Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station March 2015

United States Department of Agriculture

P A C I F I C 

N O R T H W E S T 

R E S E A R C H 

STATION Strategic

 Framework

A New Decade of Impact and Innovation
Our Mission:

The Pacific Northwest Research 

Station is a leader in the scientific 

study of natural resources. We 

generate and communicate 

impartial knowledge to help people 

understand and make informed 

choices about natural resource 

management and sustainability.

UNBRIDLED

CURIOSITY...
Contents

Introduction ............................................................... 1

Who We Are ............................................................... 2

Who We Serve ............................................................ 3

Trends and Issues ...................................................... 6

A Research Framework for the Future ................ 9

Science Strengths ..................................................... 10 Research Emphasis Areas ...................................... 14 Climate Change .................................................... 16 Inventory and Monitoring ................................. 20 Natural Disturbances .......................................... 22 Resource Management and 

Landscape Resilience ...................................... 28

Socioeconomic Dimensions .............................. 32

Conclusion ................................................................ 37

PNW Research Station Organization ................. 38

The Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is 

dedicated to the principle of multiple use management of the 

Nation’s forest resources for sustained yields of wood, water, 

forage, wildlife, and recreation. Through forestry research, 

cooperation with the states and private forest owners, and 

management of the national forests and national grasslands, 

it strives—as directed by Congress—to provide increasingly 

greater service to a growing Nation.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits 

discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of 

race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, sexual 

orientation, marital status, family status, status as a parent 

(in education and training programs and activities), because 

all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public 

assistance program, or retaliation. (Not all prohibited bases apply 

to all programs or activities.) 

If you require this information in alternative format (Braille, large 

print, audiotape, etc.), contact the USDA’s TARGET Center at 

(202) 720-2600 (Voice or TDD).

If you require information about this program, activity, or facility 

in a language other than English, contact the agency office 

responsible for the program or activity, or any USDA office. 

To file a complaint alleging discrimination, write USDA, Director, 

Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., 

Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call toll free, (866) 632-9992 

(Voice). TDD users can contact USDA through local relay or 

the Federal relay at (800) 877-8339 (TDD) or (866) 377-8642 

(relay voice users). You may use USDA Program Discrimination 

Complaint Forms AD-3027 or AD-3027s (Spanish) which can be 

found at: http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html 

or upon request from a local Forest Service office. USDA is an 

equal opportunity provider and employer. 

Photo: Ponderosa pine stand, central Oregon, © by Miles Hemstrom.

...SERIOUS

IMPACT
PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

1

The Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station (U.S. Department

of Agriculture Forest Service) oversees forest and rangeland science programs in 

Alaska, Oregon, and Washington—one of the most diverse regions in the United 

States. The region’s biodiversity is remarkable, with all five of the world’s biomes 

represented (aquatic, forest, grassland, desert, and tundra) 

as well as the climatic influence of the Pacific Ocean, the 

rainshadow effect of the Cascade Range, and the varied 

ecosystems of Alaska. The diverse people of the region 

live in growing cities as well as many rural communities.

This strategic framework brings the next 5 to 10 years of 

the PNW Research Station into focus. 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 our region.

Ponderosa pine stand.

Tom Iraci

Lichen on forest floor.

Connie Harrington

 View of Mount Adams from Mount Rainier, Washington. Photo by Steve Wondzell. Keith Routman

Introduction

Mount Jefferson, Oregon.
PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

2

The station is made up of highly trained personnel who draw 

upon one another and many partners. The core of our workforce is 

about 80 scientists whose expertise, often internationally recognized, 

is in the biological, physical, and social aspects of forests. Scientists 

work in teams that include highly trained specialists who prepare, 

conduct, and report on studies and integrate scientific knowledge 

into tools and communication products used by land managers, policymakers, 

and others. Together, about 300 people work to serve the public need for science 

information and technology. Station employees excel in reaching out to others in 

the wider community of natural resources. This community includes scientists and 

specialists at more than 75 universities as well as those in other government agencies, 

nongovernmental organizations, private industry, and other units of the U.S. Forest 

Service. We lend a hand in understanding how people can integrate science into 

decisionmaking, often across large, varied landscapes. Our work is reflected in how 

forests are managed throughout Alaska, Oregon, Washington, and other locations. 

Who

we

are

Seattle

Olympia

Wenatchee

Fairbanks

Anchorage

Juneau

Sitka

Corvallis Prineville

La

Grande

Seattle

Olympia

Wenatchee

Fairbanks

Anchorage



Juneau

Sitka

Portland

Corvallis Prineville

La

Grande

WASHINGTON

OREGON

ALASKA

The Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station is one of seven research units in the U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, Forest Service. The station’s headquarters are in Portland, Oregon. In 2015, we had:

Laboratories and 

research centers 

in Alaska, Oregon, 

and Washington 

11 Active experimental 

areas (forests, range, 

and watershed) 

12 Research 98 natural areas

Permanent and 

temporary 

employees 

301
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

3

Who

we

serve

We serve society. Knowledge of forests and the amenities they 

provide touches the lives of millions of people, including both 

city and rural dwellers. The station’s scope includes all public 

and private forests and rangelands. Whether it’s about the effects 

of wildfire on salmon habitat, the projected impacts of climate 

change, or the benefits of urban forests, the science we produce 

helps people from many interests make informed decisions, craft effective policies, 

manage land constructively, and participate in civic dialogue. Station stakeholders 

include land managers and policymakers from government agencies, Alaska Native organizations, American 

Indian tribes, nonprofit organizations, and private 

industry. We particularly aim to meet the needs of 

U.S. Forest Service land managers and specialists for 

up-to-date scientific information and tools.

Employees work with a host of partners and build on 

past scientific endeavors, as well as local and native 

understanding, to create knowledge of biological, physical, ecological, social, and 

economic relationships in forest and rangeland science. Traditionally, 

our research findings have been transferred to many audiences through 

peer-reviewed journals, printed reports, workshops, field tours, face-toface communications, and specially designed tools such as user-friendly 

computer programs. Every research program participates in science 

delivery to a set of stakeholders. The PNW Research Station also publishes 

a widely disseminated periodical (PNW Science Findings) to deliver science 

results to the user community. Moreover, we are increasing the use of 

electronic media to communicate our research broadly.

Research highlights from the past 5 years span a broad range of topics: identifying 

species conservation priorities including marbled murrelets, amphibians, and fishers; 

new findings on invasive plants such as Scotch broom, knotweed, and tamarisk; and 

forest insects and diseases such as amber-marked birch leafminer, black-stain root 

Frank Vanni

Opal Creek, Oregon.

