We hosted a USDA-funded workshop in August 2024 – learn more about the workshop at our conference webpage.

Motivation
The magnitude of the challenges facing aspen, a foundational species for western North American forest ecosystems and human communities, compels renewed scientific and management focus. There is extensive interest among a diverse group of people (federal/state land managers, tribes, private landowners, other non-governmental organizations) in understanding the changes this species is experiencing, as well as taking effective and ethical actions in response to these changes. There is also a growing awareness in land stewardship of the importance of accommodating and centering perspectives and values that come from outside the federal agency and academic umbrellas.

We therefore seek to bring together people from a diverse set of backgrounds in a space where listening, knowledge exchange, relationship building, and collaboration is possible. While prior aspen-centric workshops have been held regularly, their focus has been primarily on knowledge transfer, and they have had limited success in engaging a diverse set of participants. In particular, the conference will support developing trust and consent for future collaboration among tribal and non-tribal participants.

Focuses of this meeting:

• Sustaining relationships between forests and people
• Promoting forest resilience in an age of rapid climate change
• Fire for aspen, aspen for fire
• Heat + drought impacts and future forecasts
• Aspen genetics to inform ecology & management

Through these discussions, we hope to:

• Increase awareness of best practices and/or current research or management needs
• Offer a unique opportunity to engage with other people to exchange knowledge or build effective teams
• Build trust among people (e.g., between non-Indigenous individuals and tribes) and viable pathways to effectively build a shared vision of stewardship