Our Work
Science
The Alliance is committed to using the Altar Valley as an outdoor laboratory to aid in new scientific knowledge.
Our Work
Science
The Alliance is committed to using the Altar Valley as an outdoor laboratory to aid in new scientific knowledge.
The use of sound science is a fundamental tenet to the work of the Altar Valley Conservation Alliance. Much of the work of the Altar Valley Conservation Alliance is done through collaborative decision making, and it is imperative that conversations and decisions are being guided by sound science. The Alliance is committed to using the Altar Valley as an outdoor laboratory to aid in new scientific knowledge.
The Alliance established the Science Advisory Board in 2010, to advise and guide the Alliance Board of Directors in steering the Alliance’s science program. The Science Advisory Board convenes quarterly and advises informally on an as-needed basis. The Science Advisory Board helped create and continually updates two important documents that guide research in the Altar Valley: the AVCA Science Agenda and the Research Protocol for the Altar Valley Watershed. The AVCA Science Agenda is designed to encourage research about topics that have on-the-ground application for those living and working in the Altar Valley. The Research Protocol for the Altar Valley Watershed is intended to facilitate cooperative attitudes and mutual respect among the science community and landowners and managers in the Altar Valley.
The Science Advisory Board also administers the Altar Valley Research Fellowship, which grants funding to support scientific research in the Altar Valley. To learn more about fellowship winners’ projects, click here. AVCA is currently soliciting applications for Fellowship. For information on how to apply, please view the Request for Proposals or email us here.
The Alliance works to disseminate scientific knowledge to land managers, researchers, and the general public. Pertinent research to the Altar Valley helps to inform decisions on the ground, and lay the foundation for future research. In order to better share existing research, the Alliance created the Altar Valley Collection in the international database of the Rangelands Network/Global Rangelands/Rangelands West. The Rangelands Network is an international consortium of 19 land-grant universities from 19 U.S. states, Australia, and Mexico that has created and maintains portals and a database of rangelands resources that includes more than “12,000 journal articles, websites, images, databases, videos, maps, reports, and decision making/educational tools.” The Altar Valley Collection is a bibliography of published and unpublished material about the Altar Valley from professional journals, on-line databases, and other resources. The Alliance continues to regularly add to the Altar Valley Collection.
