PARENT SESSION
Oral Session #50: Traditional Ecological Knowledge.
Presiding: J. Ford
Wednesday, August 7. 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM. Greenlee Meeting Room, TCC.
A design for multiple purpose data collection in pinyon, juniper and sagebrush ecosystems.
Hurteau, Matt*,1, Stoddard, Michael2, ALCOZE, THOM2, 1 University of California Davis, Davis, CA2 Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ
ABSTRACT- Ecological data collection and restoration treatment designs for ecosystems other than ponderosa pine are not established in the literature and yet are essential to fuels reduction, restoration and ecosystem rehabilitation in the Southwest. Pinyon, juniper and sagebrush landscapes are critical components of wildfire threat and fuels reduction in these varied plant communities becomes even more complex when diverse human communities intersect wildland in need of restoration. This research presents an ecological restoration project in pinyon, juniper and sagebrush ecosystems on the Kaibab Paiute Reservation that resulted in an innovative data collection plot design. The design reflected multiple purposes designated by the Kaibab Paiute Tribal Council and was generated in a unique adaptive management context by faculty and students from the Ecological Restoration Institute at Northern Arizona University. The data collection design, the process and protocols that led to it and the current status of the ecological restoration project will be presented. This research reflects the growing need for protocols to address community-based decision-making for ecological restoration, especially within Native communities where reservation lands are part of the Wildland Urban Interface.
KEY WORDS: restoration, model, adaptive management