Date Initiated:

• 2005

Description:

A stakeholder needs assessment was initiated in 2005 to provide a foundation for the White Mountains Landscape Assessment, a collaborative, science-based approach to landscape-scale restoration planning. The needs assessment included interviews with twenty stakeholders, and a presentation and feedback session with another ten individuals, in east-central Arizona. Interests represented in the interviews included, among others:

• U.S Forest Service
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Arizona Game And Fish Department
• Tribal interests (White Mountain and San Carlos Apache Tribes)
• Environmental/conservation interests
• Local users of public land
• Landowners
• Local government

These interviews formed the basis for a report which outlined the major concerns, interests, and opportunities for a collaborative landscape assessment. The Forest Ecosystem Restoration Analysis (ForestERA) team used these results to guide their data gathering and spatial modeling construction for the White Mountains Landscape Assessment. The needs assessment provided a crucial link between on-the-ground management needs and scientific information provided by the academic community.

Some of the major concerns identified through this process include:

• Watersheds, wildlife, and economics were the three top stated concerns of White Mountains stakeholders when discussing landscape-scale forest restoration.
• Concerns with fire, insects, and tree density were also important; these acted as “baseline” issues for nearly all interviewees.
• Pinyon-juniper management and regulation of off-highway vehicles (OHVs) were also major concerns for many.
• Many interviewees felt that arriving at a common understanding of the concept of “forest restoration” was an important first step.

Project Status:

Interviews were conducted from February through April of 2005, and the needs assessment report was completed in June. You may view the final report if you wish.

The White Mountains Landscape Assessment (WMLA) stakeholder workshop was held October 25th through the 27th, 2005 at "The Gathering Place" in Pinetop-Lakeside. The purpose of the workshop was to bring a diverse group of stakeholders from the White Mountains region of east-central Arizona together to collaboratively offer recommendations for landscape-scale restoration using data and modeling tools developed by the Forest Ecosystem Restoration Analysis (ForestERA) project at Northern Arizona University. Find out more by clicking here.

Publications:

• Abrams, J. 2005. Report on a needs assessment for collaborative landscape planning in the White Mountains of Arizona. Social Science Research White Paper. Ecological Restoration Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ. 54 pp.
• White Mountain Landscape Assessment Data Atlas.