Oral Abstract Details

Author(s):
Susan M. Stein, Lisa G. Mahal, Ronald E. McRoberts

Affiliation:
USDA Forest Service

Presentation Type:
Oral

Topic Area:
Science delivery and exchange of information for natural resource professionals, policymakers, and private citizens

Abstract Text:
The Forests on the Edge project identifies areas across the United States where private forest contributions the economic and social well-being of the nation may be negatively affected by various threats. Specific contributions include habitat for at-risk wildlife species, provision of clean water, and timber volume, whereas specific threats include housing development, wildfire, insect pests and diseases, and air pollution. Research methods are based on scientific application of geographic information systems (GIS) techniques to national digital data layers. Studies to date have included assessments of threats to forest contributions across the conterminous USA using watersheds as the basic spatial assessment unit. Results indicate that by 2030, housing densities will increase substantially on more than 57 million acres of private forestland across rural America. Watersheds where private forests provide the greatest contributions to water quality, timber volume, and at-risk species habitat are found primarily in the Eastern USA, as are watersheds most threatened by housing development and air pollution. Watersheds where private forests are most threatened by wildfire, forest insects, and disease are distributed more uniformly across the conterminous USA. The results of Forests on the Edge studies have been published in a series of public reports and peer-reviewed journal articles and have been used extensively by public officials, non-governmental organizations, and universities to raise awareness of and support for prudent development and forest conservation. The project is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, and received the Department’s Honor Award for Excellence in 2008. The presentation will provide a quick overview of entire suite of Forests on the Edge products and how they have been used by others. Key points to be made are that : 1) nationally-consistent GIS data can be used to identify areas across the country where important private forest contributions could be affected by housing development and other threats; 2) the presentation of this data in a format compelling to Forest Service partners can help increase public awareness of the need to conserve private forests; and 3) the creation of additional and/or more detailed data would facilitate efforts to conserve private forests and the many benefits that they provide.