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Enhancing understanding of global connections: interactions among effective fire and forest management in the US, availability of timber and biomass, and conditions of ecosystems and communities on American soil and abroad.

Managing fire in accordance with forest management plans enhances timber production, mitigates wildfire severity and serves ecosystem functions. Managing forests in accordance with domestic timber supply needs strengthens communities, promotes economic sustainability, and serves ecosystem functions. Provided that forests are managed through sustainable practices that account for ecosystem functions, there are compelling ecological, energy efficiency, policy and moral reasons to seek satisfaction of US timber needs from US forests, and fire management is integral in this calculus.

Public and private forest management across the US is directly related to construction costs and the many other uses of wood in our lives. Decreasing U.S. dependence on foreign timber would cause us to better recognize the value of forest land within our own communities. Before the recent rise of globalization, the practice of forestry within a community has for centuries supported the construction of homes, the growth of societies and the strong local economies.

Sustainable management of forests in the US with coordinated fire management policies can be designed to support local ecosystems and economies. Policies that discourage self-reliance on domestic timber lead to increased imports of foreign timber which can directly affect communities and ecosystems in foreign countries through illegal activities, economic enslavement and environmental degradation.

Contemporary technological tools for mapping and remote sensing analysis and biomass utilization offer hope for a closer connection between forest and fire management, though challenges remain in preventing invasive species colonization of sites that are burned, harvested, or otherwise disturbed.

Implied strands of this theme (some specific, some broadly conceptual)
  • Promoting understanding among U.S. publics of forest dynamics with and without management and inherent global links to environmental and economic status.
  • Follow the conservation ethic and wisely use our domestic resources. Application from corporate management to home remodeling.
  • Learn and understand the cycle of forests and how timber can be a sustainable resource within your own community.
  • Apply the lessons from the past: We have endured the cycle of mismanagement, unsustainable forestry practices, restrictions on timber production and economic collapse. Practice conservation, support forest management, use resources wisely. Protect communities in other countries from the devastating impacts of timber high grading and poor harvesting practices.
  • Communication between groups representing the preservation philosophy and the conservation, wise use philosophy. Find common ground. Expand this concept to the building industry (Forest Certification is already moving forward on this front).
Implied questions
  • What are the barriers to public understanding of these connections?
  • What are key opportunities to develop and convey educational messages?
  • Who needs to have their understanding transformed to effect lasting change in policies?
  • How to leverage products (i.e., digital maps) derived from remote sensing technology such as forest stand condition, pest damage, fuel load assessment, post-fire damage assessment, and land-use conversion to increase awareness among the general public?
  • How to disseminate the scientific information on forest management to general public in easily accessible formats and in non-technical formats?
Planned actions so far
  • A Global Connections track at 2010 SAF Convention (coordinated by Kathy Fernholz)
Send your ideas for other actions to Jeremy Fried at saf at jeremyfried.net, FSTB Emerging Issues Committee Chair.