Achievement

The interdisciplinary group of four IGERT students was chosen as a finalist in the National Forest Foundation’s Barrett Foundation Prize Business Plan Challenge for cross-disciplinary innovation in developing market-based incentives to address forest stewardship challenges on National Forest Systems land. The PSU IGERT effort proposed the development of an innovative community marketing organization (CMO), Forest Invest, to build upon the strengths of public and private entities working towards sustainable use and restoration of forestland while reinvesting in human resources and the local economy in the Willamette National Forest and Sweet Home, Oregon. The proposal was based on the idea that ecological, economic, and social challenges faced by ecosystem managers and adjacent communities are too complex to be addressed in isolation, and public-private synergy and partnerships are imperative to address present and future complexities.