NEON Intermountain Region Observatory Network (IRON)
Basin and Range, Steppe and Land Transition (BAR SALT)
Great Basin Research and Management Partnership (GBRMP)
The following information comes from the CABNR (College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources, University of Nevada, Reno website.
The Problem: Ecosystems and Species at Risk
Expanding population centers
Climate change
Limited water resources and periodic droughts
Degrading watersheds
Invasive species
Altered fire regimes
Human use: recreation, over grazing, energy development, mining, etc.
Declining water and soil quality
The Nature Conservancy considers the Great Basin to be North America's third most endangered ecosystem
The Rationale:
Despite past and ongoing research efforts, many Great Basin issues are of such complexity and scale that many critical research issues remain
To address these issues, research and management collaboration is needed to reduce overlap, increase efficiency, and leverage funding
There has been turnover among key managers, researchers and education leaders, and there is a need to develop new connections and explore collaborative opportunities
While other Great Basin workshops have focused largely on science needs and individual programs, this workshop builds on previous work and focuses on increasing our ability to effectively collaborate and develop specific implementation plans to obtain needed science information
The Vision: Multi-disciplinary, multi-organizational teams working together to develop solutions to critical ecological and socio-economic issues in the Great Basin using management and research frameworks.
The Workshop Objectives:
Acknowledge and celebrate the existing collaborative research and management programs
Increase awareness and understanding of the activities of the major research and management groups working within the Great Basin and foster both collaboration and communication
Review critical management needs
Share research capabilities and foster collaborations
Develop mechanisms, including an implementation plan, to improve coordination of management and research activities through a collaborative approach
The Workshop Products:
A synthesis of management and research issues from past meetings, planning docs, etc., that will be posted on the web site prior to the meeting and included in participants packets.
A spreadsheet and graphic of major research programs in the Great Basin and their linkages to one another that will be posted on the web site prior to the meeting and included in participants packets.
Syntheses of the breakout sessions that will include ideas about developing Great Basin research programs, constraints to collaboration, and approaches to
organization and communication. Follow-up action items and assignments will be included.
The Intended Audience: The intended audience includes federal, state, tribal, and local government land and resource management agencies; federal, state and local government legislators and officials; federal, state, university, and non-governmental researchers; and other partners of interest.
Contact Information:
Dr. Jeanne Chambers, workshop chair jchambers@fs.fed.us; (775) 784-5329