User:Mle1117/For The Forest

For the Forest is a non-profit with the sole mission to promote the health of forests. The organization works specifically on promoting the long-term sustainability of Western forests by providing research, management, expertise, developing and implementing forest management plans, and engaging in relevant activities related to the protection and conservation of forests. For the Forest was founded in 2008.

Why Protect Our Forests
Our world forests provide important natural resources – from paper to medicinal plants. They protect our environment by helping to purify air,  improve freshwater quality, and stabilize soil. Globally thousands of animal species and more than 60 million indigenous people depend on forests for survival. An estimated 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihoods.

Every year, 36 million acres of natural forest are destroyed. In addition to the resulting lowed water tables and a higher propensity for drought, landslides, flash floods and erosion, it is estimated that this loss of natural forest is responsible for 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

A Public/Private Initiative
For the Forest believes that a robust public/private partnership is needed to devise a community-based approach to sustainable forest stewardship in the wildland-urban interface ("WUI"). Examples of community forest stewardship techniques might include removing diseased or dying trees to reduce wildfire risk and planting new tree species to increase diversity.

To achieve its goals, For The Forest’s strategy includes a combination of science, community outreach and education.

Scientific Data Gathering
In partnership with the Aspen-Pitkin County Forest Coalition (see below), U.S. Forest Service, Pitkin County, the City of Aspen, and the Aspen Valley Land Trust, For the Forest is currently helping to conduct a forest survey in the Hunter Creek/Smuggler Mountain area. The resulting data will craft a workable forest management plan to protect the area. They are now planning additional biological surveys in other threatened areas of the Roaring Fork Valley, and they hope to sponsor new research on promising ways to protect green forests from insect and disease attacks.

Community Consensus Building
For the Forest hopes to help build a community agreement on what constitutes enlightened forest stewardship in the wildland/urban interface. By bringing local environmentalists, community leaders and civic groups together with city, county and federal agencies, For the Forest can play an important role in crafting community-based solutions to the challenges posed by mountain pine beetles and other forest threats.

Education
For the Forest believes that education will play a major role in maintaining sustainable forests. To explain the problem and its possible solutions, we plan to use neighborhood meetings, school presentations, large community gatherings, educational symposia. For the Forest reaches out to local and state news media and create our own films and videos to reach the public. In addition, our website provides educational resources and links to various university and government sources of information on healthy forest management.

Implementation
As solutions are found, For the Forest will partner with the community to help implement them.

The Aspen-Pitkin County Forest Coalition
Supporters of For the Forest helped facilitate the creation of the Aspen-Pitkin County Forest Coalition, which includes the City of Aspen, Pitkin County, Pitkin County Open Space, the U.S. Forest Service, the Colorado State Forest Service, the Aspen Valley Land Trust and local environmental group representatives. Coalition members have been participating enthusiastically, and the idea for the Hunter Creek/Smuggler Mountain forest survey, described above, was a product of their meetings. The current forest survey, in turn, could lead to the creation of an innovative community forest stewardship plan for the wildland/urban interface in the study area.

Although For the Forest is focused now on the imminent threat posed by the mountain pine beetle in the Roaring Fork Valley, we expect in the future to expand our work to address broader national issues of forest health.

Future Forest Health Surveys
In cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service, For the Forest science advisors have been touring the Roaring Fork Valley to identify areas for the next biological forest surveys. After reviewing ground data and GIS maps of regions such as Aspen Highlands, the Snowmass ski area, Reudi Reservoir, the Frying Pan Valley and the Woody Creek/Lenado area, For The Forest and the Forest Service expect to decide soon on sites for the next forest surveys.

An important component of developing an appropriately specified plan for a forest health survey is to conduct preliminary ground reconnaissance to establish boundaries, determine general conditions and fix points on the ground using GPS instruments. Comprehensive forest health assessments require that accurate, contemporaneous stand survey data be available to guide development of a proactive stewardship plan. One advantage of the Aspen Highlands and Snowmass ski areas is the fact that they lie largely on USFS land, and the opportunity to share existing stand data already in Forest Service files simplifies the task.

The Mountain Pine Beetle
The  mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) is a member of the bark beetle family, (known scientifically as Scolytid beetles) and is one of the most damaging insect pests of pine forests in western North America. Mountain pine beetles are found in western forests from Mexico to British Columbia. They attack lodgepole, ponderosa, whitebark, limber, and white pines.

The beetles prefer mature, larger trees in a stand (i.e., over 80 years old, diameters 8 inches or greater). Beetles may attack younger trees, but they are usually less successful. Although the tree is essentially dead six weeks after a successful beetle attack, the pine needles remain green for almost a year, making the tree appear living. Gradually, eight to ten months later, the needles turn red or reddish brown, clearly indicating that the tree is dead. Over the next 2-3 years, the needles fall off leaving a gray "skeleton" of the tree.

Mountain Pine Beetles Affect on Forests
As you drive through or fly over the forests in the American west, you have seen the dramatic dieback of trees. More than 1.7 million acres of Colorado's lodgepole pine forests have been impacted by mountain pine beetles. In some places in Colorado, dense stands of lodgepole pine appear to change quickly from dark green foliage to dramatic red, and then grey in a matter of a few seasons.

In addition to killing trees, the impact of the bark beetles substantially changes forest structure. Damaged trees become hosts to dozens of other insects, animals and even fungus. The reduced tree canopy exposes the forest floor, changing the ratios of light-loving to shade-loving plants which may be a source of food or shelter for other forest species. As trees die the amount of fuel for later fires increases. Fallen trees change stream flows and no longer protect against erosion, landslides and avalanches.

But this danger is not limited to the western United States. Lodgepole pine forest spread throughout western Canada. If the beetle continues to devour trees at the current rate, it is estimated that 80 percent of British Columbia’s mature pines will be affected off by 2013.

Why are so many trees dying? The answers are complicated, and have to do with a combination of drought, age and stand density, forest diversity, and insects and disease. One of the more obvious of these explanations is the mountain pine beetle infestation epidemic. Interactions between plants and insects account for one half of all ecological relationships. But many other issues also affect our forests, which are dynamic, complex ecologic entities. Insects and disease impacting these large forests may spread to mountain forests around the world.

The crucial roles of climate changes and human interaction in the in bark beetle eruptions provide insight into the functioning of complex systems. These insights and research provide information that will help scientist develop management strategies to prevent further outbreaks in infested areas as well as strategies to prevent similar outbreaks in forests around the world.

Gallery

 * Map of Infestation Area
 * Aerial Detection Survey

Publications

 * Economic Impact of Beetle Infestation

Related Entries

 * U.S. Forest Service
 * Forest Ecology
 * Forestry
 * Mountain Pine Beetle
 * Sustainable Forest Management