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Jesse Abrams

The University of Georgia, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, Faculty Member

The University of Georgia, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Faculty Member

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I am a natural resource social scientist focusing on sustainable natural resource management and policy. My emphasis is on community-based natural resource management in the U.S. West and environmental policy and governance across the U.S. and Latin America.
Phone: 404-981-1707
Address: 180 E Green St
Athens, GA 30602

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Papers by Jesse Abrams

The Shared Stewardship Strategy in the Southern United States: Lessons Learned

Journal of Forestry

The USDA Forest Service (Forest Service)’s Shared Stewardship strategy, announced initially in 20... more The USDA Forest Service (Forest Service)’s Shared Stewardship strategy, announced initially in 2018, is built on a vision of advancing federal partnerships with states and other entities to better accomplish shared forest management priorities at the landscape scale. Early implementation of the strategy provides a glimpse into how these partnership dynamics differ both among states and among geographic and jurisdictional regions. Building on a prior assessment of early Shared Stewardship implementation in the western states, this Brief Communication article provides insights from a parallel analysis in the Southern Region (Region 8) of the Forest Service. Our results highlight the fact that informal relationships and ways of doing business can be as important as formal policies in shaping the ways that federal, state, and other entities work together in practice.

Testing the Applicability and Credibility of the High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF) Toolkit: A Systematic Global Review

Small-scale Forestry

Journal of Rural and Community Development Journal of Rural and Community Development Rural Geography-Rural Development: An Examination of Agriculture, Policy and Planning, and Community in Rural Areas

This journal provides open access to all of its content on the principle that making research fre... more

Community impacts from large oil and natural gas ventures in rural and remote areas

Disturbance shapes the US forest governance frontier: A review and conceptual framework for understanding governance change

Ambio, 2021

Conflict in US forest management for decades centered around balancing demands from forested ecos... more Conflict in US forest management for decades centered around balancing demands from forested ecosystems, with a rise in place-based collaborative governance at the end of the twentieth century. By the early 2000s, it was becoming apparent that not only had the mix of players involved in forest management changed, but so had the playing field, as climate-driven disturbances such as wildfire and insect and disease outbreaks were becoming more extensive and severe. In this conceptual review paper, we argue that disturbance has become the most prominent driver of governance change on US national forests, but we also recognize that the governance responses to disturbance are shaped by variables such as discourses, institutional history and path dependence, and institutional innovation operating at different system levels. We review the governance changes in response to disturbance that constitute a new frontier in US federal forest governance and offer a conceptual framework to examine how these governance responses are shaped by multi-level factors.

Desarrollo sustentable y regenerativo de los paisajes socioecológicos de montaña: Montología del Chimborazo como referente insigne del cambio global

Antropologías del Sur

Analizamos el predicamento del desarrollo sustentable y regenerativo enmarcado en la experiencia ... more Analizamos el predicamento del desarrollo sustentable y regenerativo enmarcado en la experiencia globalizante del cambio global, con la gran aceleración de las últimas décadas. Con el fin de plantear opciones prácticas de adaptación al cambio climático y de incrementar la resiliencia, se presenta el caso del Chimborazo como referente global para incorporar la transdisciplinariedad de la montología, presentada como la ciencia convergente de las montañas, consideradas como híbridos de naturaleza y cultura. En la Reserva de Producción Faunística de Chimborazo, los objetivos de conservación y las prácticas de manejo del área protegida se han ceñido a los paradigmas antiguos de naturaleza prístina, en vez de reflejar la realidad de un sistema socioecológico productivo de data ancestral. Presentamos argumentos para reformular el status quo con la noética y la consiliencia de los nuevos paradigmas inclusivos, como la historicidad, la transgresividad y la referencialidad del estudio de mont...

