Source: UNIV OF CONNECTICUT submitted to
EXPANDING FOREST RESOURCE EDUCATION FOR MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
EXTENDED
Funding Source
RREA
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0216077
Grant No.
(N/A)
Project No.
CONSDICKSON-TBD
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 15, 2008
Project End Date
Sep 30, 2011
Grant Year
(N/A)
Project Director
Dickson, D.
Recipient Organization
UNIV OF CONNECTICUT
(N/A)
STORRS,CT 06269
Performing Department
Cooperative Extension
Non Technical Summary
CLEAR's National NEMO Network, in partnership with the USDA CSREES Forestry Program (through the RREA NFF program) and the U.S. Forest Service, launched the Forest Resources Education for Municipal Officials (FREMO) project in 2006 to augment traditional forestry outreach practices with new educational tools and approaches targeting local land use officials. FREMO was initiated in recognition of the fact that land use patterns are posing threats to the sustainability of our nation's forests though the conversion, fragmentation and parcelization of our forestlands. As highlighted in the 2004 Strategic Plan for the State Federal Partnership to implement the Renewable Resources Act, because local officials have decision making authority over where and how communities grow, there is a need to inform them about the benefits forests provide so that those benefits can be preserved during the land use planning process. Through this project we are developing educational programs and materials to meet this goal.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
13106993020100%
Knowledge Area
131 - Alternative Uses of Land;

Subject Of Investigation
0699 - Trees, forests, and forest products, general;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;
Goals / Objectives
The University of Connecticut's Center for Land use Education and Research (CLEAR), through its National NEMO Network program, will continue and expand the Forest Resource Education for Municipal Officials (FREMO) project. The goal of this effort to develop educational programs and materials for land use officials focused on integrating the forested landscape and the benefits it provides into the land use planning process.
Project Methods
This third phase of the FREMO project will build upon the first two phases by more fully engaging the forestry community in educating local officials, while also promoting further development and replication of FREMO initiatives among National NEMO Network Members. Major tasks of this phase include: (1) expand use and replication of FREMO materials through the National NEMO Network; (2) engage forestry community through partnerships, materials, and workshops; and (3) report on progress and early impacts of FREMO effort.

Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: FREMO pilot projects were conducted in 5 states - Vermont, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, & Connecticut. Each developed new educational materials focused on integrating forest resources into local land use planning efforts. In collaboration with Vermont's Urban & Community Forestry program, Vermont's NEMO program developed a curriculum to educate local officials on the importance of forest ands and forest cover in maintaining water quality and strategies for integration forest cover into land use and stormwater planning. The curriculum was presented in 4 community workshops, with more planned. Minnesota NEMO held a series of boat trips on Lake Superior for local officials and interested members of the public that focused on the connection between forests and the water quality in the Lake and its tributary trout streams. The trips included a presentation, assembled handouts, educational posters and evaluation results. In North Carolina, the NEMO program developed educational materials (handouts) focused on the economics of forests in community land use planning in collaboration with the extension forestry program at NCSU. The NEMO program has begun distributing the materials at workshops they provide on natural resource-based planning as well as including information on the community economic benefits of forestlands in their presentations on community planning. In Oregon, the NEMO program collaborated with the Oregon Department of Forestry on several FREMO related research & education projects. Past - Present - Future forest cover analysis was conducted for 4 pilot communities (1 coastal, 1 southwest, 2 cities outside of Portland). Workshops were held in 3 of the 4 communities to present the analysis. The team also hosted a state urban forestry conference in June, which included 2 presentations on the FREMO efforts. Work was begun on the creation of an Urban Tree Care Best management Practices publication. In Connecticut, a GIS-based Forest Fragmentation study was completed for the entire state using UConn CLEAR's land cover data. We began work on putting this data on line organized by town and watershed. Anyone with access to and knowledge of a web browser will be able to view the data for any town or watershed in the state. This resource will be launched in the early fall of 2009. A workshop was held at the National NEMO Conference in Pacific Grove, CA in October 2008 highlighting the progress, results and findings of each of the pilot projects and sharing the educational resources created with other NEMO Educators around the country. UConn CLEAR's Forest Fragmentation GIS tool was also introduced and explained during the workshop. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Educational materials developed by each of the pilots have been added to the resource library on the National NEMO Network website for use and adaptation by all members of the Network. In Minnesota & Oregon mini-grant funds were leveraged with other funds to expand the scope and reach of the initial pilot projects. 400 people participated in Minnesota's boat trips focused on the connection between forests and water quality. Over 90% of participants rated the presentations on the boat a 4 or 5 on a 1 to 5 scale. In addition, over half of the participants indicated that the information presented would help them take action in their community. In CT, multiple researchers and educators have used CT's forest fragmentation data for other forestland & habitat-based projects.

Publications

  • No publications reported this period


Progress 01/01/09 to 12/31/09

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Please refer to report for project # CONSDICKSON, accession # 0216106. PARTICIPANTS: Please refer to report for project # CONSDICKSON, accession # 0216106. TARGET AUDIENCES: Please refer to report for project # CONSDICKSON, accession # 0216106. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
Please refer to report for project # CONSDICKSON, accession # 0216106.

Publications

  • No publications reported this period