New report ‘braids’ Indigenous and Western knowledge for forest adaptation strategies against climate change

By James Urton
University of Washington
April 10, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

A report by a team of 40 experts outlines a new approach to forest stewardship that “braids together” Indigenous knowledge and Western science to conserve and restore more resilient forestlands. The report provides foundational material to inform future work on climate-smart adaptive management practices for USDA Forest Service land managers. “Our forests are in grave danger in the face of climate change,” said Cristina Eisenberg, an associate dean of forestry at Oregon State University. “By braiding together Indigenous knowledge with Western science, we can view the problems with what is known as ‘Two-Eyed Seeing’ ”. Eisenberg co-led the report team with Susan Prichard, a fire ecologist at the University of Washington. …Other members of the core leadership team are Paul Hessburg, a senior research ecologist with the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station, and Michael Paul Nelson, a professor and director of the Center for the Future of Forests and Society at OSU.

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