Do rural youth want to stay rural? Influences on residential aspirations of youth in forest-located communities

Community Development, 2022

Wildfire risks and values as identified by members of Oregon and Idaho Rangeland Fire Protection Associations

Place attachment and perceptions of land-use change: cultural ecosystem services impacts of eucalyptus plantation expansion in Ubajay, Entre Ros, Argentina

Ecology and Society, 2021

Working on institutions while planning for forest resilience: a case study of public land management in the United States

Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 2020

How do managers reconcile new priorities for responding to ecological change with traditional dec... more How do managers reconcile new priorities for responding to ecological change with traditional decision-making processes? We address this question with a focus on the US Forest Service, which is transitioning to managing for resilience, while operating under a mix of both new and decades-old policies. We conducted qualitative case study research on the Kaibab National Forest in Arizona, USA, via interviews and document analysis. In this context, managing for resilience translated into ensuring that forests experienced frequent, low-severity fires. This endeavor required managers to work through the legacy of fire exclusion and develop institutions to accommodate frequent burning in a new land management plan. In this plan, managers also sought to increase their discretion, but not at the expense of accountability. Collaboration with external stakeholders allowed them to strike this balance between flexibility and accountability and make the intentional institutional changes needed to manage for resilience.

Local-level emergence of network governance within the U.S. Forest Service: A case study of mountain pine beetle outbreak from Colorado, USA

Forest Policy and Economics, 2020

Abstract In the U.S. and around the world, governmental and non-governmental actors are piloting ... more Abstract In the U.S. and around the world, governmental and non-governmental actors are piloting network governance approaches to fill gaps in governance resources (management capacity, local legitimacy) that cannot be met by a single entity alone. Such resources are needed to respond adaptively to changing conditions, such as those posed by severe disturbance. The purpose of this study is to provide insight into the drivers, pathways, and outcomes of network governance emergence within a federal bureaucracy, that of the U.S. Forest Service. We aim to shed light on the local variability of emergent network types (partnerships, collaboratives, combination types). We conducted case study research on responses to a severe mountain pine beetle (MPB, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) infestation (~1996–2012) on the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in northern Colorado, USA. We applied a multi-level analysis, comprised of bottom-up, top-down, and “from around” (pre-existing network) factors, to three examples of MPB outbreak-driven network emergence. The examples vary in their combination of geographic location (Western Slope vs. Front Range) and scale (local vs. regional). Our analysis revealed: (1) network type and governance outcomes varied due to interlinked, multi-level factors (predominant gaps in governance resources, bottom-up factors, and pre-existing networks); (2) USFS managers and counterparts exercised agency in navigating top-down bureaucratic constraints on network governance emergence; (3) state, local, industry, and NGO entities, along with federal counterparts, co-initiated network governance of federal lands; (4) emergent networks generally did not persist in the large bureaucracy after the aftermath subsided. This study's findings are applicable to governance networks associated with land management bureaucracies in the U.S. and around the world.

Navigating social forestry – A street-level perspective on National Forest management in the US Pacific Northwest

Land Use Policy, 2018

US forest policy changed dramatically during the 1990s and fundamentally altered National Forest ... more US forest policy changed dramatically during the 1990s and fundamentally altered National Forest management in the Pacific Northwest. Via the Northwest Forest Plan, the previous emphasis on timber production was replaced with a broader set of objectives and collaborative management approaches became increasingly important. Yet the legacies of past institutions, such as those related to budget structures and planning processes, continue to weigh on contemporary dynamics of policy implementation in the current 'social forestry' regime. The convoluted nature of the current forest governance system's emergence raises the question of how it affects policy implementation at the local level. We rely on 35 qualitative interviews with various actors involved in public forest management on the Siuslaw and Willamette National Forests in Oregon to understand how multiple and contradictory policies, combined with local stakeholder involvement, influence management decisions. We find that forest management takes place in a vetocratic and neoliberal institutional setting: the implementation of projects is contingent upon getting past numerous veto players who, at the same time, increasingly take on tasks formerly assigned to government entities

Journal of Rural and Community Development Reflexive Gentrification of Working Lands in the American West: Contesting the 'Middle Landscape

This journal provides open access to all of its content on the principle that making research fre... more

