Forest managers' response to climate change science: Evaluating the constructs of boundary objects and organizations

Land managers lack locally relevant climate change science and are urgently calling for research to inform management. We conducted four climate change workshops in the U.S. northern Rocky Mountains and applied multiple methods of inquiry to understand whether the boundary organization (workshops) and objects (climate change science products) were perceived as credible and useful. Perceived credibility and usefulness increased overall, and regional-scale hydrologic information was deemed most useful. Regression models found that intention to use climate change science was predicted by usefulness, credibility, and organizational barriers. We discuss the importance of uncertainty, visualization, and best practices for effective climate change deliberation using boundary objects and organizations at the research-management interface.