Heidi Huber-Stearns

Social-ecological enabling conditions for payments for ecosystem services

The concept of “enabling conditions” centers on conditions that facilitate approaches to addressing social and ecological challenges. Although multiple fields have independently addressed the concept of enabling conditions, the literature lacks a shared understanding or integration of concepts. We propose a more synthesized understanding of enabling conditions beyond disciplinary boundaries by focusing on the enabling conditions that influence the implementation of a range of environmental policies termed payments for ecosystem services (PES). Through an analysis of key literature from different disciplinary perspectives, we examined how researchers and practitioners refer to and identify enabling conditions within the context of PES. Through our synthesis, we identified 24 distinct enabling conditions organized within 4 broad themes: biophysical, economic, governance, and social-cultural conditions. We found that the literature coalesces around certain enabling conditions, such as strong ecosystem science and existing institutions, regardless of disciplinary background or journal audience. We also observed key differences in how authors perceive the direction of influence for property type, program objectives, and number of actors. Additionally, we noted an emphasis on the importance of the contextual nature of many enabling conditions that may cause certain conditions to have a disproportionate impact on successful implementation in some circumstances. Unraveling the relative importance of specific enabling conditions in diverse contexts remains a research frontier. Ultimately, no single disciplinary perspective is likely to provide all necessary insights for PES creation, and given the intertwined nature of enabling conditions, practitioners need to consider insights from multiple dimensions. Our work suggests opportunities to better connect diverse conversations through integration of concepts, a common vocabulary, and a synthetic framework.

Adaptation to a landscape-scale mountain pine beetle epidemic in the era of networked governance: the enduring importance of bureaucratic institutions

The authors sincerely thank our interviewees for sharing their time and perspectives with us. Thank you to Tony Cheng for supplying data on CBBC membership. Thank you to Kelly Jacobson for assistance with Figure 4. This research is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant No. 1414041.

Global state and potential scope of investments in watershed services for large cities

Investments in watershed services (IWS) programs, in which downstream water users pay upstream watershed service suppliers for actions that protect drinking water, are increasing in number and scope. IWS programs represent over

Sharing contracted resources for fire suppression: engine dispatch in the Northwestern United States

170 million of investment in over 4.3 million ha of watersheds, providing water to over 230 million people. It is not yet fully clear what factors contribute to the establishment and sustainability of IWS. We conducted a representative global analysis of 416 of the world’s largest cities, including 59 (14%) with IWS programs. Using random forest ensemble learning methods, we evaluated the relative importance of social and ecological factors as predictors of IWS presence. IWS programs are more likely present in source watersheds with more agricultural land and less protected area than otherwise similar watersheds. Our results suggest potential to expand IWS as a strategy for drinking water protection and also contribute to decisions regarding suitable program locations.Investment in watershed services programs is growing, however the factors that contribute to sustainability of such programs are unclear. Here the authors use a large database of cities around the world to show that payment schemes are more likely to be present in watersheds with more agricultural land and less protected areas.

Western Oregon forest landowner beliefs about the outcomes of mandatory riparian buffer regulations

As demand for wildfire response resources grows across the globe, a central challenge is developing new and flexible systems and capacity to ensure that resources needed for fire response arrive when and where they are needed. Private contractors have become increasingly important in providing equipment and services to support agency wildfire suppression needs in the USA. Understanding the capacity of contracted resources for federal agency fire suppression needs is critical for preseason fire planning and response. Using National Resource Ordering and Status System data, we examined Northwest region engine dispatches from 2008 to 2015. The number of times and days engines were out on assignments increased over the study period, and dispatch centres routinely shared engines within and outside their geographic area. However, in 2015, not all of the available engines were recorded as utilised at peak demand during one of the largest fire seasons in the Northwest. This study provides insight into the ways in which fire managers share important resources such as engines and the information they have available to make decisions during an incident, and raises questions about what the right amount of capacity is to be able to respond in extreme fire years.

Transdisciplinary research on environmental governance: A view from the inside

ABSTRACT Research about nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowners’ perspectives on voluntary conservation-based programs continues to proliferate. However, there is a gap in understanding NIPF landowner perspectives about the social and ecological outcomes of mandatory conservation-based regulations. We sent questionnaires to Oregon NIPF landowners to understand their beliefs about potential outcomes of proposed state regulations that strengthen mandatory riparian buffer habitat protection requirements. Factor analysis and multiple regression techniques revealed the most important variables that influence those beliefs. Overall, respondents believed that the socioeconomic outcomes were negative and the ecological outcomes were neutral or slightly positive. Respondents with more conservative political attitudes who owned larger properties were more likely to believe that the outcomes would be negative. As the importance of maintaining property for future generations and increasing timber productivity increased, respondents believed the potential outcomes would be increasingly negative. As the importance of improving water quality, increasing carbon storage, and improving recreational use on the property increased, respondents believed that the outcomes would be increasingly positive. We discuss management and policy implications, including communication strategies aimed at engaging with NIPF landowners to highlight the purpose and potential outcomes of forest and riparian management regulations.