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Pacific Northwest Research Station
These burned trees are remnants from the 2017 Norse Peak Fire in western Washington. Photo by Mark Stone, University of Washington.

Research Priorities

Research Priorities

The Pacific Northwest Research Station has four research priorities that reflect key challenges pertaining to natural resource management and society’s interactions with the natural world.

We identified these research priorities by engaging with policymakers, land managers, and other partners to identify critical information needs that can be met by new research in the social and natural sciences. These priorities are now a part of our station charter and will guide our research through 2032.

Priority 1: Science to manage for resilient landscapes and provide ecosystem services 

Priority 2: Science to understand connections between people and natural environments 

Priority 3: Science to mitigate risks to people, property, and natural resources 

Priority 4: Science to monitor and predict land stewardship and disturbance impacts 

We are committed to a coproduction approach to research. This means we will work with land managers, policymakers, scientists, and other partners throughout the research cycle. The process begins by jointly identifying the scope and context of the need, research questions, methods, and outputs, and continues with developing strategies for applying the research results to real-world situations.

Last updated July 6, 2023