http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/foresteco en-us U.S. Forest Service 2009 Forest Eco is a two-minute podcast and radio module distributed monthly by the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station. Stevin Westcott Forest Eco brings listeners on an audio adventure into the world of Forest Service research and its scientists, who are working to better understand and solve or mitigate many of the South's natural resource challenges. Climate change, wood to energy, water quality, and nonnative invasive species are among the "hot topics" explored in Forest Eco, which highlights innovative research spanning "Virginia to Florida, Texas to Kentucky." Forest Eco brings listeners on an audio adventure into the world of Forest Service research and its scientists, who are working to better understand and solve or mitigate many of the South's natural resource challenges. Climate change, wood to energy, water quality, and nonnative invasive species are among the "hot topics" explored in Forest Eco, which highlights innovative research spanning "Virginia to Florida, Texas to Kentucky." no Stevin Westcott swestcott@fs.fed.us Stevin Westcott From Virginia to Florida, Texas to Kentucky....This is Forest Eco. From Virginia to Florida, Texas to Kentucky…This is Forest Eco Every year, wildfire scorches millions of acres of forests in the West and Southeast. U.S. Forest Service spending, alone, has averaged 1 billion dollars a year over the past ten years. But this amount varies widely from year to year. So with wildfire being so variable, how do Forest Service officials and other decision makers in Washington budget for firefighting costs? (Jeff Prestemon, length: 8 seconds) "We forecast what we term "emergency suppression expenditures," or "suppression costs,' of the U.S. Forest Service using statistical models." (narrator) That's Jeff Prestemon. He's one of several economists in the Forest Service who develop models that forecast how much the agency will spend putting out fires each year. (Prestemon, length: 16 seconds) "These models really are applied to nine geographical units called Forest Service regions and they relate to suppression spending by region to climate variables such as ocean temperatures and pressure indices, drought measures, and time trends." (narrator) Prestemon says the forecasts do not include such things as the value of timber lost or houses destroyed. Once compiled, Prestemon and his colleagues share their forecasts with Forest Service officials so they can budget accordingly. He says that natural processes can cause wide fluctuations in fire activity and in firefighting costs from year to year. Prestemon adds that there has been an upward trend in suppression costs - amounting to an extra 15 to 20 million dollars annually. Jeff Prestemon also has this week's Forest Eco tip…tailored to folks living in fire prone areas. (Prestemon, length: 8 seconds) "For homeowners living in these places, clearing away vegetation near the house may help firefighters protect it if a wildfire approaches." (narrator) 'Forest Eco' is produced by the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station, which is solely responsible for its content. For 'Forest Eco'…I'm Stevin Westcott" http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/foresteco/audio/foresteco_costs_1027.mp3 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:20:01 EST no 2:00 forest service, forest, usda, climate Stevin Westcott From Virginia to Florida, Texas to Kentucky....This is Forest Eco. From Virginia to Florida, Texas to Kentucky…This is Forest Eco Experts with the U.S. Forest Service, The American Chestnut Foundation, and the University of Tennessee say hundreds of blight resistant American chestnut seedlings are thriving in three national forests in North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. Project partners planted the seedlings last winter as part of a larger effort to restore the American chestnut to its native range, which at one time stretched from Maine to Florida. Last century, a chestnut blight nearly wiped out the American chestnut in Eastern forests. The Forest Service’s Stacy Clark, a lead researcher in the project, says project partners test-planted 1200 American chestnut seedlings, 500 of which are blight resistant. (Stacy Clark, length: 23 seconds) “We examined the seedlings during September of 2009, and initial indications are that the trees are healthy, free from blight, and have greater than 90 percent survival after the first year in the forest. This coming winter in 2010 we plan on planting two more test plantings on national forests in Virginia, in Tennessee, 500 seedlings in these test plantings will be blight resistant American chestnuts.” (narrator) The seedlings are cross bred with the Chinese chestnut, which is resistant to the blight, then rebred with other American chestnuts. The end result is a tree that is both 94 percent American chestnut and blight resistant. Stacy Clark and researchers from the University of Tennessee are monitoring the blight resistance of the seedlings to determine whether the chestnut trees will thrive in a real world setting, Clark says the blight normally shows up between the ages of 5 and 10, but adds the early years are also important. To learn more about the American chestnut restoration in the South, visit www.fs.fed.us/r8/chestnut/ ‘Forest Eco’ is produced by the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station, which is solely responsible for its content. For ‘Forest Eco’…I’m Stevin Westcott” http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/foresteco/audio/foresteco_chestnut_0909.mp3 Sun, 13 Sept 2009 11:20:01 EST no 2:00 forest service, forest, usda, climate Stevin Westcott From Virginia to Florida, Texas to Kentucky....This is Forest Eco. From Virginia to Florida, Texas to Kentucky....This is Forest Eco. The build-up of greenhouse gases is changing the climate, and compared to historic levels, will very likely result in an increase in air temperature of 4 to 9 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of this century. So what effect will climate change have on the South's forests? For answers, we turn to Steve McNulty, research ecologist with U.S. Forest Service Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center, in Raleigh, North Carolina. http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/foresteco/audio/foresteco_climatechange_0809.mp3 Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:20:01 EST no 2:00 forest service, forest, usda, climate Stevin Westcott From Virginia to Florida, Texas to Kentucky....This is Forest Eco. From Virginia to Florida, Texas to Kentucky….This is Forest Eco. This year, the United States celebrates the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Nation’s experimental forests and ranges. Nineteen experimental forests are found in the South and Southeast. They range from the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory in western North Carolina to the Crossett Experimental Forest in southern Arkansas, both of which turn 75 years young this year. So what are experimental forests and why are they important? For answers, we turn to Jim Guldin, U.S. Forest Service ecologist and manager of the Crossett Experimental Forest. He says the primary role of experimental forests has been to show how management practices affect the land, so foresters and landowners can manage forests in a sustainable way and meet objectives. http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/foresteco/audio/foresteco_expforests_0709.mp3 Mon, 13 July 2009 11:20:01 EST no 2:00 forest service, forest, usda, climate