OUTCOME: Capacity

Problem

There are not enough qualified restoration professionals, at all levels, to assist small private landowners, community groups, Tribes, and public agencies with planning and implementing community and ecosystem resilience projects at the pace, scope, and scale necessary to meet state, regional, and local goals.

Solution

Professional Development - Provide support, training, and peer mentoring for restoration professionals who can plan and implement community and ecosystem resilience projects.

Background and Context

There is an increased need for hazardous fuel management and community and ecosystem resilience projects. A major barrier to increasing the pace, scope, and scale of this work is the lack of local technical expertise and qualified professionals in the region who can plan and manage these projects and provide technical assistance to private landowners and CBOs. There are not enough restoration professionals of all kinds (Tribal land managers, restoration ecologists, Registered Professional Foresters (RPFs), fire ecologists, hydrologists, biologists, environmental planners, civil, geotechnical, and environmental engineers, engineering geologists, GIS specialists, experienced heavy equipment operators, NRCS Technical Service Providers, etc.) who can plan and design science-based hazardous fuel management and ecological restoration projects on the scale that is needed. Another problem is the disconnect between the restoration practitioner community (both public and private) and Tribal practitioners (Tribal Historical Preservation Officers, Tribal archaeologists, Tribal cultural fire practitioners, etc.). Non-Tribal experts can be reticent to share information with or to recognize the local expertise of Tribal experts in Indigenous knowledge and practice and the application of TEK. Opportunities for these groups to connect, develop respect for one another’s knowledge, and for western professionals to learn from Tribal experts would help to bridge that gap.

The science guiding hazardous fuel management and restoration and resilience planning is rapidly evolving, and restoration professionals need support, training, and peer mentoring opportunities to stay current with the latest scientific findings. For forested areas, restoration plans for nonindustrial forests are different from industrial forest plans, which often focus on maximizing the productivity of commercially desirable species. Outside of tree plantations, reforestation and habitat restoration plans should be designed to maximize ecosystem functions and incorporate a wider diversity of species, including hardwoods, plants providing forage and cover for wildlife, and species of cultural importance to Tribal communities. Restoration planning and implementation should result in healthy, diverse forests that are resistant and resilient to wildfire and other extreme events, consisting of clumps and clearings, gaps, and spatial and structural heterogeneity. Spatial information and scientifically informed planning are critical to restoring ecosystems that will function well in the face of extreme events and climate change (Prichard et al, 2021; for more detail see Forest Stewards Guild Policy Statement: Silviculture for Planted Areas (2021), and Policy Statement: Silviculture for Natural Forests (2019).

Recommendations

NCRP will continue and expand its long-term program to identify technical assistance needs in the region, and contract with technical service providers who can assist local landowners and CBOs with planning and implementing community and landscape resilience projects. NCRP will work with scientists and technical advisors to create and disseminate ecologically based information for the design of restoration and reforestation projects. This may include guidance documents, manuals, templates, toolkits, and sample plans for different ecotypes that can be adapted to local conditions.

NCRP will seek funding to support the ongoing professional development of restoration professionals at all levels. Part of creating a pipeline of restoration professionals involves formal educational, job training, and apprenticeship programs as described in the Capacity – Workforce Development Solution. Another component includes providing a clearinghouse of research, manuals, reports, best practices, and other information, and providing regular working groups, workshops, trainings, and peer mentoring opportunities for Tribal and non-Tribal restoration professionals to learn from one another, stay up to date with scientific findings (including Indigenous knowledge and practice and TEK), and incorporate best practices into their restoration planning work. A regional professional development program modelled on the American Forests Career Pathways Initiative would help increase the number and expertise of restoration professionals in the North Coast region. 

Actions

Through regular solicitations and RFPs, maintain and expand NCRP’s pool of qualified technical assistance providers who can assist local groups and landowners with planning and implementing community and ecological resilience projects (See Capacity – Technical Assistance Solution).

Develop a restoration professional workforce pipeline through supporting training and mentoring programs via community colleges, Tribal training programs, job training/apprenticeship programs, job placement programs, and formalized professional mentoring programs that prioritize support for underrepresented groups (see Capacity – Workforce Development Solution).

  • Support internal Tribal GIS data steward positions, local data storage capacity, and effective utilization of data and tools so that Tribes can control the sharing of sensitive location data (See Capacity – Data & Planning Solution).

Support policies that fund and foster greater collaboration between scientists and Tribal practitioners to enhance restoration outcomes and incorporate Indigenous knowledge and practice and TEK into restoration planning.

Sponsor and conduct training and outreach for RPFs and other restoration professionals to ensure that they are up to date on the best science for hazardous fuel management, habitat restoration, sustainable forest management, and reforestation.

Support NCRP’s technical assistance consultants and Tribal practitioners providing technical assistance in the region to attend relevant conferences and trainings when they do not have agency or institutional support to do so.

Support cross-training and cross-certification for qualified restoration professionals, including supporting RCD and CBO staff in training and certifying as NRCS Technical Service Providers (TSPs) to facilitate their ability to help landowners access federal funding for local projects.

  • Guidelines for successful reforestation design & planting strategies (i.e., spacing, species selection and diversity, density dependent on abiotic factors, etc.).
  • Guidelines for coordination of genetically appropriate and location appropriate plant materials.
  • Guidelines should include use of early, frequent prescribed fire for management and maintenance.
  • Guidelines for objectively measuring results with standardized regional monitoring methodologies.
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