A Comparative Analysis of Five Forest Certification Programs

Forests, 2020

International expansion of forest certification programs has occurred over the last three decades... more International expansion of forest certification programs has occurred over the last three decades. Both public and private organizations have shown increased interest in becoming certified by one or more forest certification bodies, to assure the public that forest resources are managed adequately in sustaining forest health and socio-economic viability. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) program is globally used as a benchmark to implement forest certification at the national and regional levels. The Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI) and the American Tree Farm System (ATFS) are also used throughout the United States. In Europe, individual countries such as Bulgaria and Turkey have also developed national forest certification programs. The SFI, ATFS and Bulgarian programs are further endorsed by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). The results of a qualitative analysis comparing the FSC forest certification program with the SFI, the ATFS, and the two...

Beaver-related restoration in Owyhee County, Idaho: opportunities and challenges

Abrams, Jesse; Johnduff, Michael; Charnley, Susan 2018. Beaver-related restoration in Owyhee Coun... more Abrams, Jesse; Johnduff, Michael; Charnley, Susan 2018. Beaver-related restoration in Owyhee County, Idaho: opportunities and challenges. Res. Pap. PNW-RP-611. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 21 p. Owyhee County, Idaho, covers much of the Owyhee Uplands, an arid landscape characterized by sagebrush habitat where cattle grazing is a dominant land use. Because this landscape is home to many sensitive sagebrush-obligate species as well as species that require high-quality riparian and aquatic habitat, it has garnered attention from state and federal wildlife agencies and various nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) interested in restoring and conserving habitat on working landscapes. The installation of beaver dam-like structures such as beaver dam analogues, and the reintroduction of beaver (Castor canadensis) through translocation or natural recolonization, have been examined as possible tools to accomplish these objec...

The effectiveness of biomass policies in supporting business investments in Oregon : preliminary results

Approach We surveyed biomass producers and users in six states to understand what policies, if an... more Approach We surveyed biomass producers and users in six states to understand what policies, if any, influenced business decisions to invest in wood energy production such as pursuing new production capacity, new technology and equipment, new markets, or new types of contracts. This paper discusses preliminary findings from 43 survey respondents in Oregon, including representatives of 5 pellet producers, 7 biomass power generators, 10 institutional heat users, and 21 biomass loggers/ haulers.

Reflexive Gentrification of Working Lands in the American West: Contesting the 'Middle Landscape

Journal of Rural and Community Development, 2014

The scenic rural landscape of Wallowa County, Oregon has attracted attention from affluent urban ... more The scenic rural landscape of Wallowa County, Oregon has attracted attention from affluent urban populations who value the physical setting and sense of rural authenticity of this remote setting. Since at least the 1990s, Wallowa County has experienced a wave of real estate investment by amenity-oriented populations, some of whom relocated permanently to the county and some of whom visit their properties only seasonally. Here, we apply the insights of rural gentrification scholarship to questions of land use and management. Specifically, we draw upon recent work on actor-oriented gentrification to highlight the ways in which land use is implicated in the reflexive processes of place (re)creation by gentrifier populations. In this case, many landowner-gentrifiers were acutely aware of their potential role in transforming the local landscape in ways which diminish local authenticity. An emergent discourse of "working lands" served as potential common ground for the imaginari...

Resilience in land management planning : policy mandates, approaches, and resources

Current Challenges and Realities For Forest-based Businesses Adjacent to Public Lands in the United States

Journal of Rural and Community Development, 2018

Through contracting and timber sales, the private sector is engaged in management of national for... more Through contracting and timber sales, the private sector is engaged in management of national forest lands and local community economies in the United States. But there is little recent research about current relationships between these lands and timber purchasers that could better inform future timber and biomass sale and business assistance policies and programs. We conducted a survey of timber-purchasing businesses active in six USDA Forest Service regions where ecosystem restoration and wildfire risk reduction policies have been prevalent to examine their characteristics, reliance on federal lands, challenges, and needs for assistance. We found that a majority of respondents in all Forest Service regions purchase small diameter timber (8 inches dbh or less) and had sought business assistance, most commonly from accountants and lending institutions. Those with the greatest dependence on federal timber—76 percent or more of their supply from federal sources—were less likely to hav...