The complex, diverse ecosystems of the Pacific 

Northwest are known for their stunning natural 

beauty. These landscapes attract people to live and 

work here. Our employees are our greatest asset, and 

we strive to create a safe, inclusive workplace so that 

people look forward to coming to work each day. 

Tom Iraci
PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

4

The station’s valuesset the tone for the work we do and 

our interactions with stakeholders. They provide the basis for deciding 

what research is needed and how best to conduct it. These values are to

 Reflect the highest standards and quality in our work.

 Provide unbiased scientific expertise and technology that 

make a difference for people and the natural resources on 

which they depend.

 Be responsive to urgent science information needs identified 

by society.

 Be accountable and deliver peer-reviewed science.

 Care deeply about the systems we live in and work for 

their betterment.

 Collaborate and communicate frequently with others to 

conduct, share, and apply research.

 Focus on the long term while serving today’s needs.

 Foster a supportive, inclusive, engaging, and safe workplace 

for a skilled and diverse workforce.

 Nurture the next generation of employees.

John Laurence

disease, and mountain pine beetle; new methods for quantifying carbon fluxes from 

terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in Alaska; and discoveries about the risks of debris 

flows. We have explored private landowner behavior in response to wildland fire risk 

and worked on salmon habitat recovery, the effects of riparian buffer management, 

and stream network modeling. Our science has helped shape 

how aquatic resources are managed in the Pacific Northwest 

and beyond. Our silviculture research has had a great influence 

on the economic well-being of the region and on the present 

characteristics of the region’s forests. And we are known in 

the forest products community as a preeminent source of 

information and guidance on sustainable harvest techniques, 

wood quality, timber markets, and biomass utilization. 
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

5

Removing a dam on the Sandy River, Oregon.

Gordon Grant

Urban trees.

Rhonda Mazza

Elk research at Starkey Experimental Forest and Range.

K.H. Coe

Ensatina salamander.

Alex Foster

Smoke from wildfire.

Tom Iraci

Research on the effect of trees on human health has broad public health implications, while our wildfire smoke modeling forms the basis for real-time smoke 

prediction systems and tools across the country and internationally. Studies of the 

effects of dam removal have provided essential knowledge as thousands of aging and 

deteriorating dams are coming to the end of their useful lives. Our work on amphibian 

population declines includes an unprecedented global mapping effort that tracks 

chytridiomycosis, an infectious disease of amphibians, while our research on elk 

provides definitive information on management issues that have multi-million-dollar 

effects on land management and recreation across the American West. 

Some of the knowledge we create is not applied immediately but addresses long-term 

goals, while some provides the basis for rapid development of research products to 

resolve current natural resource problems. For example, we recently provided forest 

managers with side-by-side comparisons of fuel treatments, produced a comprehensive 

guidebook for national forest managers on responding to climate change, designed a 

Web-based tool to help communities evaluate proposed biomass projects, provided the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with new techniques for creating a national 

smoke emissions inventory for wildland fire, and helped land managers of local 

governments implement rapid assessment approaches for urban forests. Y
6

PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

The issues faced by society today provide important context for our work. Keith Routman

Global

 Climate change makes forests more vulnerable to increased fire extent and 

intensity, reduced snowpack and water availability, and greater threats from 

insect outbreaks, forest diseases, and invasive plants.

 By 2050, the global population is projected to be 9.6 billion, with 70 percent 

of the human population living in cities.

 Communication and technology advances transform how people create 

and receive information, resulting in huge, often overwhelming volumes 

of information. 

National

 The population of the United States is expected to rise to 438 million by 

2050 (from 296 million in 2005).

 Following the 2007–2009 recession, U.S. economic growth resumed but at a 

slower pace. Fiscal circumstances continue to be tight for federal agencies.

 The departure of “baby boomers” from the workforce will affect retention 

of institutional knowledge and the future vitality of the Nation’s job market. 

Federal agencies are striving to draw on the talents and interests of all sectors 

of the Nation’s diverse population.

Regional

 Rural communities continue to look beyond traditional resource-based industries 

for ways to diversify economic development and prosper in the global economy.

 Land managers are challenged to address continuing forest health declines, particularly in east-side forests in Oregon and Washington, that result from damage 

by insects, disease, and uncharacteristically severe wildfires. 

 Water shortages are increasing conflicts over allocation and quality protection. 

 Controversy sometimes arises over competing uses of forests.

 Increased urbanization is making the livability and sustainability of cities 

in the region a critical concern. 

View of Mount Rainier and Mount Adams, Washington, from Mount Hood. Photo by Keith Routman. 

Trends and Issues
7

STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

Communications

We align resources 

to address issues 

critical to our stakeholders. Moreover, 

we leverage appropriated funding 

and grants to increase our capacity, 

build partnerships, and bring benefit 

to cooperators. Our innovative and 

increasingly integrated research provides 

a high return on investment and yields 

tangible, high-impact results.

Finances

The communication of science information for science-based management and policy decisions is a critical component of the station’s mission. 

We are observing several trends: (1) the Internet and social media are 

shaping how science is shared, (2) the synthesis of scientific information 

is highly valued, and (3) demand is high for useful scientific information 

that can be applied to urgent issues. For us to stay relevant, we need to 

find ways to keep pace with increasing demand. 

Incoming funding

Dollars in millions

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Base research 

appropriations

Support from clients

2005200620072008200920102011201220132014
PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

9

A Research Framework 

for the Future

Keith Routman

In 2013, we reassessed our research programs

and science delivery. We did so by inviting stakeholders who use our 

science and partner with us in conducting research to identify the 

strengths on which they would like us to focus. We asked them their 

opinions on priority work for the next 5 to 10 years. We also asked 

our employees these same questions. 

Specifically, the process for gaining stakeholder and employee input 

included interviews with external stakeholders; stakeholder and 

employee listening sessions in Juneau, Alaska; Corvallis and Portland, 

Oregon; and Seattle, Washington; and a survey available to all station 

employees. 

This strategic effort helps us clarify our priorities, unify us in the 

pursuit of shared goals, guide the station’s decisions, and foster 

communication between our stakeholders and us. 

A critical element of our approach is to focus 

this framework on the station’s strengths. 

 Field trip to the Meadow Creek Restoration Project, Starkey Experimental Forest and Range, Oregon. Photo by Rhonda Mazza.
PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

10

Lee Cerveny

Human ecology workshop.

Alaska landscape.

Field crew training.

