In February 2024, COMPASS facilitated a policy engagement training in Washington, DC through a partnership with the Federation for American Scientists for wildland fire scientists and subject matter experts. Over two days, the cohort workshopped their messages with journalists and policy experts, then they got to put their skills to work during congressional staff meetings on Capitol Hill.
COMPASS’s Christina Hoenow recently caught up with one of the participants, Dr. Jamie Peeler, a landscape ecologist dedicated to tackling forest conservation challenges in a more fire-prone world. In this interview, she shared some of her reflections from the workshop, putting her communication skills into practice, and why engaging with communities and policymakers is so important.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you came to do the current work you do?
Walking through a burnt savanna while studying abroad in South Africa was the first time that wildland fire captured my imagination. Thirteen years and a PhD later, my career still revolves around it. Curiosity motivated my early work and I largely focused on questions about why trees do or do not regenerate following wildfire events. However, after witnessing devastating wildfire seasons in recent years in the US and abroad, I pivoted to helping forests and people live better with wildland fire. My current work focuses on identifying areas where prescribed fire could buffer the most at-risk communities to future wildfire events, while simultaneously helping the most at-risk forests be more resilient.
What was the most important thing to you that you took away from the COMPASS-FAS training?
My most important takeaway was that people working on Capitol Hill are humans first and policymakers second. Keeping that takeaway in mind helped my meetings on Capitol Hill feel less intimidating and more approachable. It also helped me connect with policymakers on shared experiences of living with wildland fire in the US West. For instance, we talked extensively about experiencing forest changes and smoky summers. By finding commonalities in our human experience, it paved the way for sharing why smart wildland fire policy is urgent and timely for the things we care about.
My most important takeaway was that people working on Capitol Hill are humans first and policymakers second. Keeping that takeaway in mind helped my meetings on Capitol Hill feel less intimidating and more approachable.
What was the most surprising thing about spending time on Capitol Hill and your meetings with policymakers?
The most surprising thing about spending time on Capitol Hill was how straightforward it was to schedule meetings with policymakers. Before the COMPASS-FAS training, I assumed that in-person interactions with federal policymakers were relatively inaccessible to regular folks. In reality, gaining access was quite easy. Using guidance from COMPASS and FAS, it only took me a few phone calls and emails to schedule meetings. On Capitol Hill, I witnessed numerous visitors moving from congressional office to congressional office to advocate for issues and solutions important to them. It helped me feel a part of the democratic process and made me excited to advocate for science directly at Capitol Hill in the future.
It helped me feel a part of the democratic process and made me excited to advocate for science directly at Capitol Hill in the future.
What’s next for you in terms of science communication and your work? What about policy engagement?
I am currently working on a project funded through the Biden administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which budgeted $100 million for cross-boundary workshops that proactively develop wildfire response plans using local knowledge and spatial analytics. For these workshops, I was delegated a small slice of the budget to create a science-based planning process that helps managers keep carbon stored in forests after wildfire. I am currently testing that process in Arizona, Colorado, and Washington, which requires tapping into my science communication toolbox to convey the need for considering carbon in wildfire response planning. Given its implications for US wildfire and climate mitigation goals, I hope to elevate that same message to the national level through continued engagement with federal policymakers.
Do you have any words of advice for wildfire experts looking to improve their science communication skills?
Practice! Practice! Practice! Finding time to write out, practice, and refine your key messages will build your confidence for communicating science to different audiences.
To learn more about Jamie’s work, connect with her on linkedin.
