State Assessments and Strategies: What is Required and NAASF Regional Guidance

1. State Assessments and Strategies: What is Required and NAASF Regional Guidance Sherri Wormstead Office of Knowledge Management Northeastern Area S&PF January 2008

2. Presentation Overview • Background • State Assessments & Strategies overview • Data needs and geospatial analyses • Suggested Framework for State Assessments • Other items & State Strategy Team

3. Handouts • Presentation overview & flow chart • NAASF Guide for Statewide Forest Resource Assessments and Strategies • NAASF Suggested Framework for State Assessments

4. Background:S&PF Redesign, The Farm Bill, & NAASF

5. S&PF Redesign—Why? In response to the combined impacts of • Increasing pressures on our nation’s forests • Decreasing S&PF resources and funds = need for progressive strategies

6. S&PF Redesign—Components • Themes • State assessments & strategies • National assessment • Competitive resource allocation • Programs and staffing • Demonstrating and communicating results 3 Themes Conserve working forest landscapes Protect forests from harm Enhance public benefits from trees and forests http://www.fs.fed.us/spf/redesign/

7. The Farm Bill (Title VIII) Requires • “State-wide assessment of forest resource conditions” • “A long-term State-wide forest resource strategy” • “Annual report on use funds” • Within 2 years of enactment of the Farm Bill (2010) • For a State to be eligible to receive CFAA funds “State-wide assessment & State-wide strategy…shall be deemed to be sufficient to satisfy all relevant State planning & assessment requirements under Act.”

8. Core Funding • Regional Guidance • Guide • Framework Competitive Projects Priority areas Farm Bill • National Themes • Conserve working forests • Protect forests from harm • Enhance public benefits from trees and forests S&PF National Guidance Flow Chart (pieces & process) Statewide Assessment • Conditions, trends, & threats • All ownerships • State issues, priority areas • Coord. w/ stakeholders • Statewide Strategy • Long-term actions • Address issues and priority areas • Public input Legend ? = Federal requirement Done by states to meet Federal requirement Annual Grant Narrative • = State Budget & Work with Partners State work outside of S&PF Federal funding • = Feedback = Done by USFS ? ? S&PF Performance Measures • National Assessment • Inform national S&PF policy and planning • Data & tool useful for states • Accomplishments tracking State Annual Report S&PF Annual Report Card

9. NAASF Charge to FRPC “To work with other NAASF committees and key NA staff to identify the minimum components, framework, and recommend a set of data for State Assessments” To be followed by an effort to outline the components/framework for the State Strategies.

10. FRPC State Assessment Core Team

11. Drafted Overview Brief (Guide) & Outline (Framework) for State Assessments FRPC State Assessment Core Team 1 2 3 Present to NAASF Committees for Review & Input (May & June) Full FRPC Discuss and Refine (June 24-26) 4 NAASF Approved! Present to NAASF (July)

12. Questions on the Background: S&PF Redesign, The Farm Bill, & NAASF? Presentation Overview • Background • State Assessments & Strategies overview • Data needs and geospatial analyses • Suggested Framework for State Assessments • Other items & State Strategy Team

13. State Assessments and StrategiesOverview

14. Guide Page 2 State Assessment—Requirements • Analysis of present and future forest conditions and trends on all ownerships • Identify threats, benefits, and services • Consistent with the S&PF national themes • Delineate priority landscape areas • Identify multi-state areas

15. Guide Page 7 State Strategy—Requirements • Long-term strategies to address issues, threats, and priority areas (from Assessment) • Description of resources (from all sources) • Describe how state activities will address S&PF objectives (link to national themes) • Incorporate other state plans (wildlife action plan, community wildfire protection plans) • Address existing S&PF program planning requirements

16. Guide Page 8 Stakeholder Involvement • At minimum “coordinate” with: • State Forest Stewardship Committee • State wildlife agency • State Technical Committee • Federal land management agencies • Lead agency for Forest Legacy Program • State Urban Forestry Council • Other key partners, ex. in the“Guide”

17. Annual Report—Requirements • “Describes how S&PF funds were used to address the assessment and strategy, including the leveraging of funding…” • “Describe specific actions taken…, under each program, to address the state assessment and resource strategy.”