Jon Williams

Science strengths

A strong foundation—

With almost a century of research behind 

us, the PNW Research Station is uniquely 

positioned to conduct long-term studies 

compared to most other research institutions. 

The existence of long-term data sets from 

station experimental forests, ranges, and 

watersheds, as well as large-scale studies 

elsewhere, has enhanced our ability to 

respond to stakeholder requests and changing social and policy needs. Our capacity to 

provide insight and describe complex consequences is greatly elevated by the quality 

and extent of our data and our strong foundation of meaningful research. 

A landscape view—

The PNW Research Station has long been at the forefront 

of big-picture, “all-lands” science. The groundbreaking 

science that informed the Northwest Forest Plan was the 

start of other ambitious research projects that address 

connectivity and interactions across large watersheds 

and landscapes. Keeping pace with advancing geographic 

information systems, remote sensing, and ever-growing 

computing power has enabled research by the station to 

inform an expanding vision of all-lands conservation.

Innovation—

The concept of sustainable management of natural resources now seems an obvious 

goal. But putting this concept into practice is extremely difficult and took decades 

to gain acceptance. The PNW 

Research Station was a major player 

in introducing the rest of the forestry 

world to the concept of ecosystem 

management and demonstrating 

the role forest science could play in 

the blossoming field of landscape 

ecology. Our innovative knowledge 

Jon Williams
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

11

Portland, Oregon.

Tom Iraci

contributions have changed the way forestry is done on the ground. Ecosystem 

management is the philosophy that shifted thinking away from a single-issue focus. 

We also helped pioneer adaptive management as the methodology for implementing 

ecosystem management. And we continue to break new ground in defining the 

concept of resilience, which provides a benchmark that helps land managers find 

the intersection of ecological, social, and economic goals.

Integration—

The heated controversy over the northern spotted owl in 

the early 1990s put the PNW Research Station on a crash 

course in developing science that goes beyond a single 

issue. Since then, we have had success in approaching 

our research through ecological, social, and economic 

lenses. With millions of people in the Pacific Northwest 

living within 5 miles of national forest land, it has been 

essential to design research that recognizes people as an 

integral part of ecosystems. We provide information to 

help improve understanding of human values and choices 

that sustain our environment, promote public health, support rural economies, and 

reduce conflict. PNW Research Station social and economic science helps bring 

people to the forest and enhances fulfillment of both halves of the Forest Service 

motto of “caring for the land and serving people.”

Relevance—

The Forest Service is the only federal land management agency with its own 

research and development branch. With an extensive land base of national forests 

for field research, we have a 

unique opportunity to support the 

agency’s broad land management 

responsibility. The station has 

made concerted efforts to focus 

on informing natural resource 

management through applied 

science and user-friendly tools. 

Through our longstanding efforts 

to partner with the National Forest 

System, we achieve a capability to 

address natural resource challenges 

that is known worldwide. Vegetation study in Alaska. Walter Foss
PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

12

PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

Diversity—

We have access to boreal forests in 

Alaska, coastal rain forests with 

some of the most productive forest 

land in the world, disturbanceprone dry forests east of the 

Cascades, and urban forests in 

densely populated cities. These 

landscape “laboratories” contribute 

opportunities for observational 

and manipulative research that 

will help us solve problems in the 

region and beyond. The ecosystems 

of the Pacific Northwest make 

possible studies that will give us 

the tools to manage the effects of 

climate change, understand the 

consequences of an urbanizing 

environment, and develop a 

fundamental understanding of 

how natural systems will respond 

to rapid change. Y

Interior Alaska boreal forest.

Glenn Christensen

Dry forest east of the Cascade Range.

Miles Hemstrom

Southeast Alaska coastal rain forest.

Tom Iraci

Urban forest.

Larry Korhnak

Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area , Oregon. Photo © by Miles Hemstrom. 
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

13

Long-Term Studies, Experimental Forests, 

Research Natural Areas, and Resource Monitoring

ong-term studies

are a cornerstone of 

the Forest Service 

research mission. The 

PNW Research Station 

is invested in longterm studies conducted at multiple scales 

and in a variety of settings, including experimental 

forests and ranges, research natural areas, national 

forests, and other federal, state, and private lands. 

Long-term studies are conducted to identify and 

characterize important ecosystem structures and 

processes, monitor environmental conditions and 

the production of ecosystem and societal benefits, and experiment with alternative approaches 

to land management practice and policy. These 

long-term studies frequently contribute to broader 

monitoring networks or synthetic assessments at 

local, regional, or continental scales—extending 

their relevance both in time and space. 

Experimental forests. Important examples 

include gauged watersheds, which provide a 

long-term record of local and regional hydrology 

and their interaction with climate dynamics, 

disturbance events, and vegetation manipulation 

and succession; and large-scale silviculture studies 

to explore vegetation management strategies. 

Studies develop understanding of biodiversity, 

restoration of ecosystem structure and processes, 

and the production of a wide array of ecosystem 

services, from conventional fiber-based products 

to wildlife habitat for species such as elk.

Long-term studies are distinct in several respects. 

By definition, such studies extend beyond the 

typical 3- to 5-year planning horizon (with datacollection activities often spanning multiple 

decades). Studies can be multigenerational; as new 

investigators replace the old, they capitalize on the 

experience of their predecessors while integrating 

fresh or novel insights. These studies commonly 

involve collaborations and partnerships beyond 

the Pacific Northwest or the Forest Service. 

Uncertainties in sustained funding, stakeholder 

interest, organizational structure, and station 

scientific capacity over extended timeframes 

demand that long-term studies be undertaken 

thoughtfully. Although generally established 

in the context of a contemporary problem, 

successful long-term investigations can address 

fundamental issues that transcend a current 

problem and allow its adaptation to emergent 

issues without loss of scientific integrity.

The Forest Inventory and Analysis

(FIA) program provides foundational data and 

research via a long-term ecological research 

network encompassing public and private forest 

lands. The network spans the entire United 

States, with data collected on permanent field 

plots spaced at about 3-mile intervals. Basic 

data on species and structural composition, 

forest conversion, ecosystem indicators, and 

forest health provide a wealth of information 

used in a variety of research on forest status and 

trends. Techniques and policy-relevant research 

within the FIA program help link other types of 

monitoring methods and data to the long-term 

FIA research network. For example, spatially 

continuous mapping of ecosystem attributes 

(GNN), biomass/biofuel availability and feasibility 

(BioSum), and carbon marketing (Air Resources 

Board, Climate Action Reserve) all depend on 

FIA data and research partnerships. 

