Template for Description of Social-Ecological Systems (SES) Research in specific NSF EPSCoR Jurisdictions

Jurisdiction: Vermont EPSCoR

Names of Project Director and (if different) person completing the survey: Judith Van Houten, State Director VT EPSCoR

Contact information for person qualified to answer questions related to the survey: Judith Van Houten, [email protected] Beverley Wemple, [email protected]

Please describe SES research that is currently taking place in your jurisdiction. (up to 1 page)

Examples of SES research in Vermont include:

Redesigning the American Neighborhood: This project seeks to quantify the balances among environmental, economic, and social costs and benefits for storm water management at whole-watershed, neighborhood, and individual house scales in a typical New England landscape and climate. This project focuses on the following four objectives: (1) assessment of the opportunities for intervention in storm water management, (2) evaluation of the comparative cost/benefits of these interventions, (3) increasing participation of community stakeholders to devise successful solutions, and (4) demonstratration of workable approaches. The project team aims to develop a generalized framework that will help communities identify specific strategies to manage stormwater to improve the built environment, promote economic development and community values. Investigators: Breck Bowden, Alan McIntosh, John Todd, and Alexy Voinov, UVM Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources.

Contemporary nontimber forest product (NTFP) uses, especially in the eastern United States and elsewhere in the industrialized world. Surveys suggest that approximately ¼ of the U.S. population gathers NTFPs. This widespread, if poorly understood, activity creates direct connections between people and forests. NTFPs, especially those that have become global commodities, may present income opportunities for forest landowners and present sustainability concerns. NTFPs also present environmental justice opportunities and challenges. This research presents opportunities to explore a range of human-forest interactions and, as a result, the possibility of both empirical and theoretical advances in our understanding of these relationships. Investigators, Marla Emery, Clare Ginger, Susannah McCandless, and others, USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station, UVM Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources and Dept. of Geography.

Social Equity, Transportation, Access and Decision Making. Researchers in this cluster are engaged in examinations of the challenges facing newly-resettled refugees in the northeastern U.S. with regard to issues of mobility and access and investigations of the social context of informed decision-making regarding transportation Investigators: Pablo Bose, UVM Dept. of Geography, Tom Macias, UVM Dept. of Sociology.

The Children’s Urban Geography Project and dhild friendly cities research. This research explores how children in low-income, socially/spatially marginalized areas of cities conceptualize urban spaces and what would constitute a 'child-friendly city'. The work has been based in U.S. cities, including Buffalo, NY, with new projects planned with European collaborators. Investigator: Meghan Cope, UVM Dept. of Geography.

Social geographies of young people living in the rural landscapes. This work explores the relationships between American perceptions of nature, constructions of troubled youth, and the production of identity at wilderness therapy camps. Ultimately, the research has focused on the co-production of a therapeutic taskscape and individual identities Investigator: Cheryl Dunkley, UVM Dept. of Geography.

Community forestry. This work focuses on institutional arrangements for community- based resource management and forest stewardship. Areas of investigation include collaborative processes, equity & sustainability in forest carbon markets, socioeconomic monitoring, forest certification, watershed organizations, and the non-profit sector in forests. Investigator: Cecelia Danks, UVM Environmental Program and Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources.

The Gund Institute for Ecological Economics unites pioneering experts, leading educators, students, and others from around the world and across a wide variety of academic and environmental disciplines. Ongoing research is focused on several broad areas of fundamental concern. These include the application of science in economic decision-making; the intrinsic value of ecosystems and the services they provide; integrated community participation in economic design and development; and the development of accurate measurements of system health and sustainability. Director: Robert Costanza, Univ. of Vermont.

What are the SES areas of research that your state may be interested in moving toward or enhancing at this time? (1/2 page)

What are the SES areas of research that your state may be interested in pursuing in the future? (1/2 page)

Is there ongoing collaboration with other jurisdictions or neighboring states? (1/2 page) Our most productive collaborations in Vermont have been between university researchers, federal scientists and agency personnel (U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Dept of Transportation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources) and non-profit advocacy groups (Vermont Refugee Resettlement Center).

Please list funding sources (including EPSCoR and non-EPSCoR) for this SES research. (1/2 page)

National Science Foundation U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Forest Service Transportation Research Center, Univ. of Vermont U.S. Geological Survey and Vermont Water Resources & Lake Studies Center

Does your jurisdiction have specific goals for SES research as defined by your State Science and Technology Plan or other statewide initiative? (1/2 page)