18. Key Points for Assessments & Strategies Guide Page 2, 8 • Flexibility for States to: • Use best data available • Work with key stakeholders • Develop documents useful to the state • Timeline • Complete by June 2010 • Update every five years • Approval Process • State Forester then Secretary

19. Questions on State Assessments & Strategies Overview? Presentation Overview • Background • State Assessments & Strategies overview • Data needs and geospatial analyses • Suggested Framework for State Assessments • Other items & State Strategy Team

20. Data Needs and Geospatial Analyses to Identify Priority Areas

21. Data Needs for State Assessments Qualitative, Quantitative, & Geospatial! • Trend data (for conditions and trends) • Projections (future forest conditions) • Info. to describe threats, benefits, & services • Geospatial data for analysis to ID priority areas Focus on existing data

22. Guide Page 6, 10 Data Available • Forest Stewardship Spatial Analysis Project • National and regional data sources (RPA, FIA, indicators information, etc…) • National S&PF Assessment • State sources Appendices A and B in the Guide

23. Guide Page 3-5 Geospatial Analyses to Identify Priority Areas • Across all ownerships (public and private) • Across urban to rural continuum • Across themes, issues, programs • May include non-forested lands ID of priority areas important for focusing coordinated efforts, but not replace state agency efforts to serve other areas of the state.

24. Guide Page 3, Append Suggested Data Layers for Geospatial Analyses See Appendix to Guide on Core Data Themes/Layers (page 10) • Forest Health Risk • Fish and Wildlife Habitat • Water Quality & Supply • Tree Cover in Urban Areas • Development • Fragmentation & Parcelization • Wildfire Risk

25. Guide Page 3-4 Example Approaches for Geospatial Analyses • Build on SAP (add public lands) and separate analysis for urban areas • Analysis for each S&PF National theme • State issue-based analyses • Separate analyses for a few state issues • Analyses by regions within the state

26. Guide Page 4-5 Priority Areas Composite MapOne Map  Opportunities! • Can display separate geospatial analyses on one “composite” map • To identify opportunities for collaboration State “composite” map is to inform State Strategy, NOT regional priority setting

27. Guide Page 5 Non-geospatial Data • Some critical info/issues may not be shown geospatially • A combination of qualitative, quantitative, and geospatial data should be used to identify key issues and priorities

28. Guide Page 5-6 Other Considerations • Economic value/importance • Recreation • Climate change • Role of urban jurisdictions across the landscape

29. Questions on Data Needs and Geospatial Analyses to ID Priority Areas? Presentation Overview • Background • State Assessments & Strategies overview • Data needs and geospatial analyses • Suggested Framework for State Assessments • Other items & State Strategy Team

30. NAASF Suggested Framework for State Assessments

31. Frame- work 2 Suggested Framework for State Assessment • Introduction • Forest Conditions and Trends • Existing and Emerging Benefits and Services • Issues, Threats, and Opportunities • Priority Forest Landscape Areas • Summary • Appendices • References • Methodology for geospatial analysis • Data gaps Show how linked to S&PF National Themes!

32. Forest Conditions and Trends SectionOrganized by Forest Sustainability Criteria • Goals for sustainable forest management • Agreed to and monitored at multiple scales • Data available as result of NAASF & NA effort Criterion (goal/value) Indicator (measure) Indicator (measure) Frame- work 2, 12

33. The “Montreal Process” Criteria • Biological diversity • Productive capacity of the forest • Forest ecosystem health • Soil and water resources • Contribution to global carbon cycles • Socio-economic benefits of forests • Legal, institutional, and economic systems Frame- work 12

34. Frame- work 5 • Organized by 7 forest sustainability criteria Forest Conditions and Trends Section • Link to S&PF national themes • Display geospatial layers as individual maps • Reference data on NA Indicators Info System

35. Questions on Suggested Framework for State Assessments? Presentation Overview • Background • State Assessments & Strategies overview • Data needs and geospatial analyses • Suggested Framework for State Assessments • Other items & State Strategy Team

36. Other Items and State Strategy Team

37. Other Things to Know • Limited funds available (USFS grants to NASF) • Tips for incorporating Forest Legacy Assessment of Need into State Assessments • Additional data sources for ID urban areas • Northern Forests Futures Project • National Assessment Tool & Data Strategy Team • Efforts in other regions

38. NAASF & NA State Strategy Team Purpose: Draft guidance for State Strategies Team: NAASF planning committee members, Reps. from each NAASF committee, Reps. for NA Program Areas Timeline: Draft by Spring 2009

39. NAASF Forest Resource Planning Committee Web Site www.northeasternforests.org/FRPC FRPC contacts National guidance Regional guidance Example assessments Links to data sources Case Sensitive!

40. US Forest Service Support • Oct. 29, 2008 letter from US Forest Service leadership:—called on State and Private, Research, and National Forest employees to “share resource data…and provide consultation and advice as needed.” • Nov. 7, 2008 letter from NASF & Chief Kimball: “we urge forestry agency and FS personnel to work together…”

41. Discussion? Contact Info for Sherri Wormstead:603-868-7737, swormstead@fs.fed.us

43. Guide Page 7 National Themes & Objectives