As part of our research on the status and future of Barrier Island Maritime Live Oak forests on the Georgia coast, on March 12, 2018 we convened a day-long workshop with managers from five barrier islands, coastal ecosystem managers and stewards, and researchers from other universities.
The goal of the workshop was to harness a diversity of perspectives and insights to gain a richer understanding of the various trends, concerns, management objectives, and priority areas for further research in Barrier Island Maritime Live Oak Forests. Our UGA team (Hannah Morris, Clint Moore, Nate Nibbelink, Brian Crawford, Dessa Dunn, and Sarah Horsley) developed four participatory exercises to elicit participants’ knowledge and perspectives, and facilitate information sharing between stakeholders. The wealth of information presented and exchanged was very exciting!
The information provided by participants will:
- be incorporated into a Synthesis Report after the workshop;
- help define an agenda of research needs to guide and attract research;
- help inform Hannah Morris’ PhD research on Maritime Live Oak forest dynamics;
- help define the diverse range of management objectives and concerns for MLO forests, to be incorporated into a Structured Decision Making model as part of Dessa Dunn’s MS research.
The workshop was funded by Jekyll Island Authority and NOAA/Georgia DNR Coastal Incentive Grant, under two grants for which Lizzie is the principal investigator.