Beyond the development and evolution of 

monitoring techniques, FIA research examples 

include wildlife habitat modeling; climate change 

effects; species migration; land cover and land use 

change; watershed health; biomass and carbon 

sequestration; land ownership change and effects; 

fire hazard, risk, and effects; insects and disease; 

forest succession; and riparian assessments. Y

L
PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

14

Forest and range ecosystem science, in the broadest sense, is the PNW 

Research Station’s core work. We focus on the biological, physical, and 

socioeconomic aspects of terrestrial, aquatic, riparian, and rural and urban 

systems in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington. Our research is organized into 

five research emphasis areas (REAs): (1) climate change, (2) inventory and 

monitoring, (3) natural disturbances, (4) resource management and landscape 

resilience, and (5) socioeconomic dimensions. 

These REAs provide a framework for responding 

to urgent, interdisciplinary, and policy-oriented 

demands. They reflect the station’s longterm work, span all locations and research 

programs and teams, and tie to the U.S. Forest 

Service Strategic Plan. They encompass both 

foundational and applied research. 

Projects commonly span multiple REAs. In 

particular, the REAs of climate change and 

socioeconomic dimensions have considerable 

overlap with the other three REAs (see illustration below). The climate change and socioeconomic dimensions REAs are cross-cutting 

by nature and weave much of the station’s work 

together. Fish, wildlife, and rural and urban 

forestry issues are included across all five REAs. 

The following sections are not meant to be a 

comprehensive accounting of all the work we do, 

but rather serve to highlight some of the work 

being done now and work we are planning for 

the future.

Research

emphasis

areas

Resource Management and 

Landscape Resilience

Natural Disturbances

Inventory and Monitoring

Climate Change

Socioeconomic Dimensions

What is research?

Systematic, critical, intensive investigation using 

scientific methods to discover, develop, and apply 

new or more complete scientific knowledge.

A researcher is someone who

• Uses scientific methods.

• Applies critical and objective judgment.

• Has research capabilities founded substantially 

on graduate education.

• Makes scientific contributions.

• Possesses scientific stature and recognition. Connie Harrington

Vegetation survey at H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, Oregon. Photo by Rhonda Mazza. 
What helps the station 

assure quality science?

Research Grade Evaluation Panels

• Each scientist is evaluated every 

4 or 5 years.

• Four scientists from the U.S. Forest 

Service or other research agencies 

make up a panel along with a chairperson and a personnel specialist. 

• One panel member serves as a 

subject matter reviewer who contacts 

the scientist’s peers to affirm that 

the scientist’s work has impact and 

significance.

• The panel determines if the scientist 

is promoted, stays at their current 

level, or is demoted. 

Study Plans 

• All but exploratory studies need a 

study plan.

• They are often done as part of competitive funding awards and cooperative 

agreements.

• They provide clear objectives and 

rationale as well as details about data 

collection, statistical approaches, and 

communication of results.

Technical Review

• An article or report, including those in 

the station series, is always technically 

reviewed prior to publishing.

• Three reviewers, including one from 

outside the station, provide comments.

• Most journal and some station series 

publications are blind peer-reviewed; 

that is, the author is not provided 

names of reviewers.

• Databases, models, software and 

other technology are also technically 

reviewed.
PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

16

Managers are challenged to address environmental changes from climate variation on regional 

to global scales through adaptation and mitigation 

measures. Many natural resources—including the 

waterflows that supply our agricultural, fishing, 

forest, rangeland, rural, and urban communities— 

are already affected by climate change, with much stronger effects projected for the 

near future. Stakeholders expressed a strong need for climate change science and 

recognition of the impact this topic has on all other research areas. Climate change 

research includes effects of disturbances, resource management adaptation, and 

climate change projections.

Alaska is at the frontier of climate-related environmental 

changes—from melting glaciers and receding ice caps to 

coastal erosion and thawing permafrost—with severe effects 

for many communities and individuals. Our scientists 

investigate how climate change affects Alaska’s boreal 

and temperate forests and the communities that depend 

upon them. We focus especially on forest ecology, timber 

production, carbon sequestration, water and carbon flux 

from land to ocean, and salmon and deer habitat quality. 

With the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service and 

Natural Resources Conservation Service, the station leads the Northwest Regional 

Climate Hub in response to the growing threat 

that climate change poses to the region’s forests, 

rangelands, farms, and rural economies, including 

those of Alaska Natives and American Indians. 

From its headquarters in Corvallis, Oregon, 

the Northwest Hub provides technical support, 

regional forecasts, and outreach to farmers, forest 

landowners, and ranchers to help them anticipate 

the projected effects of a changing climate in 

Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

The PNW Research Station studies climate change 

effects relative to many natural resource themes, 

including carbon, fire, fish, genetics, insects and 

diseases, socioeconomics, vegetation, water, and 

wildlife. To align this current work with the REAs, 

we identified the following three outcomes that 

will define areas for expanded work.

Retreating glacier in Alaska.

Glenn Christensen

Climate Change

Keith Routman

Study of climate change impacts.

Connie Harrington
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

17

Collecting climate data at the Entiat Experimental Forest, Washington.

Outcomes:

A. Improved understanding of the effects of projected changes in temperature 

and in timing and volume of precipitation in the Pacific Northwest on 

ecosystems, and implications for policy and management decisions.

B. Information to help manage and adapt forests that are resilient to the 

expected effects of climate change in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington.

C. Syntheses of climate change research findings, with implications for 

improved management.

Impacts of our future work—

We provide information relevant to people and forest and rangeland management 

across the Pacific Northwest. Station work predicts areas of the Northwest where the 

extent and intensity of wildfire, carbon dynamics, and air quality will be affected. 

We also help landowners and managers view impacts through the lens 

of multiple stressors by integrating scenarios used in predicting climate 

change outcomes across large landscapes. We study precipitation trends 

at high-elevation monitoring stations and explore how geology and 

groundwater mediation of precipitation inform the concept of snow 

retention. Snowpack levels in the mountains will have a huge impact on 

spring and summer streamflows and the water supply to meet municipal 

drinking water needs. Willamette National Forest. Janet Ohmann Rick Woodsmith
PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

18

Our models improve understanding of vegetation types and shifts that are expected 

across the region and their implications for wildlife habitat. For example, genetics 

research gives managers information to help them explore the option of assisted 

migration, in which species and populations are moved 

to new locations where they are better adapted to changes 

in climate. We also will be forecasting the effects of 

climate change on insect and pathogen outbreaks. 

