Southwest Community Needs Assessment
Date Initiated:
- 2001
Description:
The goals of this effort were: (1) to characterize community-based forest restoration in the Southwest – how many groups, their characteristics, goals, activities; (2) identify challenges and needs these groups are facing; and (3) identify preferred forms of technical assistance.
To answer these questions, we interviewed 33 individuals from 30 communities in Arizona and New Mexico that are involved in forest restoration or fuels reduction. Most of these individuals were coordinators or representatives of community groups, but some were private forest contractors or businesspeople.
At the time of the interviews (2002-2003), there were 25 community groups and three regional networks focused on forest restoration or fuels reduction. Three general types of rural southwestern communities are involved in community-based forest restoration efforts, falling generally along ethnic lines: Native American Tribal communities, Hispano land grant communities, and rural, formerly timber-dependent, Anglo-American communities. They commonly focus their forestry efforts on three broad goals: restoration and fuels reduction; economic development; and building social capital.
These groups report a number of technical assistance needs, as follows:
- Funding to buy the necessary equipment and to pay for the work that needs to be done.
- Overcoming policy challenges, including confusion over contracting mechanisms; failure to complete NEPA review in a timely manner; and an inconsistent supply of timber which makes economic sustainability particularly challenging.
- Utilization and marketing to create and sustain an economic base for restoration work.
- Collaboration and conflict resolution skills to address ongoing conflict and animosity with environmentalists and learn how to work better with agencies.
- Public education to help homeowners understand the need for thinning and the importance of defensible space.
By far the preferred way of getting information is individual, face-to-face consulting. Several respondents stressed that communities’ information needs are highly site-specific and quite technical. If face-to-face, site-specific input is not available, the next best option is a newsletter or short technical guides sent by direct mail. Email and web sites are not recommended, as many working in this field either do not have Internet access or don’t have time to consult online material. There is some interest in workshops and field tours, though several mentioned time cost and cite an inability to get away from work. There is limited interest in either a directory or a regional network; most say they are already well networked or that they wouldn’t use it.
Project Status:
This project was completed in 2004.