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Watersheds Research Cooperative
Leadership and Organization
The OSU Forest Engineering Department is providing primary leadership for this initiative at this time. The Watersheds Research Cooperative Director is Dr. Arne Skaugset. The paired watershed study approach is his vision; his passion for this effort has motivated Roseburg Forest Products to dedicate the Hinkle Creek watershed to this effort and encouraged scientists to join the efforts.
The membership categories for cooperators are contractual and liaison. Contractual members are forest landowners, forestland managers, federal, state, and local government agencies, and other affiliated groups that support the Cooperative by contributing an annual membership fee and in-kind support (e.g., study sites, labor, equipment, and materials) (Table 1). Contractual members contribute an annual fee negotiated on a case-by-case basis, but must be greater than $10,000 a year. An amount equal to 10% of the total annual fees is designated each year as a contingency fund to help cover fiscal emergencies (e.g., loss of a member) and to allow the initiation of short-term projects not included in the Five-Year Plan. Liaison members do not pay an annual fee; they advise the Cooperative and provide links to other research projects and research groups conducting environmental watershed research.
Members participate in the Cooperative through representation on the Advisory Committee. This committee advises the Cooperative Director on the activities, direction, size, and support of the program and identifies research problems, establishes priorities, and assists in planning, implementing, and evaluating studies.
Contractual members have voting rights on the Advisory Committee. Liaison members have a seat on the Advisory Committee and contribute to discussions, but have no voting rights. Specific responsibilities of the Director and members of the Cooperative are listed in Table 2. The Contractual members sign a General Memorandum of Agreement. Each Contractual member provides annual fees to the Cooperative through the OSU Forest Research Laboratory (Table 1). Members are also expected to provide in-kind support such as study sites, labor, equipment, and materials. The Advisory Committee annually reviews the Cooperative's organization, fees, and achievements.
TABLE 1
WRC Membership Categories and Fee Structure
- Contractual members (fees are variable)
Annual membership fees and in-kind support - Contractual members are made up of forestland owners, forestland managers, federal, state, and local government agencies or other groups affiliated with forestland management. Contractual members contribute individual annual fees or an equivalent value of in-kind support that may be negotiated on a case-by-case but are greater than $10,000. Contractual members are expected to provide in-kind support as appropriate.
Acreage requirements and voting privileges - There are no acreage requirements for contractual members. Representatives have voting rights on the Advisory Committee.
- Liaison Members (no fees)
Annual membership fees and in-kind support - Liaison members contribute no annual fees or in-kind support.
Acreage requirements and voting privileges - Representatives serve on the Advisory Committee, but have no voting rights.
- Fee Payment
The Cooperators may change future annual membership fees at the annual meeting. Invoices for annual membership fees are issued on July 1 of each year. Payments are due as described in the relevant Memorandum of Agreement or Participating Agreement . All annual fees will be subject to an indirect cost rate of 15%. This rate will remain in effect for four years. During the third year of this agreement the rate will be reevaluated for possible change in the second four-year period.
TABLE 2
Responsibilities of the WRC
- The Cooperative Director:
- Provides overall leadership and coordination for WRC activities.
- Helps the Advisory Committee set research priorities.
- Plans and designs studies that meet the needs of the Cooperators and conforms to the standards of scientific experimentation.
- Prepares and obtains agreement on work plans that include:
- clearly stated objectives;
- procedures;
- experimental design and statistical methods;
- a budget listing sources of income and planned expenditures; and
- responsibilities of participants including the establishment of experiments, data acquisition and analysis, and authorship of publications. Because subprojects involve the participation of a subset of the cooperators, subproject work plans must state the applicable policies for intellectual property rights and confidentiality.
- Supervises the implementation of work plans to ensure that:
- experiments are implemented as specified in the work plan;
- experiments are appropriately maintained;
- data are appropriately collected;
- data are appropriately analyzed; and
- data and/or results are disseminated to members in a timely fashion.
- Manages and maintains the data sets derived from WRC studies.
- Leads the analysis and interpretation of research results.
- Publishes and distributes the results of Cooperative research projects and provides the technical guidance needed to translate the research findings into practice.
- Prepares an annual report summarizing the accomplishments of the Cooperative.
- Prepares and administers the annual operating budget of the Cooperative and hires and supervises the personnel needed to carry out research projects.
- Schedules and moderates annual meetings of the Advisory Committee including approving annual budgets, presenting annual reports, and reviewing research projects.
- Seeks research funding from non-WRC sources as appropriate.
- Each Contractual Member of the Cooperative:
- Provides a representative on the Advisory Committee.
- Provides financial and in-kind support.
- Fulfills the responsibilities outlined in the approved work plans including installing and maintaining study sites and collecting data.
- Provides guidance on program direction and emphasis, level of support, compatibility with other research programs, technical questions, and other general issues.
TABLE 3
Approach to research
- Research is defined on a project basis.
- Major projects are projects that:
- require a substantial amount of financial and/or in-kind resources; and
- are mostly financed by annual membership fees or grants.
- Subprojects are projects that:
- require a substantial amount of financial and/or in-kind resources; and
- are mostly financed by contracts or additional project-specific contributions from a subset of the members. These subprojects may be specific, short-term projects conducted by individual scientists or graduate students, or projects carried out by one or more of the Cooperative members.
- The Director must approve all Cooperative research projects. In addition, for major projects and subprojects, at least two-thirds of the voting members of the Advisory Committee must approve the work plan.
- For each project, the responsibilities of each member will be described in the work plan. Participation by one member might entail establishing and maintaining a study plot, whereas another member might simply provide expertise.
- Work plans for major projects and subprojects will include:
- clearly stated objectives;
- procedures;
- experimental design and statistical methods;
- a budget listing both sources of income and planned expenditures;
- responsibilities of participants including the establishment of experiments, data acquisition and analysis, and authorship of publications. In addition, because subprojects will involve the participation of only a subset of the cooperators, subproject work plans must also clearly state the applicable policies for intellectual property rights and confidentiality.
- Researchers from non-member organizations may be invited to participate in, and perhaps direct, particular projects.
- Because the intent of the Cooperative is to complement research by other organizations in the region and to minimize duplication, research projects will be initiated only after consultation with and review by researchers having expertise in the area of interest.
Termination Of Participation
A Cooperator may cease or restrict participation in the Cooperative including, without limitation, the right to stop transmittal of funds and to halt further use of study sites and other logistical support, provided notice is given in writing at least 60 days in advance. The Forest Research Laboratory (FRL) may cease or restrict its participation in the Cooperative if adequate financial and logistical support from Cooperators is not forthcoming or if it is in the best interest of the FRL, provided notice is given in writing at least 60 days prior to such action.
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