Strategic framework: a new decade of impact and innovation.
Abstract
This strategic framework brings the next 5 to 10 years of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research station in focus. The PNW Research Station oversess forest and rangeland science programs in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington - one of the most diverse regions in the USA. Beginning in 1925, the station has contributed decades of new knowledge to the world on the nature of complex forest ecosystems, from microorganisms in the soil to lichens at the tops of the tallest trees. Recent station findings affirm the value and significance of a long-term view of ecological systems in addressing broad, cross-ownership issues like climate change and wildfire. Few other research institutions have comparable opportunities to capture the long-term variability in forest and range ecosystems given the station's experimental land-based assets, which include 12 experimental forests, a volcanic national monument, 98 research natural areas, and more than 25 larger scale studies across the region. This strategic framework provides discussion on the following research emphasis areas: climate change, inventory and monitoring, natural disturbance, resource management and landscape resilience, and socioeconomic dimensions.