DOI: 10.5061/dryad.s7h44j1d8
title: Managing for ecosystem response to drought and wildfire on the Colorado Plateau

description: These data are responses to survey questions (see below) given to staff
 associated with natural resource management on the Colorado Plateau,
 U.S.A. The survey was intended to understand how managers perceived: 1)
 the degree to which managed lands have experienced drought, wildfire, and
 related stressors; 2) the current and future responses of ecosystems to
 these stressors and associated changes to natural resource condition; 3)
 the role of natural resource management interventions in preparing for
 stressors and ecosystem response; 4) limitations and barriers to
 management interventions. The survey consisted of quantitative questions,
 including a combination of close-ended (yes or no) questions,
 select-all-that-apply questions, ranked choice questions, and 3-point,
 5-point, and 11-point Likert-scale questions. The survey also included
 qualitative open-ended and fill-in-the-blank questions. The survey was
 implemented within the Qualtrics program hosted at Northern Arizona
 University in Flagstaff, Arizona. The numbered questions below (Q1, Q2,
 etc.) correspond to the columns in the spreadsheet, with possible answers
 chosen by survey participants indicated below each question. Each
 participant is a row in the spreadsheet. All identifying information of
 the participants has been removed to maintain their anonymity. 
description: # Managing for Ecosystem Response to Drought and Wildfire on the Colorado
 Plateau ## Description of
 the data and file structure These data are responses to survey questions
 (see below) given to staff associated with natural resource management on
 the Colorado Plateau, U.S.A. The survey was intended to understand how
 managers perceived: 1) the degree to which managed lands have experienced
 drought, wildfire, and related stressors; 2) the current and future
 responses of ecosystems to these stressors and associated changes to
 natural resource condition; 3) the role of natural resource management
 interventions in preparing for stressors and ecosystem response; 4)
 limitations and barriers to management interventions. The survey consisted
 of quantitative questions, including a combination of close-ended (yes or
 no) questions, select-all-that-apply questions, ranked choice questions,
 and 3-point, 5-point, and 11-point Likert-scale questions. The survey also
 included qualitative open-ended and fill-in-the-blank questions. The
 survey was implemented within the Qualtrics program hosted at Northern
 Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. The numbered questions below
 (Q1, Q2, etc.) correspond to the columns in the spreadsheet, with possible
 answers chosen by survey participants indicated below each question. Each
 participant is a row in the spreadsheet. All identifying information of
 the participants has been removed to maintain their anonymity. 
 Geolocation: Colorado Plateau, U.S.A. Temporal coverage: Responses were
 recorded from April to October 2022 Survey Questions (column letter given
 first): A - source of response Survey Questions: B - Q1. How would you
 characterize the degree to which the ecosystem(s) in which you work have
 experienced drought? (1-5) * Not at all * Slightly * Moderately *
 Substantially * Completely C - Q2. How would you characterize the degree
 to which the ecosystem(s) in which you work have experienced wildfire?
 (1-5) * Not at all * Slightly * Moderately * Substantially * Completely D-
 Q3. How would you characterize the extent to which the ecosystem(s) in
 which you work have been stressed (small change in ecosystems you work in)
 or transformed (large change in ecosystems you work in) by these
 stressors? (1-5) * Not at all * Slightly * Moderately * Substantially *
 Completely E- Q4. How would you characterize the degree to which the
 ecosystem(s) in which you work can adjust or recover from drought and
 wildfire impacts without management intervention? (1-5) * Not at all *
 Slightly * Moderately * Substantially * Completely F -Q5. If you are
 noticing impacts, are the disturbances you are seeing on the lands you
 manage happening at scales and timeframes outside what you would
 characterize as “normal?” * Yes * No G- Q6. If “yes,” what is the scale
 you are experiencing? * Small spatial scale * Medium spatial scale * Large
 spatial scale H- Q7. If “yes,” what is the time frame you are experiencing
 (how quickly are changes occurring)? Slow (gradual) Moderate (between
 gradual and fast) Abrupt (fast) I - Q8. How would you characterize the
 degree to which climate change and associated stressors have impacted the
 lands on which you work? From (1) barely at all to (10) severe
 transformation? Scale bar (0-10) J - Q9. How do you anticipate the degree
 to which climate change and associated stressors will impact the lands you
 work on in the future? From (1) barely at all to (10) severe
 transformation? Scale bar (0-10) K -Q10. How would you describe your
 organization's responses to climate change and associated stressors,
 including drought and wildfire? (Select all that apply) * Proactive *
 Reactive * Adequate * Inadequate * Suitable * Limited * Strategic *
 Unplanned * Supported * Unsupported * Flexible * inflexible L- Q11. Do you
 have a clear understanding of the concept of adaptation in the context of
 managing for novel stressors? * Yes * No M -Q12. Do you see adaptation
 actions being implemented in the systems in which you work? * Yes * No N
 -Q13. How do you define adaptation in the context of the work you do?
 Short answer O - Q14. Relative to other organizations, is your
 organization: doing less, more, or the same, in terms of adaptation
 actions? * Less * More * The same P - Q15. Have you or your organization
 implemented any actions that you consider to be adaptation in the context
 of drought and wildfire induced changes? * Yes * No * Somewhat Q- Q16. If
 “yes,” what actions have been taken? Short answer R - Q17. If “somewhat,”
 are there any actions that have been taken? Which actions? Short answer S
 - Q18. If “no,” why have actions not been taken? Short answer T - Q19. Are
 the actions planned for the future the same as actions that have been
 taken in the past? * Yes * No U - Q20. What specific actions would you
 like to take next? Short answer V - Q21. What is the likelihood that you
 will be able to facilitate these adaptive actions? * Extremely unlikely *
 Somewhat unlikely * Somewhat likely * Extremely likely W - Q22. How much
 control do you have in shaping the direction of ecosystem/natural resource
 responses to climate change and related stressors? From 0-1 (no control)
 to 9-10 (full control) Scale bar (0-10) X - Q23. Do you feel confident in
 your ability to implement adaptation strategies in the work you do? * Yes
 * No * Somewhat Y - Q24. How much flexibility do you have in planning
 projects or work tasks out in advance (anticipatory) versus addressing
 what has already happened and needs attention (reactionary)? *
 Anticipatory * Moderately anticipatory * Both anticipatory and reactionary
 * Moderately reactionary * Reactionary Z- Q25. Do you have enough
 information to respond to climate induced changes, including drought and
 wildfire? * Yes * No AA Q26 - If no to Q25, why do you think this is? AB
 Q27. On a scale of 1-10, how optimistic are you that your agency will be
 able to successfully address forthcoming conservation challenges, related
 to wildfire and drought? From (1) being very pessimistic to (10) being
 very optimistic? Scale bar (0-10) AC Q28. What information is most
 valuable to you? Short answer AD Q29. What information would you need the
 most to better prepare/respond/adapt? Short answer AE Q30. Do you have
 sufficient resources to prepare/respond to climate induced changes,
 including drought and wildfire? * Yes * No AF Q31.What resources would you
 need the most to prepare/respond/adapt? Short answer AG Q32. Based on the
 scope and the questions, is there anything else you want to share or
 inform us of? Short answer AH Q33. What is the organization you work for?
 Short answer AI Q34. How long have you been in your current position and
 had experience with this type of work? * &lt; 2 years * 2-10 years * \&gt;
 10 years AJ Q35. What ecosystems do you work in? Short answer Note: The
 survey included a series of short answer questions that were optional for
 participants and the blank cells in the dataset are due to participants
 opting out of responding to that particular question. ## Sharing/Access
 information Data was derived from the following sources: * Qualtrics