To inform the 2018–2022 strategic plan, a national survey of rangeland and forestry Extension personnel was conducted, with the primary purpose of identifying emerging issues faced by private forest and rangeland owners/managers. Survey results from approximately 420 individuals determined nine critical issues described in the new strategic plan, with a recognition that all of them are affected at some level by climate change, restoration, and land conversion and fragmentation. The nine issues are:
- Ecosystem Services;
- Landowner Engagement;
- Public Awareness and Youth Engagement;
- Invasive Species;
- Wildfire Prevention and Management;
- Rural Communities;
- Water and Wetlands;
- Generational Succession and Other Land-Ownership Changes;
- Fish and Wildlife Habitat.
The survey also revealed information about current and future trends in program evaluation, technology used within programs, and teaching approaches and methods.
The 2018–2022 RREA Strategic Plan provides direction for addressing many critical issues threatening forests and rangelands, and the people whose livelihoods depend on them. Continued and expanded support for and collaboration among the academic, landowner, and government sectors is crucial for sustaining ecological processes, providing increased economic opportunities, and offering the broader societal benefits derived from forest and rangeland resources. As the only direct funding support for forest and rangeland Extension programming in USDA-NIFA, RREA provides increasingly important linkages among the research community, Cooperative Extension, and forest and rangelands owners and users.
For more information about the RREA, contact Eric Norland.
Request a copy of the RREA.
*Disclaimer: The contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way. This document is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies.