When people think of Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER), they most often think of the individual sites — the beauty of the places, the inter-generational communities of researchers, the experiences they shared or the skills they gained in their time at a particular place. LTER sites are special (and productive). But the collaboration across multiple locations and ecosystems that happens because LTER is a network is also an important component of the LTER Program’s impact.
The 2026-2035 LTER Network Strategic plan focuses on identifying and prioritizing the activities that require a network. This is not a plan for site activities, nor even a plan for the Network Office. Instead, we started with the question: “What questions can we answer and what impact can we have because we are a network?”
The LTER Executive Board and the LTER Network Office spearheaded the development process, which spanned two Science Council Meetings and incorporated input from each of the LTER Network’s standing committees and many external partners. The plan seeks to build on the assets that are characteristic of the LTER Program, especially:
- interdisciplinary, hypothesis-driven research focused on understanding mechanisms;
- a network of sites that includes many types of ecosystems, including both marine and terrestrial;
- the ability to run experiments and collect data over decades — long enough to recognize lagging and transient responses to manipulative experiments and to have baseline data when natural experiments occur;
- long-lasting, substantive relationships with local and national partners who manage ecosystems;
- a strong network of co-mentoring relationships that spans career stages, roles, disciplines, and locations.
Developing the plan during this time of rapid change in the world of science was both challenging and freeing. With no clear sense of funding agency expectations, there was no choice but to focus on priorities that are intrinsically interesting and important to the sites and researchers who make up the LTER community, our neighbors, and partners.
The plan is conceived as a living document, to which the Executive Board will return at least once a year, refreshing priorities in light of changing needs, successes, and resources.
