutions to the challenges addressed in each node is a learning opportunity to share successes and efficiently bring new tools and approaches to support managers at a pace required to address environmental change.