Economic development and public lands : the roles of community-based organizations

The University of Oregon is an equal-opportunity, affirmative-action institution committed to cul... more

The Shared Stewardship Strategy in the Southern United States: Lessons Learned

Journal of Forestry

The USDA Forest Service (Forest Service)’s Shared Stewardship strategy, announced initially in 20... more The USDA Forest Service (Forest Service)’s Shared Stewardship strategy, announced initially in 2018, is built on a vision of advancing federal partnerships with states and other entities to better accomplish shared forest management priorities at the landscape scale. Early implementation of the strategy provides a glimpse into how these partnership dynamics differ both among states and among geographic and jurisdictional regions. Building on a prior assessment of early Shared Stewardship implementation in the western states, this Brief Communication article provides insights from a parallel analysis in the Southern Region (Region 8) of the Forest Service. Our results highlight the fact that informal relationships and ways of doing business can be as important as formal policies in shaping the ways that federal, state, and other entities work together in practice.

Testing the Applicability and Credibility of the High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF) Toolkit: A Systematic Global Review

Small-scale Forestry

Journal of Rural and Community Development Journal of Rural and Community Development Rural Geography-Rural Development: An Examination of Agriculture, Policy and Planning, and Community in Rural Areas

This journal provides open access to all of its content on the principle that making research fre... more

Community impacts from large oil and natural gas ventures in rural and remote areas

Disturbance shapes the US forest governance frontier: A review and conceptual framework for understanding governance change

Ambio, 2021

Conflict in US forest management for decades centered around balancing demands from forested ecos... more Conflict in US forest management for decades centered around balancing demands from forested ecosystems, with a rise in place-based collaborative governance at the end of the twentieth century. By the early 2000s, it was becoming apparent that not only had the mix of players involved in forest management changed, but so had the playing field, as climate-driven disturbances such as wildfire and insect and disease outbreaks were becoming more extensive and severe. In this conceptual review paper, we argue that disturbance has become the most prominent driver of governance change on US national forests, but we also recognize that the governance responses to disturbance are shaped by variables such as discourses, institutional history and path dependence, and institutional innovation operating at different system levels. We review the governance changes in response to disturbance that constitute a new frontier in US federal forest governance and offer a conceptual framework to examine how these governance responses are shaped by multi-level factors.

Desarrollo sustentable y regenerativo de los paisajes socioecológicos de montaña: Montología del Chimborazo como referente insigne del cambio global

Antropologías del Sur

Analizamos el predicamento del desarrollo sustentable y regenerativo enmarcado en la experiencia ... more Analizamos el predicamento del desarrollo sustentable y regenerativo enmarcado en la experiencia globalizante del cambio global, con la gran aceleración de las últimas décadas. Con el fin de plantear opciones prácticas de adaptación al cambio climático y de incrementar la resiliencia, se presenta el caso del Chimborazo como referente global para incorporar la transdisciplinariedad de la montología, presentada como la ciencia convergente de las montañas, consideradas como híbridos de naturaleza y cultura. En la Reserva de Producción Faunística de Chimborazo, los objetivos de conservación y las prácticas de manejo del área protegida se han ceñido a los paradigmas antiguos de naturaleza prístina, en vez de reflejar la realidad de un sistema socioecológico productivo de data ancestral. Presentamos argumentos para reformular el status quo con la noética y la consiliencia de los nuevos paradigmas inclusivos, como la historicidad, la transgresividad y la referencialidad del estudio de mont...

