SILVAH-OAK: Ensuring Adoption by Engaging Users in the Full Cycle of Forest Research

Recent Forest Service Research and Development (FS R&D) logic modeling efforts focused on program delivery stated that an important precondition for effective science delivery was the engagement of users and partners throughout the full research and development cycle. The ongoing partnership among the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Bureau of Forestry, FS R&D, and Pennsylvania State University, focused on oak (Quercus spp.) regeneration, provides a case study of this engagement and associated successful science program delivery. This paper describes the engagement, diffusion, adoption, and expanded adoption phases of the partnership, which has changed both practice and research.