(The Center Square) – Two Oregon State University faculty are lead authors on a report that attempts to combine “Indigenous Knowledge” and Western science to “inform future climate-adapted land management decisions across the United States,” according to OSU.
The authors contend that their recommendations include “practical and cultural management interventions that could help avert the loss of thousands of acres of old-growth forest,” according to a release.
Cristina Eisenberg and Michael Paul Nelson of OSU and fire ecologists Susan Prichard of the University of Washington and Paul Hessburg of the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station, co-authors of the report contend that Tribal stewardship practices like thinning and burning should be considered in future land management decisions by the U.S. Forest Service.
The Forest Service had an interest in better understanding the potential connection between Indigenous Knowledge and Western science in land management planning.
“Our forests are in grave danger in the face of climate change,” Eisenberg, the College of Forestry’s associate dean of inclusive excellence, said. “By braiding together Indigenous Knowledge with Western science, we can view the problems with what is known as Two-Eyed Seeing to develop a path forward that makes our forests more resilient to the threats they are facing. That is what this report is working to accomplish.”
Eisenberg, a Native American, serves as the Maybelle Clark Macdonald Director of Tribal Initiatives for the college; Nelson is a professor of environmental philosophy and ethics.
Eisenberg, Prichard, Nelson, and Hessburg led an interdisciplinary team of over 40 scholars and practitioners in creating “Braiding Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science for Climate-Adapted Forests: An Ecocultural State of Science Report.”
“Climate change is stressing these forests even as they are considered for their potential role in slowing rates of climate change,” Prichard said in the release. “We want this report to provide not just guidance, but also hope – hope in the practical measures we can take now to promote resiliency and help forests thrive.”
The document recommends different forest management approaches that vary based on the region.
“We are very interested in understanding how Indigenous Knowledge can be used in combination with Western science to improve our management of all forest conditions, including old growth,” Forest Service Deputy Chief Chris French said. “This report is a big step in improving our understanding of how to do that.”
The agency asked for help from OSU to host a roundtable series to start the process of getting info from Tribal experts to begin the co-stewardship described in the report.
The authors said that changes in management and the thinking that goes into policies and practices are necessary to ensure that North America’s mature and old-growth forests stay resilient.
The authors added that federal policy, including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, features direction to “weave Indigenous Knowledge with western science while supporting treaty rights, advancing co-stewardship and promoting cultural practices into land management decision making,” according to the release.
“The future of our forests is dependent upon a new way of thinking in how we have conserved, managed, and stewarded forests in North America,” co-author Tom DeLuca, dean of the OSU College of Forestry, said in the release. “The recommendations in this report are one step in the direction of how we are evolving forest management and stewardship toward greater climate resilience.”
The core writing team features Tribal members and Forest Service personnel, plus faculty from the North Carolina State University, the University of Missouri, the University of Idaho, the University of Minnesota, the University of Arizona, the University of California, and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
“Two powerful ideas we heard from our Indigenous colleagues in developing this are those of reciprocity and the seven generations principle. Collectively, the writing team agrees that we can frame a more sustainable land ethic with these ideas,” Hessburg said. “These perspectives guided our recommendations, which suggest taking from the land and giving back in equal measure, and proactively stewarding these lands with seven generations in mind.”
The Resources Legacy Fund, the 444S Foundation, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the Wilburforce Foundation also helped fund the report.