Do rural youth want to stay rural? Influences on residential aspirations of youth in forest-located communities

Community Development, 2022

Wildfire risks and values as identified by members of Oregon and Idaho Rangeland Fire Protection Associations

Place attachment and perceptions of land-use change: cultural ecosystem services impacts of eucalyptus plantation expansion in Ubajay, Entre Ros, Argentina

Ecology and Society, 2021

Working on institutions while planning for forest resilience: a case study of public land management in the United States

Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 2020

How do managers reconcile new priorities for responding to ecological change with traditional dec... more How do managers reconcile new priorities for responding to ecological change with traditional decision-making processes? We address this question with a focus on the US Forest Service, which is transitioning to managing for resilience, while operating under a mix of both new and decades-old policies. We conducted qualitative case study research on the Kaibab National Forest in Arizona, USA, via interviews and document analysis. In this context, managing for resilience translated into ensuring that forests experienced frequent, low-severity fires. This endeavor required managers to work through the legacy of fire exclusion and develop institutions to accommodate frequent burning in a new land management plan. In this plan, managers also sought to increase their discretion, but not at the expense of accountability. Collaboration with external stakeholders allowed them to strike this balance between flexibility and accountability and make the intentional institutional changes needed to manage for resilience.

Local-level emergence of network governance within the U.S. Forest Service: A case study of mountain pine beetle outbreak from Colorado, USA

Forest Policy and Economics, 2020

Abstract In the U.S. and around the world, governmental and non-governmental actors are piloting ... more Abstract In the U.S. and around the world, governmental and non-governmental actors are piloting network governance approaches to fill gaps in governance resources (management capacity, local legitimacy) that cannot be met by a single entity alone. Such resources are needed to respond adaptively to changing conditions, such as those posed by severe disturbance. The purpose of this study is to provide insight into the drivers, pathways, and outcomes of network governance emergence within a federal bureaucracy, that of the U.S. Forest Service. We aim to shed light on the local variability of emergent network types (partnerships, collaboratives, combination types). We conducted case study research on responses to a severe mountain pine beetle (MPB, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) infestation (~1996–2012) on the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in northern Colorado, USA. We applied a multi-level analysis, comprised of bottom-up, top-down, and “from around” (pre-existing network) factors, to three examples of MPB outbreak-driven network emergence. The examples vary in their combination of geographic location (Western Slope vs. Front Range) and scale (local vs. regional). Our analysis revealed: (1) network type and governance outcomes varied due to interlinked, multi-level factors (predominant gaps in governance resources, bottom-up factors, and pre-existing networks); (2) USFS managers and counterparts exercised agency in navigating top-down bureaucratic constraints on network governance emergence; (3) state, local, industry, and NGO entities, along with federal counterparts, co-initiated network governance of federal lands; (4) emergent networks generally did not persist in the large bureaucracy after the aftermath subsided. This study's findings are applicable to governance networks associated with land management bureaucracies in the U.S. and around the world.

Navigating social forestry – A street-level perspective on National Forest management in the US Pacific Northwest

Land Use Policy, 2018

US forest policy changed dramatically during the 1990s and fundamentally altered National Forest ... more US forest policy changed dramatically during the 1990s and fundamentally altered National Forest management in the Pacific Northwest. Via the Northwest Forest Plan, the previous emphasis on timber production was replaced with a broader set of objectives and collaborative management approaches became increasingly important. Yet the legacies of past institutions, such as those related to budget structures and planning processes, continue to weigh on contemporary dynamics of policy implementation in the current 'social forestry' regime. The convoluted nature of the current forest governance system's emergence raises the question of how it affects policy implementation at the local level. We rely on 35 qualitative interviews with various actors involved in public forest management on the Siuslaw and Willamette National Forests in Oregon to understand how multiple and contradictory policies, combined with local stakeholder involvement, influence management decisions. We find that forest management takes place in a vetocratic and neoliberal institutional setting: the implementation of projects is contingent upon getting past numerous veto players who, at the same time, increasingly take on tasks formerly assigned to government entities

Journal of Rural and Community Development Reflexive Gentrification of Working Lands in the American West: Contesting the 'Middle Landscape

This journal provides open access to all of its content on the principle that making research fre... more

A Comparative Analysis of Five Forest Certification Programs

Forests, 2020

International expansion of forest certification programs has occurred over the last three decades... more International expansion of forest certification programs has occurred over the last three decades. Both public and private organizations have shown increased interest in becoming certified by one or more forest certification bodies, to assure the public that forest resources are managed adequately in sustaining forest health and socio-economic viability. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) program is globally used as a benchmark to implement forest certification at the national and regional levels. The Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI) and the American Tree Farm System (ATFS) are also used throughout the United States. In Europe, individual countries such as Bulgaria and Turkey have also developed national forest certification programs. The SFI, ATFS and Bulgarian programs are further endorsed by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). The results of a qualitative analysis comparing the FSC forest certification program with the SFI, the ATFS, and the two...

