I'm writing about an idea I've been developing based on interest in effective community based natural resource management and conflict resolution.
To elaborate... Last summer and this summer I worked as a seasonal for the Forest Service as a biological technician conducting vegetation surveys. I worked for the Range Conservationist, and all of the monitoring occurred in benchmark areas on the allotments throughout the district. The results were used to adapt livestock management to improve sustainability. The monitoring was completed last year & this year... all went well. What I realized over time, though, was how dysfunctional the collaboration between specialists is within the office. There is a long standing distrust between the range & timber specialists and the wildlife/fisheries/& hydrology specialists. To the extent that they detest the bi-annual ID team meetings that they're required to hold to plan out the annual grazing management plan & range projects. They often avoid working together in the field and when I presented my findings in the most recent team meeting, the room was tense and little to no progress was made for the annual management planning. This is, of course, unfortunate since forest service lands are a huge and valuable resource available to us. It has great potential when managed well, but when management is lacking or dis-jointed, this land can quickly become degraded. But, I am very interested in the potential of this situation. It seems like a great opportunity for a 3rd party mediator to step in and work with the team to better work together and assess the current issues that prevent them from doing so effectively. Other benefits of involving a third party mediator include: - development of a strong monitoring plan, - provide funding (via grants?) to accomplish the monitoring so the FS doesn't need to further exhaust their already over-stretched budget, - involve external consultants to help realize management goals, - repairing (at least somewhat) the relationship between the specialists in the office by helping them work effectively together This idea is interesting to me and I'm currently trying to realize whether its feasible to make it happen. I know that without support in the office, it'll never get off the ground. They have to want help and to want to improve the present system. And from what I understand, they do have that desire. I've already spoken about my idea to the wildlife biologist, range conservationist, and the nrcs specialist who works in the office. They are all in support of the idea and open to outside mediation. I'm wondering if it would be possible to make a grad school project out of this. I think there is a lot to be learned from this experience. It would likely be a more credible venture if it were backed by a university/professors with the support of previous experience and accumulated knowledge. And it would be great to work on this project while also taking classes to build my ecological knowledge. Are there professors available who work in both human dimensions and natural resources? I'm interested in input regarding this project's feasibility to turn it into a grad project (which is my preference). If that's not a possibility, then working I'm interested in doing grant research to fund this project independently. Are there non-profits out there that specialize in environmental monitoring & conflict resolution? Thanks for your time! - Wendy McBride Range Ecologist wendmcbr...@gmail.com
