Inspire Session
Public-Private Sector
Tara Hudiburg
Associate Professor
University of Idaho
Moscow, Idaho, United States
Kristina Bartowitz
American Forests, United States
The development and scaling of market-driven climate-smart solutions will only be possible through rigorous, ecological scientific inquiry. Rising temperatures have fueled megafires, megadroughts, and extreme temperature and precipitation events across the western US, impacting ecosystems, the economy, community infrastructure, food and fiber, cultural resources, and human health, with disparate impacts on marginalized communities. Addressing these problems will require transformative, ecologically based, and economically driven climate-smart solutions. Climate-smart solutions are products and practices that align with ecological systems while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, sequestering carbon, increasing regional climate adaptation, and maintaining or increasing the delivery of ecosystem services. Ecologically based research outcomes will drive solutions development, however, those solutions are only useful if transferred and scaled to market. Bold and integrative partnerships that involve industries, NGOs, universities, tribes, and government agencies will be crucial for a climate-smart economy. A climate-smart economy fully integrates the development and deployment of climate-smart solutions while ensuring a just and equitable transition from a fossil fuel-based economy to a more fully participatory circular bioeconomy. We are developing a climate-smart economic engine, Fueling an Innovative, Equitable, Resilient, Climate-smart Economy (FIERCE) for the rural and underserved Columbia River Basin (ID, MT, OR, WA) region. FIERCE will catalyze a climate-smart economy through forestry and agricultural climate-smart solutions by bridging the gap between scientists, industry, tribes, NGOs, government agencies, and communities. The FIERCE engine focuses on three significant efforts: 1) Development of climate-smart solutions through the integration of ecology, chemistry, engineering, and earth sciences research, 2) Transferring innovative climate-smart products and solutions to market through investment in existing and new regional businesses, 3) Creation of a STEM workforce development program that transcends traditional disciplinary, vocational, and educational boundaries to train the workforce of tomorrow and ensure economic access to historically marginalized groups, and 4) Implementation of a Monitoring, Measuring, Verification, and Reporting (MMRV) enterprise rooted in the earth sciences research to evaluate and certify the potential atmospheric impact of climate smart solutions. Here, we’ll present FIERCE’s innovative climate-smart solutions, emerging ecological research, and the transformative partnerships accelerating this bold approach. Speakers will include ecologists in academia and alt-academic positions, industry leaders, economic and workforce development leaders, and NGO participants. Our hope is the FIERCE engine will serve as a blueprint for other rural regions looking to develop a climate-smart economy.
Presenting Author: Tara Hudiburg – University of Idaho
Presenting Author: Eric Walsh, Ph.D. – Manomet
Co-author: Tara Hudiburg – University of Idaho
Co-author: Stefanie Krantz – Nez perce Tribe
Co-author: Justin Mathius – Univeristy of Idaho
Co-author: Anne Connor – Clearwater Soil and Water Conservation District
Presenting Author: Winslow D. Hansen – Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Co-author: Jazlynn Hall – Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Co-author: Manette Sandor – Cary Institute Of ecosystem Studies
Co-author: Kristina Bartowitz – American Forests
Co-author: Tara Hudiburg – University of Idaho
Presenting Author: Tom Housel – University of Oregon School of Law
Presenting Author: Andrew Whitman, M.S. – Manomet
Co-author: Eric Walsh, Ph.D. – Manomet
Presenting Author: Rich French – One Palouse
Presenting Author: Parker Mullins – Bonneville Environmental Foundation