Beaver-related restoration in Owyhee County, Idaho: opportunities and challenges

Abrams, Jesse; Johnduff, Michael; Charnley, Susan 2018. Beaver-related restoration in Owyhee Coun... more Abrams, Jesse; Johnduff, Michael; Charnley, Susan 2018. Beaver-related restoration in Owyhee County, Idaho: opportunities and challenges. Res. Pap. PNW-RP-611. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 21 p. Owyhee County, Idaho, covers much of the Owyhee Uplands, an arid landscape characterized by sagebrush habitat where cattle grazing is a dominant land use. Because this landscape is home to many sensitive sagebrush-obligate species as well as species that require high-quality riparian and aquatic habitat, it has garnered attention from state and federal wildlife agencies and various nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) interested in restoring and conserving habitat on working landscapes. The installation of beaver dam-like structures such as beaver dam analogues, and the reintroduction of beaver (Castor canadensis) through translocation or natural recolonization, have been examined as possible tools to accomplish these objec...

The effectiveness of biomass policies in supporting business investments in Oregon : preliminary results

Approach We surveyed biomass producers and users in six states to understand what policies, if an... more Approach We surveyed biomass producers and users in six states to understand what policies, if any, influenced business decisions to invest in wood energy production such as pursuing new production capacity, new technology and equipment, new markets, or new types of contracts. This paper discusses preliminary findings from 43 survey respondents in Oregon, including representatives of 5 pellet producers, 7 biomass power generators, 10 institutional heat users, and 21 biomass loggers/ haulers.

Reflexive Gentrification of Working Lands in the American West: Contesting the 'Middle Landscape

Journal of Rural and Community Development, 2014

The scenic rural landscape of Wallowa County, Oregon has attracted attention from affluent urban ... more The scenic rural landscape of Wallowa County, Oregon has attracted attention from affluent urban populations who value the physical setting and sense of rural authenticity of this remote setting. Since at least the 1990s, Wallowa County has experienced a wave of real estate investment by amenity-oriented populations, some of whom relocated permanently to the county and some of whom visit their properties only seasonally. Here, we apply the insights of rural gentrification scholarship to questions of land use and management. Specifically, we draw upon recent work on actor-oriented gentrification to highlight the ways in which land use is implicated in the reflexive processes of place (re)creation by gentrifier populations. In this case, many landowner-gentrifiers were acutely aware of their potential role in transforming the local landscape in ways which diminish local authenticity. An emergent discourse of "working lands" served as potential common ground for the imaginari...

Resilience in land management planning : policy mandates, approaches, and resources

Current Challenges and Realities For Forest-based Businesses Adjacent to Public Lands in the United States

Journal of Rural and Community Development, 2018

Through contracting and timber sales, the private sector is engaged in management of national for... more Through contracting and timber sales, the private sector is engaged in management of national forest lands and local community economies in the United States. But there is little recent research about current relationships between these lands and timber purchasers that could better inform future timber and biomass sale and business assistance policies and programs. We conducted a survey of timber-purchasing businesses active in six USDA Forest Service regions where ecosystem restoration and wildfire risk reduction policies have been prevalent to examine their characteristics, reliance on federal lands, challenges, and needs for assistance. We found that a majority of respondents in all Forest Service regions purchase small diameter timber (8 inches dbh or less) and had sought business assistance, most commonly from accountants and lending institutions. Those with the greatest dependence on federal timber—76 percent or more of their supply from federal sources—were less likely to hav...

Economic development and public lands : the roles of community-based organizations

The University of Oregon is an equal-opportunity, affirmative-action institution committed to cul... more