NORTHWEST FOREST PLAN
ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT AREA NETWORK
STRATEGY AND PLAN OF WORK

7/15/2001 Update

Introduction 

The 1994 Northwest Forest Plan signaled the importance of adaptive management by establishing 10 Adaptive Management Areas in western Oregon, western Washington and northern California.  Each area has a focus, a specific local strategic plan, and has implemented activities consistent with their purpose.  The state purpose of the Adaptive Management Areas is: “to encourage the development and testing of technical and social approaches to achieving desired ecological, economic and other social objectives.”

Patterned after a business plan, this Plan focuses scarce resources allocated for adaptive management on activities that can best meet AMA goals and objectives.  With this focus, the AMA network can be expected to be a more effective participant with our agency leadership, key partners, elected leaders, interested citizens, communities and interest groups.

The Work Plan focuses on working as a network.  Working independently has proven to be a barrier to realizing the goals and benefits outlines in the Northwest Forest Plan.  Designed to be a dynamic framework for working across landscapes, the Forest Plan directs the agencies to reach desired forest, watershed, and community conditions important to many species, including people.

Our Mission Values and Vision

Mission Statement: We are a network of working laboratories, using science-manager-citizen interaction to develop, test, and learn how people and ecosystems can thrive.  We share this knowledge and experience with others throughout the world.

Values Statement: We value adapting, innovating, risk taking, collaborating, learning, experimenting, and taking a landscape perspective now and for the future.

Vision Statement: We envision the AMA Network as a model of intentional learning about ecosystems, embracing adaptive management, so that lessons are emulated freely both nationally and internationally.

Our Goals

• Promote the development, testing and implementing of new approaches across landscapes and ownership boundaries to meet Northwest Forest Plan objectives.
• Serve as world class models for sustainable forests and communities through education, mutual learning, local community capacity building and designing of new approaches to land management that integrate social, economic and ecological objectives.
• Promote enduring citizen/scientist/manager relationships to achieve Adaptive Management Network and Northwest Forest Plan purposes.
• Develop information and learning delivery systems to ensure that lessons learned are being effectively transferred by leaders/scientist/managers to meet the AMA Network mission, values, vision and goals.

Situation Analysis

Strengths

A clear mission statement from the Northwest Plan Record of Decision
Committed AMA coordinators and scientists
Wide range of people with experience, skills and public outreach- support interest with a hope that AMAs will make a difference
AMA lessons learned can influence decisions
Emphasis on applied research
Opportunity for institutionalized change
Great research partnership (universities, public, PNW, Ranger Districts, Bureau of Land Management Field Office and National Forest/BLM Districts
Flexibility
Adaptive Management Mission

Weaknesses

Scarce resources and limited agency budgets to meet AMA intent, needs, and demands
Disconnect between regional and field leadership/management levels for scientist and managers
Disparate customers
Difficulty in funding long-term research and monitoring
Limited marketing ability that is needed for leveraging resources and support with key players and communities of interest and place
Time gap between documentation of lessons and wide-spread application in the field outside of AMAs
Limited BLM and Forest Service personnel with adaptive management-specific knowledge, familiarity, and comfort, which affects ability to transfer lessons and keep people focused on importance, role, and opportunities that AMAs can provide

Opportunities

Motivated scientist/managers, knowledge thirsty citizens, employees and interest groups
Innovative leaders and community supporters live the promise of AMAs land base on which to experiment and learn
Improved technology systems for communication, learning and and networking
Focuses collaboration capability
University and International Model Forest interest in what we are learning
Social values and environmental awareness in media and citizenry

Threats

Political and key personnel changes
Decreasing agency budgets and increasingly complex questions/demands
Agency apathy

Our Objectives

By examining our purpose including the missions, values, and vision statements and the goals in light of the situation analysis, we developed the following objectives for the foreseeable future.  These objectives are the core elements from which we determined specific actions and work programs for the AMA network that will help us to meet stated goals.

Testing

1. Identify priority needs for learning and for testing Northwest Forest Plan standards, guidelines and assumptions and determine most appropriate testing sites to design annual AMA network programs of work that are responsive to these needs.

Sharing

1. Regularly report and celebrate accomplishments and progress and recommend changes to Northwest Forest Plan objectives, standards/guidelines, assumptions, and associated work processes for regional and local field executive decision-making.

Working With Others

1. Determine clear regional and field leadership science/management responsibilities for championing and mentoring the AMA Network, Associated activities and plan of work.
2. Seek out citizens, organizations and key leaders who are interested and capable of bringing commitment and resources into the AMA network to meet the mission, vision, goals, objectives and annual work program priorities.

Short-term Actions

Following are 2001 actions needed to meet AMA Network objectives:

Testing and Learning

1. Engage RIEC/IAC in a dialogue to gain their advice and support for the AMA Network Business Plan and then finalize the plan by the end of June 2001.
2. Review Stankey and Bormann’s assessment of the AMA network to help determine needed follow-up actions, Summer 2001.
3. Develop calendar year 2002 program of work by November 2001.
4. Seek one significant grant proposal/opportunity that furthers the AMA Network mission, goals, objectives and capabilities.

1. Initiate work on the “Adaptive Management Portal," which is being developed in cooperation with the Oregon Graduate Institute with a National Science Foundation supporting grant.
   1. Identify user needs through workshops and interviews.
   2. Contribute to the development of a Demo through (a) identification of key words in three domains for use in the ‘demonstration:’ vegetation species; place names; and planning terms (NEPA, NFMA. FLPMA, FOIA, Appeals and litigation); and (b) identifying typical documents and their “card catalogue” information.
   3. Host two computer science apprentices to work with further refinement of the prototype; one in Portland working in GIS and one in Wenatchee working on document storage and retrieval.
2. Organize one AMA Network field trip/meeting in June 2001 to be hosted by the Olympic AMA.
3. Conduct one AMA Network annual meeting to review 2001 program work and any recommendations to regional and field-level management for Northwest Forest Plan or work process changes by end of calendar year 2001.
4. Field AMA Line Officers/Scientists select one or two case study examples/needs and bring the learning forward to affect changes in work processes and approaches to meet AMA goals.
5. Regional Leadership (RIEC) host a celebration event with AMA partners and participants to recognize the work completed and progress made during calendar year 2001, December 2001.

1. AMA Network partners update on “boundary spanners” initiative/AMA roles.
2. Determine regional and field leadership AMA Network champions and mentoring responsibilities, June 2001.
3. Field leaders determine AMA workforce orientation need and develop a package for such purposes, September 2001.
4. Effectively engage regional/field-level U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, EPA and National Marine Fisheries Service people in AMA dialogue and participation, May/June 2001.
   

Summary

When the Adaptive Management Network was established in 1994, expectations were high.  AMAs and the network are uniquely positioned to explore multiple pathways in sustaining forests and communities.  There have been many stand-alone AMA projects that have met the expectations and goals.  Our advantage lies in the ability to provide credible, high quality information on sustainability.  We have talented and committed AMA coordinators, scientists, agency staff and managers.  Networks have been established, as well as learning forums that are popular and well attended/used. This business plan targets on what we want and need to do within the resources allocated to the AMA Network.  We are hopeful and committed to the goals of this network.