Overview

Many of the publications described here are available in Adobe Acrobat format. To read an Adobe Acrobat document (identified as PDF), you'll need the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free on Adobe's Web site http://www.adobe.com.

Our books are available through local and on-line bookstores. To request a printed copy of a publication, please write to us at info@sierrainstitute.us.

Books and Research Reports

Community Forestry in the United States: Learning from the Past, Crafting the Future. In January 2003, Island Press released this comprehensive book on community-based forestry by the Sierra Institute's Mark Baker and Jonathan Kusel. To read Island Press's announcement, click here. (40KB PDF). Visit Island Press's online bookstore at http://www.islandpress.org/books/. To request the Sierra Institute's free summary booklet, click here.

Forest Communities, Community Forests: A Collection of Case Studies of Community Forestry. In August 2003 Rowman and Littlefield Publishers released the Sierra Institute's book of community forestry case studies from across the U.S. Visit Rowman and Littlefield's website at http://www.rowmanlittlefield.com/

Northwest Economic Adjustment Initiative Assessment, Final Report analyzes the effectiveness of the Initiative implemented under President Clinton's 1993 Forest Plan to help address the socioeconomic impacts associated with the changes in federal timber policies. The Sierra Institute conducted case studies of communities in Washington, Oregon, and California and synthesized lessons and recommendations for future community capacity programs. For details, please read our press release and visit our NEAI Web page.

Tribal Economic Development: Building with Strengths and Confronting Challenges. Download (693KB PDF). The Intertribal Timber Council supported this report that examines six tribal communities and highlights key economic and community development lessons for Indian communities. The six case studies are drawn from the Sierra Institute's assessment of the Northwest Economic Adjustment Initiative.

Socioeconomic Characteristics of the Natural Resources Restoration System in Humboldt County: A partial view. Download (1.8MB PDF) describes the restoration sector in Humboldt County, California and its contribution to the North Coast regional economy. It shows that Humboldt County is at the leading edge of restoration practices and serves as a model for how restoration work can be accomplished.

Against the Odds: (Re-)Building Community Through Forestry on the Hoopa Reservation Download (472KB PDF) describes a case study in community forestry on the Hoopa Indian Reservation in northwestern California.

The Integration of Community Well-being and Forest Health in the Pacific Northwest: A Case Study of the Columbia Pacific Resource and Conservation District Council Download (568KB PDF) describes how communities in southwestern Washington struggle with development that ties community well-being to forest health in a context of changing regional economies.

A Report on All-Party Monitoring and Lessons Learned from the Pilot Projects Download (1.3MB PDF) describes a process called all-party monitoring and summarizes three pilot projects selected to understand the potential and limitations of all-party monitoring. The pilots include (1) the Quincy Library Group and Feather River Coordinated Resource Management Group effort in the northern Sierra; (2) the Watershed Research and Training Center work in northwest California; (3) the Applegate Partnership and Applegate Watershed Council work with the Rogue Institute for Ecology and Economy in southern Oregon.

The Westwood Community Survey 2000: A Report of Results Download (1MB PDF) is a survey of households that captures residents' opinions on a variety of issues in order to learn about what residents value and what they want for their community. The survey follows a precedent-setting land use initiative that has divided the community. The report offers a foundation for discussion and constructive engagement concerning land-use decisions that will affect the community in the years to come.

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Working Papers

Civic Science Partnerships in Community Forestry: Building capacity for participation among underserved communities Download (48KB PDF) describes how meaningful partnerships can be forged among researchers and traditionally underserved communities in forestry. Civic science partnerships engage all parties with interests in and knowledge of the forest, helping them to participate in adaptive management of the forest systems on which they depend. Challenges, institutional barriers, and lessons learned through the Sierra Institute's partnerships with underserved communities are discussed.

The Lead Partnership Group's Principles of Community-Based Forestry Download (54KB PDF). This 2001 document offers principles for process, policy and institutions, monitoring, stewardship, and reinvestment from a consortium of bioregional, watershed, and community-based groups.

Rural Environmental Justice Sourcebook. The sourcebook provides a primer on environmental justice, a summary of current literature and relevant legislation, and a growing database of community and policy resources related to rural environmental justice. PDF Version: click here; Web Version: click here

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Reports from Community-based Projects and Partners

Native plants in California's Owens River Valley: Integrating Paiute traditional ecological knowledge & Western botany through participatory research Download (177KB PDF) This report describes a participatory research project in which members of the Bishop and Big Pine Paiute tribal communities are documenting their traditional ecological knowledge of native plants in the Owens River Valley in California and linking their knowledge with current Western scientific knowledge.

The Maidu Stewardship Project: Blending of two knowledge systems in forest management Download (189KB PDF) This report describes a participatory research project in which members of the Maidu community are monitoring outcomes of traditional management of oaks and other plants important for traditional foods, medicines, and material culture on the Maidu Stewardship Site. The monitoring project integrates and reflects monitoring priorities of Western science and Maidu traditional ecological knowledge.

Sharing Stewardship of the Harvest: Report on the 2003 Crescent Lake Mushroom Monitoring Project Download (332KB PDF) This report describes a grassroots participatory research project that engages diverse, low-income harvesters in monitoring the social, cultural, and ecological dimensions of the matsutake mushroom harvest in Crescent Lake, Oregon.

Sharing Stewardship of the Harvest: Building capacity among low-income Non-Timber Forest Product harvesters Download (100KB PDF) The 15-page summary report introduces the process of multi-party monitoring and describes two grassroots participatory monitoring projects among matsutake mushroom harvesters in south-central Oregon. Key issues identified by participants are highlighted and outcomes and lessons learned are presented. The projects illustrate how on-the-ground participatory research is resulting in new avenues of participation among low-income, culturally diverse harvesters in land management decision-making.

Report on the Regional Forum of the Latino Forest Workers Leadership Group presents the results of a participatory needs assessment and demonstrates the formation of a leadership group among Latino forest workers from California, Oregon, and Washington. The process for problem identification is formative, in which leadership group members learn the skills to facilitate their own needs assessments in their own communities. Reports from the 2002 and 2003 forums were prepared by CIDERS and are available in printed format in English or Spanish.

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