For the Southern Forest Futures Project, the South has been divided and organized into five large sub-regions. Each of these sub-regions has unique ecological and social attributes and specific issues of concern regarding their forest ecosystems and economic conditions. Though they are aggregations of smaller ecological units that often do have similar ecological characteristics, differences among the subregions can be and often are distinct ecologically, socially, economically and culturally. This combination of similarities and differences will present both opportunities and challenges to subregional teams as they to strive to deal with significant conditions, issues and concerns within their sub-region.

Each of the five subregional teams will be co-led by a representative of the US Forest Service Southern Research Station and Southern Region. They will be responsible for consulting with and/or forming interdisciplinary teams comprised of experts from public agencies and universities who are knowledgeable in subjects relevant to the forests and related issues within their respective sub-region.

Their responsibilities will be two-fold: 1) each team will interpret and summarize the "downscaled" results of the forecast and meta-issue analyses and identify specific implications for forest resource sustainability in the sub-region, 2) each team will identify sub-region specific issues based on public input or other sources (see above sets of subregional issues), develop analysis protocols in the form of a study plan, and interpret the implications of forecasts and meta-issue analyses for these issues.

Each subregional team will prepare a report containing the results of the above synthesis and analysis. Reports will be prepared by the team, and like other Futures Team reports, peer-reviewed and revised, and ultimately prepared for publication. Throughout the process, the subregional teams will coordinate their work with other Futures Team members and with the Futures Project co-leaders to ensure consistency and accuracy.

Proposed Subregional Analysis Report Outline

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Context and condition of the Subregion
• Ecological
• Geological
• Human
• 3. Analysis of issues and futures
• Land Use Change
• Forest Products Markets
• Forest Conditions
• Social/Economic Impacts
• Biodiversity/Wildlife
• Water
• Taxes
• Climate Changes
• Fire
• Forest Ownership changes
• Invasive species
• Bioenergy
• 4. Synthesis and conclusions
• 5. Key Findings

Table: Subregional Team Leadership for the Southern Forest Futures Project. All are US. Forest Service.