ERI’s Science Delivery team spent the winter and spring months of 2023 preparing for the May 2–4 Cross-Boundary Landscape Restoration Workshop at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO. The workshop was convened by the Southwest Ecological Restoration Institutes (the Colorado Forest Restoration Institute at Colorado State University, the Ecological Restoration Institute at Northern Arizona University, and the Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute at New Mexico Highlands University), along with many federal and non-federal co-host organizations.
During the workshop, 266 participants from 97 organizations across the country gathered to explore collaborative efforts that restore and reimagine fire-adapted forest landscapes. The week kicked off with a special presentation and public discussion with author and emeritus professor Stephen Pyne, who described the long history of human relationships with fire. For the next three days, workshop attendees engaged in shared learning and group discussions around the theme: “Adapting to a Climate-Altered West.” Practitioners, researchers, and collaborative partners recounted stories of novel challenges and successes working in fire-adapted forest landscapes, explored paradigms for more inclusive decision-making, and developed recommendations for future collaborative cross-boundary work.
Throughout the workshop, participants and speakers returned to themes of building stronger relationships with one another, the landscapes we work in, and the processes at work on those landscapes. Adapting to rapidly changing climates while leveraging the latest science is a universal challenge amongst participants. However, as participants explored struggles and accomplishments, the workshop helped illuminate opportunities and resources for innovation. As one panelist put it, cross-boundary landscape restoration starts with saying “yes” and leaning into working together. Each individual left with more tools and partners eager to help, as well as a better understanding of their own unique contribution to cross-boundary landscape restoration.
