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THE VIEW FROM THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC. Rich Guldin FIA National Users’ Group Meeting 23 February 2010. BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front). We are in all 50 States; only Interior Alaska remains to be entered . Serious implementation planning is occuring now to launch work there !
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THE VIEW FROM THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC Rich Guldin FIA National Users’ Group Meeting 23 February 2010
BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) • We are in all 50 States; onlyInterior Alaska remains to beentered. Seriousimplementation planning isoccuringnow to launchworkthere! • The FIA Program’srecentsuccesses are leading to major new opportunities, bothdomestically and internationally. Our vision for the future isbroad, withsomedifferences in objectives amongstdomestic and international arenas • Weappreciateyourongoing support for the program as it continues to serve coreinterests and needs as well as emergingones.
Status of 2010 Program • Funded at $71.8 million • $66.9 million in R&D; $4.9 million in S&PF • Up $6.3 million over FY 2009 • Increase split 3 ways: • +$ 3 million to expand the program • +$ 2 million for intensive site monitoring • +$ 1.3 million for fixed cost increases
Expanding the Program in FY 2010 • Completed annualized implementation in New Mexico • Initiating annualized field work in Hawaii, Nevada, and Wyoming • Added analytical capacity in NRS, with special focus on carbon accounting and forest products output info • Added analytical capacity in SRS, with special focus on state reporting and field work in west Texas and Oklahoma
Intensive Site Monitoring • Senate Report required investment in ISM • Link long-term data sets on FS Experimental Forests & Ranges (EFRs) with intensified FIA plot network • EFRs have detailed TEMPORAL datasets at selected sites • FIA has detailed SPATIAL datasets at several points in time • Integrate the two through ISM to better explain locally-observed conditions/trends in a landscape-scale context • Better models • Better measures and new variables
FY 2010 and “Full Funding Target” • $5.854 million short of “Full Funding Target” of $77.7 million • What’s left? • Interior Alaska field data collection (50-60% of need) • Final build-out of program analytical capacity across all Stations (25-30% of need) • Produce issue-focused state reports • Address emerging issues, such as biomass, carbon accounting, and threats to forest health • Solidify data collection for western forest land areas not included in 1998 strategic plan (15-20% of need)
Other Work Underway in 2010 • Lots of internal program improvements/upgrades; e.g. • Upgrading FIDO interface; improve mapping and geospatial analysis capacities • Upgrade field data collection software (MIDAS) • NWOS questionnaire revision for next round • Departmental initiatives; Appalachia, NRCS collaboration • Urban forest inventory continues in Tennessee and Colorado, based on state contributions • Launching urban forest inventory at selected locations in California, Oregon, and Washington using ARRA stimulus funding provided to PNW Station
FY 2011 President’s Budget • Cuts $5 million, which would shift program back to FY 2009 program level • Stop work in Hawaii, Nevada, Wyoming • No planning for Interior Alaska • Reduce analytical capacity • Adds $1.5 million to “Inventory & Monitoring” strategic program area to build a national carbon accounting system. Money proposed outside of FIA program.
New Opportunities • Nothing breeds opportunities like past success !! • FIA is viewed as a very successful program • High skill, high credibility, high trust, • FIA “walks the talk” as an open and transparent organization with a “can do” and “will deliver” reputation • Consequently, the new Administration is calling on us in a multitude of ways to support initiatives • Domestically • Internationally
New Opportunities at Home • Improved biomass estimates • Consistent volume estimates across regions • Improved land use/land use change analyses • Carbon estimates and carbon accounting system • Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission estimates • Detecting climate change impacts; teasing out climate impacts from other impacts • Support landscape-scale conservation and monitoring to track improvements and effectiveness of restoration activities
New Opportunities Abroad • Dept. of State and Office of U.S. Trade Representative are insisting on FIA involvement in international activities • Examples of the overseas opportunities: • Peru: Free Trade Agreement requires cut in illegal logging • Congo Basin: Develop dependable regional inventory • UN-FAO: Support Global Forest Assessment process • Chile: Technical assistance to improve assessments • Climate Change Negotiations: Support State Dept and US Global Change Research Program • And a host of others …
Choosing Among Opportunities • We are increasingly selective in saying “Yes” to opportunities • Assuring alignment with FIA vision and goals • Assuring that the key domestic work gets done • “No, thank you” is not an acceptable answer to some opportunities • “If you build it, they will come…” • Well, we’ve built it … • Here they come …
So, Where is the Program Headed? • We will routinely deliver dependable, timely, high-quality data about America’s forests. Working together with our partners, we will excel at this core business. • We will become the premier provider of geospatial data layers and models describing conditions/trends in America’s forests • We will be a national and international leader in monitoring natural resource conditions and trends at multiple spatial scales—county to globally
So Where is the Program Headed? • We will be a major force in science-policy dialogues about critical contemporary issues, including: • Biomass energy development, greenhouse gas estimation, carbon sequestration and ecosystem services marketing • Climate change, including detection of impacts and monitoring of adaptation success • Disturbance monitoring and documentation of resulting long-term changes in land cover and land uses, including both biotic (pest outbreaks) and abiotic (droughts, hurricanes, fires) disturbances • Land use and land cover and associated changes in the context of landscape-scale conservation and restoration
So Where is the Program Headed? • We will be a national and global leader in developing next-generation talent in inventory, modeling, analysis , and assessment • The FS and our partners will attract the “cream of the crop” talent to work in the program and with our data • We will give our employees and our partners outstanding opportunities to be involved in cutting edge science, analysis, and policy evaluation • We will be global mentors in building up capacity in other countries
BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) • We are in all 50 States; onlyInterior Alaska remains to beentered. Seriousimplementation planning isoccuringnow to launchworkthere! • The FIA Program’srecentsuccesses are leading to major new opportunities, bothdomestically and internationally. Our vision for the future isbroad, withsomedifferences in objectives amongstdomestic and international arenas • Weappreciateyourongoing support for the program as it continues to serve bothcoreinterests and needs as well as emergingones.