Lessons from Ohio Interagency Forestry Team & Wayne National - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Lessons from Ohio Interagency Forestry Team & Wayne National Forest Plan Assessment Carrie Gilbert Forest Supervisor, Wayne National Forest 22 September 2020

Ohio Interagency Forestry Team Leadership

Ohio Interagency Forestry Team Members • USDA • Ohio Department of Natural Resources • Natural Resources Conservation Service • Division of Forestry • Forest Service State & • Division of Wildlife Private Forestry • Forestry Cooperative • Forest Service Northern Extension Research Station • Ohio State University • Forest Service Wayne • Central State University National Forest Forest Service Eastern Region

Forestry Team Origin and History • 2000 Ohio first to use • 2015-2017 USDA FS/NRCS Joint Chiefs’ EQIP for Forestry Restoration Partnership • 2006 NRCS & Ohio Div. of for Collaborative Oak Forestry Management in SE Ohio Partnership/Agreement • 2018 Ohio Interagency • 2007 National Joint Forestry Team Forestry Team • 2019 business plan • 2008 Ohio Joint Forestry signed Team • 2020 Joint Chiefs’ final report posted • 2010 Two Chiefs’ www.fs.usda.gov/wayne Partnership Award

Southeast Ohio Oak Management Priority Forest Area

Need for interagency coordination • 43% forest resource is here • Ohio crossroads for invasive species • 76% land base family woodland owners • 10 State Service Foresters and 2 Extension Specialists for entire priority forest area • Public lands checkerboard ownership and loss of forest land spatial integrity

Inter eragency cy Bus Busines ess Model odel • Structure and process: team charter, various agreements • Communication and Outreach: coordinated both internally and externally • Regional Science Framework: data, tools, training • Landscape-scale conservation strategies: implementing across boundaries • Collaborative or Participatory Leadership • Adaptive management: grounded in Project Management Standards

Interagency Business Plan • Goal 1: operational process • Alignment with State Forest Action Plan framework • Goal 2: coordination communication and outreach • Goal 3: regional science framework • Goal 4: Hocking Plateau Shared Stewardship Project Area

Keys t to o Succ Succes ess Business Model is working: • Liaison position critical • Team charter: agency leaders’ sponsorship, regular meetings, right size and focus, adjust as needed • Participatory leadership is key • Adaptive management approach (baseline collaboration metrics have been established) → Provides atmosphere and relationships to enable connection of strategic planning frameworks

Cha Challenges es Field level engagement and coordination Forestry planning frameworks not always aligned Expanding partnerships beyond the agency team

Plan Alignment – Forestry Agencies Ohio’s Forest Action Plan Wayne NF Forest Plan State Forest Mgt Plan Private Lands Programs

Plann nning ng C Coordina nation: n: Oh Ohio F Forest A Action P n Plan U n Upda date & & Wayne ne N NF P Plan n Asses As essm smen ent P t Pha hase se • Ohio DNR specialists participated on the Wayne NF Planning Team • Ohio Interagency Forestry Team provided coordination • Sharing data and research • Consistent interpretation and terminology • Key science messages • Different processes but collaboration & communication key

Lessons learned • Ohio Interagency Forestry Team business plan bridged the scale between SFAP and Wayne NF Plan assessment • Timelines and processes very difficult to align • Forestry Team relationships helped make opportunistic connections

Lessons learned: connections made • SFAP Assessment vetted with Wayne NF Plan Assessment specialist reports for Ecology and Fire • Ohio FAP priority area representing Forestry Team focus area • Forestry Team focus area became Wayne NF Plan assessment analysis area

Ohio Priority Forest Areas and Forestry Team Focus Area

Lessons Learned: tools and data sharing examples • Ecomapping for SE Ohio • Pre-settlement vegetation data synthesis • Position paper in support of using oak dominated forest instead of oak-hickory

Les essons ons in pr n progres ess: moni nitoring ng • Carry criteria and indicators forward into SFAP strategy document • Adopt criteria and indicators as organizing framework for Forestry Team business plan • SFAP Implementation: develop connections between strategies, criteria and indicators and finer level metrics • Interagency broad-scale monitoring framework? • Inform monitoring section of WNF Planning framework?

Les essons ons in pr n progres ess: SF SFAP a and nd Wayne N NF P Planni ning ng • SFAPs can really inform and help set the stage for National Forest Management Plans • SFAP implementation lends itself to making it a “living document” until next planning cycle comes around • Planning timelines and processes don’t often match up • Identifying and understanding the connections can be complex but worthwhile!

More lessons to come! Our key positions to facilitate this effort: Jarel Bartig Ohio Interagency Liaison Shared FS and NRCS position Tom Macy ODNR Forest Planner Forest Health Program Administrator Stephanie Downs ODNR NRCS Liaison The Future of Oak is in Our Hands