Forests: Renewable Resources and their Stewardship

1. Forests: Renewable Resourcesand theirStewardship ENVS 1 Oct. 12, 2005 Dr. Cecilia Danks Environmental Program / RSENR

2. Topics to be covered • Benefits of forest ecosystems • Deforestation / threats to forests • Brief history of forest conservation in US • Issues on Public and Private Forest Land • Sustainable Forestry solutions • Forest certification • Community-based forest stewardship

3. Pictures – benefits of forest ecosystemes

4. Benefits of Forests:Ecosystem services • Watershed protection / act as giant sponges – Reduce / regulate flows of runoff • Reduce sediment movement to waterways • Influence regional & local climate • Support food webs/nutrient cycling/soil fertility • Provide habitat and niches for diverse wildlife • Purify the air

5. Benefits of Forests: Resource for Humans • Fuelwood – cooking & heat • Construction material • Pulp for paper • Medicines & food from plants & animals • Recreation • Aesthetic • Spiritual • Resource / refuge for the marginalized

6. Despite many benefits…

7. … we have largely deforested the US

8. If deforestation doesn’t seem to be a problem in the US, it is because it is already deforested.

10. Public Forest Land Original public lands policy – disposal! • Homestead Act 1862 • Railroad Lands Grants (1862) • Best forest land went to timber companies • Age of logging camps and timber barons “Before the nation could be convinced of the need to conserve resources, those resources had to become valuable; and for that to happen, they had to be recognized as scarce.” -- Dana & Fairfax, 1980

11. As frontier closed & deforested soils grew thin, views began to change … • 1864 – Man & Nature by George. Perkins Marsh (Vermonter) • First Arbor Day, Nebraska, 1872 • New York – 1st to establish State forest • study 1872 • “forever wild” Adirondack preserve 1894

12. Why US National Forests were Established • Forest Reserve Act of 1891 • “protection forests” • 1897 “Organic Act” for national forests Defined the purpose of Forest Reserves: • “Preserve & protect the forest” • “Secure favorable conditions of water flow” • “Furnish a continuous supply of timber” • 1960 Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act • Specified / added recreation, range, wildlife and fish to water and timber

13. Federal Lands

14. Alaska Federal Lands

15. Timber harvest levels in US National Forests

16. Recreational Visitor Days in US Nat’l Forests

17. Protecting forests have inspired many to take bold actions.

18. Tree-huggers have a long history in the US Laura Perrott Mahan was a founding member of the Save the Redwoods League. In 1923, Laura and her husband discovered Pacific Lumber, that modern-day villain of environmentalists, cutting virgin old-growth redwoods in what is now Rockefeller Grove at Dyerville. While husband and a lawyer went off to Eureka for a court injunction, Laura stood in the line of fall of a tree being cut in order to halt the loggers. Source: North Coast Journal

19. Social Costs to Forest Destruction as well as Ecological Costs • Boom & bust economy • Displacement  Unemployment & poverty • Intergenerational inequity • Migration of poor to urban areas • Uneven development • Culture wars

20. Hot Issues in Public Land Forest Policy • Healthy Forest Initiative • Wildfire – Fire Suppression – Fuels Mgmt • Cutting old growth forests & big trees • Roadless Areas(Ruling made by Clinton, overthrown by Bush) • Invasive species and exotic disease • Down-sizing, underfunding of Forest Service • Scale of contracting out (Privatizing?)

21. Regulation of Private Forest Lands • Federal laws (limited) • Endangered Species Act • Clean Water Act • US Forest Service State & Private Forestry • State Laws • Some states have Forest Practice Rules • Most have Best Management Practices (BMPs) • Implement federal environmental laws & programs • Forestry extension • Tax policies • Local laws • zoning

22. Issues on Private Forest Land • Intense Forest Use (plantations, short rotations, herbicides, monocultures, clear-cuts) • Fragmentation and Conversion (sprawl, urban-wildland interface, housing developments, industrial & commercial parks) • Invasive species and exotic disease

23. Private lands in the US South lead in forest cutting Source: USDA Forest Service 2001

24. Sustainable Solutions?

25. Sustainable Forestry “Ecoforestry” – the art and science of managing forests sustainably • Shift in objectives from maximizing timber production  mimicking nature, conserving diversity, providing diverse benefits, restoring forests • (New?) tools: * Silvicultural prescriptions * Low impact logging Forest Certification – third party standards and verification of sustainable forest management for consumer awareness Community Forestry – residents, workers and local landowners share in the decisionmaking for and benefits from forests and contribute their expertise and labor to stewarding forests

