XIX. Collaborative and Community-Based Stewardship of Pinyon-Juniper Woodlands in the Great Basin

The Masonic Mountain Pinyon Juniper Shared Stewardship Project is a collaborative planning initiative aimed at developing a comprehensive management framework for the stewardship of woodlands in the Bodie Hills region of the western Great Basin. This presentation provides an overview of the project’s approach to collaboration and alliance-building with Indigenous partners from the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, as well as the Bridgeport Indian Colony. It delves into the history of this collaborative endeavor and outlines some of the formalized processes that underpin our approach to collaborative conservation. These processes encompass consent-based decision-making and Indigenous data sovereignty protections, which inform our commitment to advancing healthy forest ecosystems, preserving cultural values, and upholding Indigenous sovereignty.

Caring for pinyon-juniper woodlands also means caring for past, present, and future peoples. Here, I consider collaborative ecological research as a compassionate heritage activity, because it nurtures relationships and values knowledge that people have actively remembered for millennia. Ecological heritage includes intangible cultural heritage such as TEK and Indigenous Peoples’ wisdom, as recognized by UNESCO. It also brings together both tangible and intangible elements of heritage ecologies to promote well-being for the ecosystem’s entire human- and non-human community, from past to future. As a non-Native archaeologist, I address heritage considerations as they emerge through collaborative activities. I also integrate work from Indigenous scholars who developed a framework variably described as “archaeologies of the heart” and “landscapes of care,” which braids together threads from diverse fields such as women’s studies, resource management, nursing, Indigenous studies, and social psychology. This approach rejects the western mind/body dualism and recognizes the validity of emotion, listening, and heartfelt care in scientific research.

There is a need for management strategies that address the various threats to pinyon-juniper woodlands. To be effective, management strategies must consider the variable nature of woodlands, which differ greatly in stand structure, understory, past disturbance, and land use history. This variability requires treatments tailored to individual woodlands, yet is poorly documented in western science. This study seeks to understand and communicate woodland variability by describing distinct woodland types at a study site in the Eastern Sierra Nevada. Hierarchical cluster analysis was used to group 181 sampling plots into seven woodland types based on their stand structure. In addition to stand structure characteristics, we described the tree species composition, environment, health, and understory of these woodland types. We then used spatial models to predict their occurrences across the study area. With these woodland types identified and mapped, management actions can selectively target the values and threats unique to each type.

Single-leaf pinyon pine is a cornerstone species of cultural and ecological significance in the Great Basin, yet increasing wildfire frequency threatens its resilience. This research explores novel approaches to post-fire restoration of single-leaf pinyon pine through collaborative experiments between the Washoe Tribe and ecological researchers. Field trials on Washoe Tribal land assessed microsite influences and abiotic conditions, while a complementary experiment evaluated the effects of shade and soil amendments on seedling survival. Overall, we observed about 35% seedling survival in the first year after planting, and the results highlight the critical importance of shade and microsite selection in enhancing seedling survival rates. This study highlights the value of community-based restoration and multi-agency partnerships, offering practical insights for land managers and a hopeful path forward in addressing mounting ecological challenges while preserving cultural heritage.

 In an era of climate change and rapid forest die-offs, it is crucial to understand the drivers of forest regeneration to forecast future changes and identify potential management solutions. In this study, we assessed how stand density impacts cone production in single-leaf pinyon pine (P. monophylla). In summer 2024, we sampled 36 pinyon pine populations across their range from the Eastern Sierra to Utah (1287 to 2653 meters, 34.0307º to 41.0418º lat.), recording neighborhood density, stand density, and current year production,  and using the cone-scar method to obtain estimates of historic cone production. Our efforts recovered approximately 15 years of cone production data for 309 trees. Preliminary results suggest that in single-needle pinyon pines, higher neighborhood density is correlated with increased cone production. Consequently, higher density pinyon pine stands may indicate that micro-environmental or micro-topographic conditions are particularly favorable to tree growth, where density is not a limiting factor for cone production.

I will give an overview of this collaborative landscape planning project, which is taking place in the Bridgeport District of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. This partnership between Tribes, researchers, and land managers aims to promote diverse and healthy landscapes, develop and evaluate new prescriptions to increase woodland resilience, and build a woodland monitoring toolkit.