Station research helps managers predict how projected 

climate changes will alter the location of Western tree 

species. Where habitat becomes unsuitable, these tree 

species will exhibit slower regeneration and increased 

mortality. We will map current ranges of tree species 

(using Forest Inventory and Analysis data) across all of 

Washington, Oregon, and California; predict their range 

shifts based on projected changes in precipitation and 

temperature; and predict potential mortality and regeneration problems. This will 

help landowners and managers know where to plant trees, what species to plant, and 

how to conduct restoration activities after fire or harvest. 

Other activities can affect how trees respond to climate change. For example, thinning 

has been suggested as a way to reduce water stress on trees. Drought is thought to be 

causing large-scale declines in temperate forests, and climate change is predicted to 

increase the intensity and frequency of drought in many regions. Water stress can 

reduce growth and resilience to insect outbreaks. 

Building on over 70 years of silviculture research, 

we will evaluate the effects of stand thinning on the 

vigor and productivity of residual trees in Douglasfir stands. Complementing this work, we will 

evaluate high-resolution precipitation projections 

for each national forest in the Pacific Northwest, 

under the newest climate change scenarios. 

We also collaborate with Alaska Natives to 

understand their concerns about the effects of 

climate change on first foods and tribal resources. For example, climate change is 

already shifting fire regimes in boreal Alaska, making fires larger and more severe. 

This directly affects permafrost regimes, which in turn makes human access to 

nutritionally and culturally important subsistence resources increasingly unpredictable. 

We will examine the effects of fire-permafrost interactions and produce maps and a 

quantitative vulnerability assessment. We will synthesize information on management 

options available to counter expected changes and integrate traditional knowledge. Y

Sampling for genetic analysis.

Richard Cronn

Thinning project on the Colville National Forest.

Dennis Dykstra

Harvesting of native berries, a tribal first food. Photo by Richard Carstensen. 
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

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PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

20

A key emphasis for the station is monitoring changes

in various natural resources. The resulting assessments 

support fields of inquiry such as characterizing biomass, 

carbon flux, invasive species, drivers of change, impacts 

of disturbance agents, fish and wildlife habitat, and forest 

products availability. Inventory and monitoring are 

fundamental to many of the land management activities 

in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington.

This REA includes the Pacific Northwest unit of Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA), 

a national program that collects data on all public and private forests from field plots 

across the entire Nation. The FIA program provides data and basic resource information needed to assess the current status and potential future of America's forests. 

FIA field crew collects data on black spruce plot in Alaska.

Ken Winterberger

Inventory and Monitoring

Southeast Alaska FIA crew returning from the field.

Brita Janson

Outcomes:

A. Improved understanding of change over 

time in terrestrial, aquatic, or human 

conditions in response to climate, 

disturbance, insects and pathogens, 

management policies, or pollution, with 

projections of likely scenarios.

B. Tools or methods for integrating ground 

and remotely sensed data to create 

regional spatial predictions of vegetation attributes, including assessment of 

the accuracy and appropriate spatial scale of these predictions.

C. Novel methods for efficiently estimating key resources, e.g., at-risk wildlife 

populations, forest growth, forest carbon and biomass, or aquatic ecosystems.

Impacts of our future work—

We focus on providing foundational data and 

research. By establishing baseline tree growth, 

regeneration, and mortality trends, we can help 

assess climate change impacts. For example, tree 

ring analysis in interior Alaska will help us track 

historical growth patterns to see how past climate 

variation affected tree growth. Interior Alaska 

contains 15 percent of the forested land in the 

United States. Until we initiated sampling there 

in 2014, there had been no large-scale inventory. 

Andy Tasler
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

21

Notably, interior Alaska is experiencing 

the greatest warming in North America 

in the past 50 years, and this is expected 

to continue. Large-scale declines in tree 

health are being seen across much of the 

region. This could change the lives of local 

communities, which depend on wildlife 

and forest resources. Is this because of 

climate-induced drought? We will find out 

by assessing patterns of tree growth and 

relating these patterns to yearly temperature 

and precipitation trends. Understanding past 

trends in tree growth related to climate will 

help us make better projections of future 

conditions for the region. 

With FIA data, we examine spatial and temporal shifts 

in carbon stocks, invasive species, and vegetation. Techniques and policy-relevant research from these studies 

inform many other management issues. 

We are partnering with the Pacific Southwest Research 

Station to extend our ongoing inventory and monitoring 

programs in California, Hawaii, and the Pacific Islands to 

better address the specific needs of these regions. 

Our broad scope includes, but is not limited to, analyzing 

carbon storage and sequestration related to disturbance 

and climate change. We are also evaluating changes in land cover and use, firefighting strategies, timber management, and wildlife habitat. For example, we are 

studying effective methods for monitoring wolverine populations. The wolverine 

is already a sensitive species but is proposed to be listed as threatened under the 

Endangered Species Act. 

Current monitoring systems 

are useful only in winter, when 

conditions pose safety concerns 

for researchers to be in the field. 

The new methodologies could 

be used year-round and will be 

tested for how effective they are 

at monitoring wolverines. Y

Wolverine study.

Monitoring invasive species.

LiDAR remote-sensing data reveals fine details of complex forest structure.

John Rohrer

Tom Iraci
PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

22

2006 Mount Hood Complex Fire.

Tom Iraci

We focus on the interacting effects of 

disturbances on ecological, geophysical, and 

socioeconomic systems. Forests and rangelands 

in the West supply a variety of services such 

as a consistent supply of high quality water 

for human consumption (including irrigation 

and generation of electricity), forest products, 

recreation, grazing, and suitable habitat for 

both terrestrial and aquatic species. As the 

climate changes, these wildlands are highly 

vulnerable to fire, insect infestation, disease epidemics, invasive species, and drought. 

Often, the disturbances caused by these stresses, alone or in combination, are 

uncharacteristically severe and result in significant and lasting effects on ecological 

and socioeconomic values. 

We provide information and tools that will allow land managers and owners to 

anticipate these disturbances and take action to prevent or ease the effects 

of such stressors. 

Natural Disturbances 

Fire aftermath in southern Washington. Photo by Julia Biermann. 

Outcomes:

A. Techniques or strategies that enhance 

the capacity to assess, manage, 

mitigate, or adapt to risks associated 

with disturbance.

B. New and improved models of fire 

dynamics and smoke based on novel 

integrated measurements and scientific 

analyses designed to better understand 

the underlying physical processes.

C. Improved understanding of disturbance interactions between terrestrial 

and aquatic ecosystems through developing and analyzing new methods 

and data, syntheses, applied theory, or remote-sensing applications.

