Public engagement input from Wallowa-Whitman National Forest resiliency project: 2021 Q-methodology data

The Wallowa-Whitman National Forest (WWNF), in Oregon, identified forest conditions in the Morgan Nesbit area that are at high risk of loss from disturbances (insects, disease, wildlife). By applying a landscape approach, the WWNF identified 87,000 acres where management will aim to move forest, riparian and grassland conditions toward an ecologically resilient landscape. To understand public perspectives on the resiliency project, managers (with support from USDA Forest Service, Research and Development) developed a web-based application to gather public input on the importance of ecosystem services and the associated drivers of change that may facilitate or impede the provision of such ecosystem services. These data include the perspectives of 74 people from the communities surrounding WWNF who responded to the web-based application in the spring of 2021; specifically, the ecosystem services prioritization (Q-sorts), relevant drivers of change selected, and limited demographic characteristics of each person who participated.
The primary goal of this public engagement activity was to understand what ecosystem services are most important to members of the interested public within the context of the Morgan Nesbit area. The public input was meant to guide planning and communication as the WWNF approached the Morgan Nesbit resiliency project.