Background: In January, February, and March of this year, RVCC convened a series of peer learning sessions on the implementation of the Forest Service's Wildfire Crisis Strategy (WCS) together with partners from the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network, the Forest Stewards Guild, the Northern Colorado Fireshed Collaborative, and the Northern Arizona University Ecological Restoration Institute. The series, funded by the Forest Service State Private and Tribal Forestry, focused on perspectives from on-the-ground implementers in WCS investment landscapes, creating space to share challenges and opportunities, generate ideas, and build support networks. We were thrilled to hear that the series also functioned as a space of solidarity and hope building for folks working at the ground level of this monumental and unprecedented effort.
Why this work matters to RVCC: Friends of RVCC will know that the crisis of wildfire in the American West is a pressing and immediate priority for many RVCC coalition members, and for RVCC's staff. In many areas of the West, wildfire is the major threat to the landscapes, communities, and resources that our nation relies upon. RVCC has a long history of work in areas like collaborative forest management and wildfire policy, and we're dedicated to the idea that this crisis can be addressed through collaboration that centers rural communities and holistically supports economies based on stewardship of landscapes and resources. We're honored to have supported peer learning and network development for Forest Service partners and local staff involved in implementing the WCS.
Some main points we heard loud and clear throughout the series:
While the unprecedented pace and scale of WCS goals are a challenge that implementers need support in addressing, there are promising solutions being discussed and demonstrated across the West. For example, improvements were seen from multiple methods of increasing coordination and communication between different scales of collaboration for strategy, planning, and implementation.
Balancing priorities developed through overlapping initiatives is essential, and large-scale initiatives that overlap with local initiatives are most effective and durable when they build from those local relationships and priorities.
While acknowledging that the agency faces constraints stemming from legislative uncertainty and statutory language, many participants wished for more transparency from the agency, citing uncertainty in funding amounts, allocation methodology, and reliability, as significant barriers to sound and efficient decision making, respectful collaboration, and more.
The WCS is a historic effort in its magnitude and many other factors, but also reflects a common agency strategy of collaborative implementation of national priorities within focal areas in order to achieve landscape-scale impacts. The WCS can benefit from the learnings of other such efforts, and future such efforts can benefit from the learnings of the WCS. Furthermore, real-time opportunities to share and problem solve with peers, transparent accounting of investments, and internal and external feedback opportunities enhance this learning within initiatives, and enable the harvesting of lessons to apply broadly.
Please share this document with anyone who might be interested, and don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions to cole@ruralvoicescoalition.org