D. Decision support tools based on an understanding of landscape-level 

disturbance, including remote sensing applications for early detection 

and monitoring of resource quality and models for predicting risk 

to high-value resources.

Bark beetle infestation.
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

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PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

24

Impacts of our future work—

Throughout the Nation, wildfires and smoke significantly affect both ecosystems 

and people. We specifically focus on creating tools for managers to better manage 

lands to reduce wildfire risk, manage and mitigate wildfires and smoke, and communicate with the public. This work includes developing new physically based fire 

dynamics models that can address risk within the wildland-urban interface, creating improved measurements of fuels important for understanding fire behavior and 

effects, developing new models and systems to assess fire emissions and smoke impacts, and working directly with managers to ensure that the latest scientific results 

can be directly applied to decisions in the field. 

Understanding the need to increase forest 

resilience to disturbances through forest 

management has come a long way. We are 

adding to this knowledge by assessing the 

effectiveness of fuel treatments to dampen 

fire behavior and protect communities 

threatened by large wildfires. Our work on 

fuel reduction helps integrate fire management 

with ecological objectives such as conservation 

of the northern spotted owl. In addition, we 

Southwestern Oregon wildfire.

Tom Iraci

Fuel reduction treatment.

Tom Iraci
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

25

Chinook salmon, Tye River, Washington.

Jon Dickey

Eastern Washington landscape.

John Marshall

will specifically focus on the effects of wildfire on salmon. 

Salmon populations, many of which are threatened or 

endangered, are struggling to survive in shrinking areas 

of high quality habitat. These habitats are altered by 

disturbances like wildfire, which is predicted to increase 

in a changing climate. Effects of wildfire on streams 

might include reduced shading from trees or increased 

sedimentation from hillside erosion. We are studying how 

past wildfires in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho have affected aquatic habitat and are 

measuring these impacts on Chinook salmon development. Our information helps 

managers understand the far-reaching effects of wildfire and to identify areas likely 

to experience aquatic habitat shifts in a changing climate. 

Other work explores how disturbances interact with vegetation patterns on a 

broad scale. Historically, frequent fires dotted the landscape in eastern Oregon and 

Washington, creating a mosaic of forest patches of varying size, age structure, and 

species composition. Understanding the relation between vegetation patterns and 

landscape resilience is critical to our success in forest restoration efforts. Our work 

provides guidance on the fire regimes in this region, with data-rich descriptions 

of historical forest conditions to help address questions about whether active 

management is justified and what silvicultural practices would be most beneficial. 

We are also weaving in traditional ecological knowledge of American Indian tribes 

to gain new insights about how forest conditions and fire regimes were shaped by 

interacting natural and human-caused disturbances. 
PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

26

The Pacific Northwest Research 

Station is home to the Western 

Wildland Environmental Threat 

Assessment Center (WWETAC) 

in Prineville, Oregon. Established 

as a West-wide program, the 

center is supported by three 

deputy areas of the Forest 

Service (Research and Development, National Forest System, 

and State and Private Forestry). The center focuses on science 

and technology transfer—providing bibliographies, scientific 

syntheses, threat assessments, and application tools to federal, 

state, and private land managers and resource specialists 

across the West. The primary environmental threats WWETAC 

addresses are wildfire risk, fuels management, invasive species, 

and climate change, at the project to landscape level. The center has a small staff and a large number of cooperators.

Much of WWETAC’s work is interdisciplinary. For example, 

its wildfire risk mapping and projections of vegetation 

response to climate change will inform both biophysical and 

socioeconomic vulnerability assessments being conducted in 

the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest and Pacific Southwest 

Regions. Wildfire risk assessments are requested nationally, 

regionally, and by individual states and national forests. 

Scientists from WWETAC are developing a prioritization tool to 

treat invasive plants with help from specialists and scientists 

from national forests, other Forest Service research stations, 

states, and regional and national interdisciplinary teams. 

ForWarn, an application developed along with the Eastern 

Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center and other 

partners, is being used to develop a rapid-response tool that 

can tally the acreage of forest land affected by disturbance 

and assess what stand types are likely to have been affected. 

The center is also developing a new tool to quantify and 

attribute the sources of disturbance, such as tree drought 

stress, defoliators, insect outbreaks, mistletoe, and mortality 

at the tree level.

WWETAC welcomes inquires, requests, and cooperators. For 

more information, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/wwetac/. 

A series of map services published by the Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center enables users to view and evaluate 

wildland threats in relation to highly valued resources. Here, climate change data have been downscaled to make them easier to interpret 

at smaller scales.
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

27

Furthermore, we are developing a fire-danger model for regional and national planning for fuel reduction treatments and creating a cohesive suite of tools for managing 

smoke. Our work examines the effectiveness of postfire rehabilitation and restoration 

practices in eastern Cascade forests and provides management options for disturbances such as bark beetle outbreaks, wildfires, and invasive plants. 

Another disturbance for which we are known internationally is an active volcano. 

Since the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, hundreds of thousands of organisms 

(small mammals, fishes, arthropods, fungi, and plants) have been chronicled to assess 

the full extent of ecosystem response to this intense, large-scale forest disturbance. We 

are preserving scientifically invaluable specimens in museums, thereby safeguarding a 

substantial research investment (several million dollars) to date. Research discoveries 

are also used for interpretive programs, increasing their value to all Americans and 

global society. Y

Mount St. Helens, Washington.

Tom Iraci
PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

28

Unprecedented stresses on forest ecosystems,

including wildland fire, climate change, and 

land use changes are complicating the ability 

of land managers and policymakers to provide 

sustainable forests, rangelands, and watersheds. 

This REA provides managers, policy makers and 

decisionmakers, regulators, private landowners, 

and the public with a better understanding of the agents and pathways of change in 

terrestrial, aquatic, and riparian ecosystems. Topics relate to forest and stream-wetland 

resource characterization; silviculture; and fish, wildlife, and other species. Land 

management and restoration activities, biomass utilization and energy development, 

and how society values resources and perceives the interplay of the management are 

topics for this REA. 

Outcomes:

A. Tools and information that will advance 

stand, landscape, and watershed management 

and restoration.

B. Tools and information to assess tradeoffs that 

land managers and others face as they work 

to improve and restore natural resources.

C. Improved understanding of how restoration 

and management activities affect ecosystem 

resilience.