26. Forest Certification • Led by consumer demand & activist pressure • Standards set by credible group and process • Ecological, Social, and Economic Goals • 3rd Party Certifiers assure standards are met • Certified product carries label in marketplace • Market access is key benefit; green premium elusive

27. Forest Stewardship Council • Started in 1993 • 113 million acres globally; 26 million acres in US • 10 Principles & 56 Criteria – over half environmental and almost half social • Membership organization with 3 chamber governance: environmental, social and economic • Strong environmental support (WWF, NRDC, Greenpeace, American Lands, Sierra Club)

28. Vermont is a Leader in Forest Certification! • FSC-US started in Vermont (at UVM) • Smartwood, largest global certifier is HQed in Richmond, VT • German president of FSC-International is a UVM alumnus • LEED-certified buildings in Middlebury feature Vermont certified wood (ask David!) Just to name a few!

29. Community Forestry Objectives • Ecological sustainability • Economic benefits • Social well-being Principles • Environmental justice • Participatory processes • Equitable distribution • Stewardship relationship to forest • Small scale; Value-added activities • Monitor, learn, adapt!

30. Example: Community Forestry in CA Tackling Wildfire (Doing it Right!) Participatory Processes: • Community Mapping of Wildfire Threats and Resources at Risk • Early involvement in project planning • Local role in prioritizing projects • Multiparty monitoring

31. Example: Community Forestry in CA Tackling Wildfire (Doing it Right!) • Local Workforce Development: • Job retraining for forest stewardship • Informed by ecology • Information-based field skills • Light touch technologies • Small scale field contracts

32. Example: Community Forestry in CA Tackling Wildfire (Doing it Right!) Use by-products well • Value-added processing – flooring, furniture, energy • Network for marketing • Often use forest certification • Small scale, living wages, equity

33. What you can do right…. • Check out the box on p. 254 of text • Reduce, reuse, recycle … • Buy local, esp. if you know the story • Buy certified

34. In Summary, • Forest ecosystems provide diverse benefits to humans and the environment. • Most forest land in the US is in private hands and most wood comes from private lands. • Public demand for largely non-market amenities is growing • Government efforts have tried to supply those diverse forest benefits, with mixed success. • Forest Certification and Community-based Forestry are alternatives that strive for the triple bottom line. • (I teach classes in each and David Brynn has a great deal of practical experience in all of these areas)

35. Thanks!For more information: • Forest Certification • www . fscus . org ; www . fsc . org • www . smartwood . org • Community-based forestry • www. uvm.edu/~snrcfw/ (class-built website) • www. familyforest . org • www . thewatershedcenter . org • www. aspencbf. org

37. The times they are a changing… • US Forest Service mission continues to evolve • US Forest Service land not enough! • More people want more out of the forest lands than they can provide. • US wood demands are real! – can’t just push it off onto countries with weaker environmental protections

38. Why is deforestation, especially of old growth intact forest, a worldwide problem? Want the Land • Trees = unclaimed land (in some cultures) • Trees = in the way of agriculture or development Want the Wood • Trees = stacks of cash (lumber, pulp) • Trees = fuel – cooking, heating, processing Non-market nature of forest benefits (public goods) • Trees & Land = market value • Forests = little market value (other than wood & land)

39. Wildfire – A Complex Issue

40. Wildfire – A Complex Issue • Many western forests are fire prone/driven ecosystems • These are altered ecosystems • Logging, fire suppression, fragmentation, homes! • A “natural” fire regime may be unattainable • Fuels management is essential, but controversial • Disguised timber sale? Smoky? Escaped fire? • Great potential for ecological & social benefits • A chance to “do it right”!

41. Four Elements of Community-based Forestry Community members share in • the decision making and • the benefits of forest management, And contribute to • the knowledge and • the labor to get it done.

42. Contrast: Community Stability through Sustained Yield Forestry • Community as “timber-dependent” • Benefit (jobs) depends on continual harvest • Agency experts make decisions Local knowledge? Local role in decision-making? Diverse benefits?