2013 Science Delivery Highlights
Tribal Liaisons Connect Science and Traditional Knowledge
Collaboration enhances natural resource management on tribal lands and beyond
Many tribal communities are closely tied to the health and productivity of natural resources which are vulnerable to environmental threats such as insect outbreaks, destructive wildfires, and climate change. The Southern Research Station (SRS) is taking an active role to improve access to research that supports tribal resource management. An Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center tribal member and biological scientist and an Integrating Human and Natural Systems in Urban and Urbanizing Environments research forester serve as the Station’s Tribal points of contact (POCs) who share scientific information and tools with tribes.
Through partnerships with United South and Eastern Tribes, To Bridge A Gap conference, Intertribal Timber Council, and American Indian Science and Engineering Society, SRS science delivery efforts help tribal resource managers develop science-based resource management actions that address environmental concerns and improve tribal sovereignty. Partnerships also create opportunities for tribes to share traditional knowledge to inform regional- and national-level resource management questions, and Station POCs ensure that traditional knowledge of culturally significant plants is preserved and protected under tribal authority. Relationship building and two-way dialogue between forest researchers and tribes is ongoing; together, science and traditional knowledge may help solve the nation’s most complex environmental issues.
Right: A tribal land manager fells a tree in the Menominee Forest, Wisconsin
External Partners/Collaborators: United South and Eastern Tribes; Intertribal Timber Council; American Indian Science and Engineering Society; various tribes
Contact: Serra Hoagland, Eastern Threat Center biological scientist, (928) 556-2190, sjhoagland@fs.fed.us; Wayne Zipperer, SRS research forester, (352) 376-4576, wzipperer@fs.fed.us