Impacts of our future work—

We provide big-picture science by developing landscape models that forecast the future 

of land and aquatic systems and examine management scenarios such as restoration, 

thinning, prescribed fire, and climate change and its mitigation. New knowledge about 

physical processes in watersheds and their influences in maintaining clean water 

and healthy ecosystems will contribute to “next-generation” riparian and watershed 

management plans and policies in the Pacific Northwest region and beyond.

Douglas-Fir Seed Source Movement Trial.

Connie Harrington

Resource Management and 

Landscape Resilience 

Old-growth Douglas-fir trees. Photo by Dominique Bachelet. 
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

29

Miles Hemstrom

Riparian study.
PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

30

We address many issues important to our 

stakeholders, such as integrated watershed 

management, carbon cycling in aquatic systems, 

the potential impacts of increased winter 

waterflows on Alaska salmon, and younggrowth management in Alaska. We focus 

on restoration of fish spawning and rearing 

habitat, the effects of streamside buffer designs 

and riparian management on aquatic resources, 

and evaluating shrub recovery for endangered salmon and steelhead under varying 

levels of cattle, elk, and deer grazing.

Another area we are examining is how restoration treatments affect carbon storage. 

Understanding this is important because well-intentioned policies can have unforeseen 

effects on other ecosystem values. Under the new Forest Service planning rule, Forest 

Service managers must develop strategies for integrating carbon and sustainable 

consumption goals with those of other ecosystem services. We will evaluate these 

tradeoffs among ecosystem values in landscapes across a climate-disturbance regime 

gradient from coastal Oregon to the Blue Mountains. 

Spawning chinook salmon.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Restoration project, Willamette National Forest, Oregon.

M.L Gasser
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

31

Fir0002/Flagstaffoto

Honeybee landing on thistle flower.

We continue to study some issues with which we 

have been strongly associated, such as northern 

spotted owls. Managers in the Pacific Northwest 

are required to make decisions about silvicultural 

practices, timber harvests, and other activities in 

light of their impact on these iconic birds and their 

prey. We are studying the ecology of northern flying 

squirrels (a key prey species for the owl) to contribute to a much fuller understanding of management 

effects on spotted owls, particularly in terms of 

techniques for keeping owl prey on the landscape 

after forest thinning. 

Northern spotted owl.

Bureau of Land Management

Northern flying squirrel.

We also are concerned about precipitous declines in the populations of some native 

pollinators, such as the western bumblebee. Bees pollinate about 70 percent of 

flowering plants globally, making them essential to the production of food crops, 

flowers, and seeds in diets of humans and wildlife. We are embarking on studies to 

explore the impact of restoration 

and land management on 

these pollinators in forested 

riparian ecosystems. Results 

will have national and even 

global significance, helping land 

managers understand how these 

beneficial native pollinators 

respond to active management. Y
PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

32

Socioeconomic Dimensions 

Demand for social and economic science

related to natural resource issues is on the rise. 

Patterns of land use, recreation, and economic 

development are changing. The U.S. population 

is becoming more diverse and urbanized. 

Rural communities face the need to shift their 

economic foundation away from dependence 

on natural resource extraction. Quality of life increasingly depends on understanding 

the human values and choices that sustain our environment, promote public health, 

support rural economies, and reduce conflict. Additional research is needed to 

integrate social and natural systems across all lands, from rural to urban, and to 

address environmental justice.

Pacific Northwest Research Station social and economic science directly addresses 

national challenges like these by recognizing the integral role that people play 

in natural resource management. Our work includes identifying and evaluating 

ecosystem services and exploring options for recreation management in areas of 

growing population, as well as addressing urban forestry and stewardship issues, 

community economic health, and wildfire preparedness. Social science also helps us 

improve science delivery as we work with our audiences to better understand their 

needs. This REA examines socioeconomic processes, policies, and management and 

their influence on ecological and biophysical conditions and processes. 

Outcomes:

A. Improved understanding of the interactions 

between socioeconomic and biophysical 

systems at landscape scales.

B. Identification and evaluation of the 

goods, services, and benefits produced 

by ecosystems and management.

C. Tools to assist land managers in evaluating 

local economic and social conditions. 

Impacts of our future work—

We examine a range of activities that contribute to rural sustainability, such as 

forest products, recreation and tourism, environmental restoration and stewardship, 

collaboration and partnerships, and biofuel energy development. We are looking at 

why some forest management strategies are more effective at contributing to rural 

wealth than others. Frank Vanni

Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust

Planting street trees.

Station scientists are examining the role of street trees in enhancing human health and well-being. Photo by M.O. Stevens. 
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

33
PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

34

Collaborations among different land ownerships 

and organizations that arise to collectively address 

conservation issues have been widely touted as a 

successful model for community-based resource 

management. We are investigating what motivates 

private forest landowners to form conservation 

collaboratives to restore fire-prone forests. 

Cooperation between private forest landowners is 

an important strategy for managing wildfire risk, 

because hazardous fuels are found across fireprone landscapes. Many collaboratives have been successful in facilitating information 

exchange, building trust, and reducing appeals and litigation, but little research exists 

about whether they achieved restoration goals or contributed to community resilience. 

Station work informs land management practice by identifying the benefits of different 

social arrangements and policy incentives for cooperation, and how to better align 

social processes with ecological needs. For example, how well are they meeting the 

twin objectives of forest restoration and job creation? 

Our studies also focus on urban forests, particularly the social 

and economic values of trees in urban areas, the link between 

trees and human health, and the benefits associated with 

stewardship activities in urban areas. One innovative area of 

station work involves human exposure to polycyclic aromatic 

hydrocarbons (PAHs), air pollutants linked to several public 

health concerns, including cardiovascular disease, asthma, 

and cancer. Children are particularly susceptible. Monitoring 

PAHs with traditional air quality monitors is very expensive. 

But moss, which absorbs PAHs, provides a noninvasive, inexpensive, and useful 

way for measuring PAH at lower levels than conventional monitors. The station is 

exploring how moss might help reveal PAH levels in the environment. 

The station is providing information and tools for understanding community 

vulnerability and adaptation to climate change, particularly for American Indian 

and Alaska Native subsistence. Tribes rely on cultural resources on federal lands. 

For example, some Western tribes use beargrass for 

basketry. We are assessing beargrass productivity on 

different forest sites and evaluating conditions at those 

sites. Understanding the forest characteristics that allow 

beargrass to thrive helps district rangers and fuel planners 

who manage forest land, as well as tribe members who 

rely on these plants. Other studies look at Acacia koa, an 

Beargrass.

Chris Schnepf, U. of Idaho, Bugwood.org

New research shows connections between 

tree health and human health.

