Get reliable science

Ironically, in a time when society counts on science and technology to overcome the limitations inherent in natural resource extraction, American scientific literacy and scientific credibility are lagging. Science communication is a critical component of the interface between academic reserchers and ecosystem stakeolders. However, scientists are trained primarilly to communicate with one another and as a consequence, frequently frame their communications using highly specialized technical language. Often such communications are not readily accessible or particularly useful for resource managers and policy-makers. This communication gap hinders the translation of emerging science and creates lag times in the application of emerging science to real-world management. We ask how scientists might benefit from training that enhances the receptiveness of natural resource managers and policy decision-makers to newly refined scientific findings. We are conducting a series of studies to elicit feedback from scientists and individuals who drive natural resource policy or who apply scientific concepts to land management within the constraints of policy. We present preliminary results of our ongoing research to demonstrate the importance of communication techniques to scientific literacy.