The Planscape Cooperative

Open Collaboration

Planscape is an open–science collaboration of the California Natural Resources Agency, the USDA Forest Service, The California Wildfire & Forest Resilience Taskforce, University of California, Google.org and Spatial Informatics Group. No commercial entity owns or profits from Planscape. We welcome new collaborators and would love to hear from anyone who wants to get involved. Reach out.

United States Forest Service (USFS)

“The mission of the Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations.”

The USFS are a driving force for Planscape, providing:

Much of the science behind the tool
A leading role in the governance of the program
Active users. The USFS owns the majority of forested land in California, and are primary users of the tool.

The Pacific Southwest Research Station have guided the development of Planscape since inception in 2022, and provide climate change resilience science through the PROMOte work of Pat Manley and Nick Povak.

Region 5, which includes California, provides governance directly and through their leadership of the Wildfire Taskforce. The forests of R5 are users of the tool, and provide key product feedback.

The Rocky Mountain Research Station, through the FireLab, ForSys and other teams provide and support the underlying science of Planscape

Of specific focus is the USFS Wildfire Crisis Strategy, and specifically the priority landscapes identified, many of which are in California.

We are actively partnered with the team behind the Climate Risk Viewer and working on bringing widespread data and model access to many more users.

Google.org

“We bring the best of Google to help solve some of humanity’s biggest challenges — combining funding, innovation, and technical expertise to support underserved communities and provide opportunity for everyone.”

Google.org are a foundational partner for Planscape and have provided thousands of hours of pro-bono work in 2022 and 2023, from a team of over 25 fellows across UX design, UX research, Software Engineering, Product Management, Partnerships and other functions. Google.org provided a grant to support the ongoing development of Planscape.

California Natural Resources Agency

“The CNRA mission is to restore, protect and manage the state’s natural, historical and cultural resources for current and future generations using creative approaches and solutions based on science, collaboration, and respect for all the communities and interests involved.”

The California Natural Resources Agency is a foundational partner for Planscape, and provided the original vision and direction for the project. They provide ongoing support through funding and governance.

California Wildfire & Forest Resilience Taskforce

“The California Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force was created by the office of Governor Gavin Newsom to directly confront the near perfect storm of climatic and human-caused conditions that have brought the threat of devastating wildfire and its far-reaching effects to the doorstep of nearly everyone in our state, and beyond.”

Our partnership with the taskforce is foundational at many levels.

Planscape leans heavily on the Regional Resource Kits developed by the Taskforce
Members of the taskforce executive leadership form an important part of the governance team for Planscape
Planscape pulls data from the Treatment Dashboard, and will be launch customer of the data hub, both developed by the taskforce.
The regular Taskforce meetings provide a venue for Planscape to engage users and tighten product requirements.

University of California

“Our environment is the isolated planet we share, the collection of natural resources needed to sustain us through this century and beyond, and the social and cultural milieu through which we derive our values about this space. Our Environment is also under enormous stress. The Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management is a multidisciplinary program that recognizes the urgency of the challenges, and the enormous opportunities that may lead to transformative change. We have <a href=”https://ourenvironment.berkeley.edu/people/faculty-specialists” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>award-winning faculty</a> in climate science, biodiversity, environmental policy, land use, and community outreach – all driven by a collective interest in our environmental future.”

We rely on scientists from the University of California to provide scientific rigor and oversight for Planscape. This is achieved both directly and through the Science working groups of the Taskforce.

Principle advisors and contributors include:

Dr John Battles, Professor of Forest Ecology, UC Berkeley
Dr Mike Goulden, Professor of Earth System Science, UC Irvine
Dr Steve Ostoja, Director of the USDA California Climate Hub, UC Davis
Dr. İlkay Altıntaş. Research scientist at the University of California San Diego and Chief Data Science Officer of the San Diego Supercomputer Center.

Spatial Informatics Group

“Spatial Informatics Group (SIG) is an environmental think-tank specializing in the characterization and assessment of wildland and urban landscapes”

Spatial Informatics Group (SIG) are a steward of the Planscape project, working on software engineering, user engagement and program management under guidance of the Governance team and science advisors.

USDA Climate Hub

“The mission of the Climate Hubs is to develop and deliver science-based, region-specific information and technologies, with USDA agencies and partners, to agricultural and natural resource managers that enable climate-informed decision-making, and to provide access to assistance to implement those decisions.”

The USDA California Climate Hub provides an essential technical bridge between product development and user engagement for Planscape. The USDA climate team at the Institute of the Environment within UC Davis provides workshop facilitation, “Train the trainers” programs, user engagement, and user feedback and requirements to the engineering team.