Guy Kramer

Private forest landowners assess their wildfire risk.

A. Paige Fischer
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

35

Koa tree.

J.B. Friday

Biomass power plant.

Susan Charnley

important Hawaiian tree species with many traditional uses. Oldgrowth koa is dwindling, but our research focuses on the potential 

market value for young-growth koa wood and helps build cultural 

connections between Hawaii’s people and their forests.

Our research involves forest ecosystem services—the ecological 

life-support systems, goods, and services that are vital to human 

health and livelihood. Many of these goods and services, such as 

wildlife habitat or abundant clean water, are traditionally viewed as 

free benefits to society and are therefore overlooked in decisionmaking. We are identifying and evaluating these ecosystem services to help close this gap, 

linking science, practice, and decisionmaking and promoting conservation of these 

natural resources.

The station is evaluating the carbon life cycle relationship of renewable and nonrenewable energy products, 

developing case studies to help implement biomass 

energy systems in Alaska, and contributing to the 

preparation of the next Chugach Land and Resource 

Management Plan Revision and Tongass Land and 

Resource Management Plan Amendment. Rural 

Alaskans need a sustainable, reliable source of energy. 

Alaska is the highest per-capita consumer of petroleum 

in the country, amplifying the impact of high prices, price spikes, and delivery 

challenges with remote locations. Many communities are isolated and surrounded by 

national forests. Using forest biomass for heating is a proven way to meet the thermal 

energy demands of communities and businesses, while providing an outlet for the 

byproducts of managing young-growth 

forests in southeast Alaska. It also creates 

jobs. We will provide southeast Alaska 

communities with a financial tool to help 

them quickly assess wood energy options. 

We are also evaluating the feasibility of 

microchip production to assist wood energy 

development of small industrial-scale 

systems in rural Alaska. Potential wood 

energy adopters include schools, government 

buildings, and Alaska Native organizations in 

southeast Alaska. Y

Wood-fueled furnace used to heat 

buildings in Alaska.

David Nicholls
PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

36
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

37

The previous version of the PNW strategic framework was prepared in 2002. 

Since then, our core mission of generating and communicating science to help people 

make informed choices about natural resources remains unchanged. However, the 

context for natural resource management is changing, as are the ways in which people 

communicate and seek information. We accept the challenge and will address these 

issues through scientific leadership, innovative approaches, and proving our work to 

be relevant to people who make and influence land management decisions.

Our success lies in our ability to tap into the unbridled curiosity of our workforce to 

achieve our mission of delivering high-impact, timely information. We encourage our 

stakeholders to help us improve upon our history of strong science by staying engaged 

and helping us embark on a deliberate course to implement this strategic framework 

and achieve continued science excellence. Y

How can stakeholders and employees stay informed?

Station publications (in print and online):

 PNW Science Findings 

(http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/publications/scifi.shtml)

 Recent Publications of the Pacific Northwest Research Station 

(http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/publications/qlist.shtml)

 Our annual Science Accomplishments report 

(http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/publications/accomplishments.shtml)

On the Web:

 PNW Research Station homepage (http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/)

 Station scientist profiles (http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/people/scientists.shtml)

 PNW newsroom (http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/news/index.shtml)

 Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/usfs_pnwrs)

 Treesearch (http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/)

 GeoTreesearch (http://www.fs.fed.us/research/products/geotreesearch/)

Jon Williams

Conclusion

 Alaska yellow-cedar seedling. Photo by Robin Mulvey.
38

PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

Station Director

Robert Mangold

P.O. Box 3890

Portland, OR 97208-3890

Phone: 503-808-2100

E-mail: rmangold@fs.fed.us

Assistant Station Director for Administration

Lesley Kelly

P.O. Box 3890

Portland, OR 97208-3890

Phone: 503-808-2102

E-mail: lakelly@fs.fed.us

Assistant Station Director for Communications

and Applications

Cynthia Miner

P.O. Box 3890

Portland, OR 97208-3890

Phone: 503-808-2135

E-mail: clminer@fs.fed.us

Assistant Station Director for Program Development

Katherine Smith

P.O. Box 3890

Portland, OR 97208-3890

Phone: 503-808-2104 

E-mail: klsmith@fs.fed.us

Assistant Station Director for Research

Borys Tkacz

P.O. Box 3890

Portland, OR 97208-3890

Phone: 503-808-2115 

E-mail: btkacz@fs.fed.us

Programs

Ecological Process and Function

 Paul Anderson

 Forestry Sciences Laboratory

 3200 SW Jefferson Way 

 Corvallis, OR 97331 

 Phone: 541-758-7786

 E-mail: pdanderson@fs.fed.us

Goods, Services, and Values

 Simon Kihia

 Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory

 400 N. 34th Street, Suite 201 

 Seattle, WA 98103

 Phone: 206-732-7846

 E-mail: smkihia@fs.fed.us

Land and Watershed Management

 Susan Alexander

 Forestry Sciences Laboratory

 11175 Auke Lake Way

 Juneau, AK 99801

 Phone: 907-586-7801

 E-mail: salexander@fs.fed.us

Resource Monitoring and Assessment

 Gretchen Nicholas

 Forestry Sciences Laboratory

 620 SW Main St., Suite 400 

 Portland, OR 97205

 Phone: 503-808-2034

 E-mail: gnicholas@fs.fed.us

Threat Characterization and Management

 Maureen Hyzer

 Forestry Sciences Laboratory

 1133 N. Western Ave. 

 Wenatchee, WA 98801

 Phone: 509-664-1712

 E-mail: mhyzer@fs.fed.us

Western Wildland Environmental 

Threat Assessment Center

 Nancy Grulke

 3160 NE 3rd St.

 Prineville, OR 97754

 Phone: 541-416-6583

 E-mail: ngrulke@fs.fed.us

PNW Research Station Organization

Goat Rocks Wilderness, Washington.

Keith Routman
Jackpot Lake, Chugach National Forest, 

Alaska. Photo by Steve Wondzell.

Soil study team. 

Photo by Sarah Beldin.

Study of post-volcanic-eruption 

ecology, Chaitén Volcano, Chilé.

Tree frog. 

Photo by Elke Ward.

Northern spotted owl. 

Photo by Tom Iraci.

Stream study. 

Photo by Rhonda Mazza.

Front cover photographs:

Doni McKay

Postfire research on the Deschutes National Forest, Oregon.
U.S. Department of Agriculture 

Pacific Northwest Research Station

1220 SW Third Avenue, Suite 1400

P.O. Box 3890

Portland, OR 97204-3890

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use, $300