converted to developed uses, with implications for the condition and management of affected private forests and the watersheds in which they occur. The Forests on the Edge project seeks to improve understanding of the processes and thresholds associated with increases in housing density in private forests and likely effects on the contributions of those forests to timber, wildlife, and water resources. This report, the first in a series, displays and describes housing density projections on private forests, by watershed, across the conterminous United States. An interdisciplinary team used geographic information system (GIS) techniques to identify fourth-level watersheds containing private forests that are projected to experience increased housing density by 2030. Results indicate that some 44.2 million acres (over 11 percent) of private forests-particularly in the East, where most private forests occur-are likely to see dramatic increases in housing development in the next three decades, with consequent impacts on ecological, economic, and social services. Although conversion of forest land to other uses over time is inevitable, local jurisdictions and states can target efforts to prevent or reduce conversion of the most valuable forest lands to keep private working forests resilient and productive.Keywords: Fourth-level watershed, land use change, private forest, water quality, ecological services. AutHors What Is A "Private" Forest?A private forest is forest land owned by individuals, families, corporations, organizations, tribes, or the forest industry. What Is A Forest?The term "forest" has different meanings, depending on where you live or your interest in forests. For this project, we used "land that is at least 1 acre and at least 10 percent stocked by trees of any size" (Smith et al. 2004). This is the definition most commonly used by Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis scientists, who monitor the status of our Nation's forests each year. The source Forests cover 749 million acres of the Nation's landscape. Hardwoods, conifers, and mixed species paint a diverse forest palette that ranges from sparse dry forest in the arid, interior West to lush rain forests in the Pacific Northwest, and highly productive moist forests in the South.of our data for forest cover was the National Land Cover Data compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey, which divides the country into small units (or pixels) of 323 square feet and assigns each unit to 1 of 21 vegetation categories. We selected categories that contained vegetation that was closest to our definition of forest.Private forests constitute nearly 60 percent (about 430 million acres) of America's total forest land (Smith et al. 2004) and thereby provide nearly 60 percent of all waterflow originating on U.S. forests (and nearly 30 percent of all waterflow originating on land in the lower 48) in a typical year. 2Private forests provide many other benefits to the American public. They furnish diverse habitats for fish and wildlife, providing the key to the c...
Close to 80 percent of the U.S. population lives in urban areas and depends on the essential ecological, economic, and social benefi ts provided by urban trees and forests. However, the distribution of urban tree cover and the benefi ts of urban forests vary across the United States, as do the challenges of sustaining this important resource. As urban areas expand across the country, the importance of the benefi ts that urban forests provide, as well as the challenges to their conservation and maintenance, will increase. The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the current status and benefi ts of America's urban forests, compare differences in urban forest canopy cover among regions, and discuss challenges facing urban forests and their implications for urban forest management.
Wildfire, wildlands, and people: understanding and preparing for wildfire in the wildland-urban interface-a Forests on the Edge report. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-299. Fort Collins, CO. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 36 p.Fire has historically played a fundamental ecological role in many of America's wildland areas. However, the rising number of homes in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), associated impacts on lives and property from wildfire, and escalating costs of wildfire management have led to an urgent need for communities to become "fire-adapted. " We present maps of the conterminous United States that illustrate historical natural fire regimes, the wildland-urban interface, and the number and location of structures burned since 1999. We outline a sampler of actions, programs, and community planning and development options to help decrease the risks of and damages from wildfire.
The Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is dedicated to the principle of multiple use management of the Nation's forest resources for sustained yields of wood, water, forage, wildlife, and recreation. Through forestry research, cooperation with the States and private forest owners, and management of the National Forests and National Grasslands, it strives-as directed by Congress-to provide increasingly greater service to a growing Nation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.
Many of America's national forests and grasslands-collectively called the National Forest System-face increased risks and alterations from escalating housing development on private rural lands along their boundaries. National forests and grasslands provide critical social, ecological, and economic benefits to the American public. This study projects future housing density increases on private rural lands at three distances-2, 3, and 10 miles-from the external boundaries of all national forests and grasslands across the conterminous United States. Some 21.7 million acres of rural private lands (about 8 percent of all private lands) located within 10 miles of the National Forest System boundaries are projected to undergo increases in housing density by 2030. Nine national forests are projected to experience increased housing density on at least 25 percent of adjacent private lands at one or more of the distances considered. Thirteen national forests and grasslands are each projected to have more than a half-million acres of adjacent private rural lands experience increased housing density. Such development and accompanying landscape fragmentation pose substantial challenges for the management and conservation of the ecosystem services and amenity resources of National Forest System lands, including access by the public. Research such as this can help planners, managers, and communities consider the impacts of local land use decisions.
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