Forests: Renewable Resources and their Stewardship ENVS 1 Oct. 12, 2005 Dr. Cecilia Danks Environmental Program / RSENR.

Forests: Renewable Resourcesand their

StewardshipENVS 1

Oct. 12, 2005

Dr. Cecilia Danks

Environmental Program /

RSENR

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

Pictures – benefits of forest ecosystemes

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

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

Despite many benefits…

Slide 22

Largely uncut, old growth forests, 1620Fig. 23.13a, p. 600

… we have largely deforested the US

Slide 23

Largely uncut, old growth forests, 1998Fig. 23.13b, p. 600

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

Slide 11

Annual Deforestation Rates

More than 1% loss

0.5–1% loss

0–0.5 loss

Stable or increased forest

No data

Fig. 23.8, p. 594

US Forest Land Ownership747,000,000 acres of forest = 33% of US land area

National Forest20%

Other Public23%

Forest Industry9%

Non-Industrial Private

48%

Source: USDA Forest Service 2001

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

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

Why US National Forests were Established

• Forest Reserve Act of 1891 – “protection forests”

• 1897 “Organic Act” for national forestsDefined the purpose of Forest Reserves:

1. “Preserve & protect the forest”

2. “Secure favorable conditions of water flow”

3. “Furnish a continuous supply of timber”

• 1960 Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act– Specified / added recreation, range, wildlife

and fish to water and timber

Federal Lands

Slide 5

National parks and preserves

National forests

National wildliferefuges

Alaska Federal Lands

Slide 6

National parks and preserves National forests National wildlife refuges

Fig. 23.4b, p. 587

Timber harvest levels in US National Forests

Slide 24

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

01930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Year

Tim

ber

cu

t (b

illio

ns

of

bo

ard

fee

t)

Fig. 23.14a, p. 601

Recreational Visitor Days in US Nat’l Forests

Slide 25

An

nu

al r

ecr

eat

ion

al v

isit

s (m

illio

ns)

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

01930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

YearFig. 23.14b, p. 601

Protecting forests have inspired many to take bold actions.

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

Tree-huggers have a long history in the US

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

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?)

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

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

Private lands in the US South lead in forest cutting

Forest Land

million acres

Percent Private

Annual Removals billion cu. ft

Annual Clear cut

million acres

Southeast 214 88% 10.2. 2.3

Northeast 170 83% 2.8 0.2

West 363 31% 3.1 0.3

Source: USDA Forest Service 2001

Sustainable Solutions?

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

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

Forest Stewardship Council

• Started in 1993 Started in 1993

• 113 million acres globally; 26 million acres in US113 million acres globally; 26 million acres in US

• 10 Principles & 56 Criteria – over half 10 Principles & 56 Criteria – over half environmental and almost half socialenvironmental and almost half social

• Membership organization with 3 chamber Membership organization with 3 chamber governance: environmental, social and economicgovernance: environmental, social and economic

• Strong environmental support (WWF, NRDC, Strong environmental support (WWF, NRDC, Greenpeace, American Lands, Sierra Club)Greenpeace, American Lands, Sierra Club)

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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)

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

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

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)

Wildfire – A Complex IssueWildfire – A Complex Issue

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”!

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.

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?