assessment of sustainability of our forests

Southern Forest Resource Assessment

 Report - Experts Meeting to Define Questions
 
 

Session 2: Refining the Concerns - List of Major Concerns for Forest Sustainability Study

Concerns are listed by Core Groups

Landscape/Terrestrial Ecosystems Group

  1. Rapid urbanization and land use changes in the South is leading to detrimental impacts to some terrestrial plants and animals.
  2. Increasing number of landowners with diversified objectives may be impacting forest sustainability and ecosystem health.
  3. The effects of more intensive forest management strategies across the South may be negatively impacting sustainability of forest ecosystems (productivity and biological diversity).
  4. The lack of integrated information sources and interagency cooperation hinder our ability to manage natural resources.
  5. The diversity of public perceptions, attitudes, and land use greatly complicates public policy and forest management.

Social /Economic Systems

(linked to initial set of concerns)

A. Impacts of sustainable forestry on rural communities
1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 10, 14, 18, 35
-population pressures
-local economy

B. Urban trends and opportunities
1, 4, 8, 12, 13, 15, 19, 25,
-population pressures
-fragementation

C. Institutional/Policy
3,5, 7, 10, 12, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33,
-property rights and laws
-lack of planning

D. Education, public participation and coordination
6, 36, 12, 13, 17, 25, 31, 34,
-organizational agendas
-different perceptions between urban and rural populations

E. Non-market demands for forest resources
11, 15, 20
-increased recreation
-economic/aesthetic

F. Technologies
24, 27, 32
-timber harvesting
-new wood products
-changing growth rates

Forest Extent, Structure, and Health

  1. Native and invasive non-native (exotic) species are affecting the productivity of the South's forests.
  2. Rapid urbanization of wildlands are impairing land managers abilities to conduct forest management activities of fire management, pesticide use, recreation, harvesting, and silvicultural activities and interrupting the structural integrity of large tracts of wildlands.
  3. Public sentiment about the use of fire, pesticides, old growth forests, forest dynamics, and management practices negatively affect the ability to implement management activities.
  4. Appropriate forest management strategies are sometimes not selected because of potential legal/political ramifications (Endangered Species Act, Best Management Practices, Conservation Reserve Program, etc.).
  5. EPA's proposed NAAQS, regional haze, PM 2.5, and ozone will impair abilities to implement prescribed fire treatments.
  6. Major changes are occurring in forest composition with regard to tree and plant species, forest structure, and age distribution.

Water/Aquatic Ecosystems

  1. Insufficient baseline data on many aquatic species does not allow determination of effects from land management practices.
  2. Stream habitat conditions are adversely impacted by silvicultural and other (e.g. roads, recreation, etc.) activities.
  3. Silvicultural activities contribute a large portion of total sediment load to aquatic ecosystems.
  4. BMPs are not being practiced on private lands and there's no incentive to follow them nor any way to enforce BMPs.
  5. Lack of road (in forests) maintenance causes water quality degradation.
  6. Changes in land use and land cover are adversely impacting threatened and endangered species.
  7. Recreation demands will adversely affect aquatic resources.

Timber Markets / Forest Management Core Area

From all of these concerns, identify (modify / combine / choose) 4 to 6 broad, general concerns that would be appropriate to address in this regional-scale sustainability assessment.
  1. NIPF and industry landowners are concerned about retaining their right to determine how they will manage their lands. Landowner Rights issues verses government regulations; (I should be able to decide what I do with my land; no the government should tell what you can do; no you should not even have the land)
  2. The increasing demand for wood products from the South combined with the changing sturcture of ownerships / shifting wood product demand
  3. Increased demands for timber and changing demands for all forest resources with limited forest resources result in competing demands for the limited forest resources, with some people not happy.
  4. Private forest land are not being managed in a sustainable manner, i.e., there is a lack of sustainable forest management.
  5. Past intensive forest management practices are inappropriate to sustaining wood production in the South.

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  modified: 17-APR-2000
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