The Southern Forest Futures Project: using public input to define the issues

Abstract

Introduction The US Forest Service, Southern Research Station and Southern Region, in partnership with the Southern Group of State Foresters, are conducting a broad scale assessment of potential futures called the Southern Forest Futures Project. This effort builds on the Southern Forest Resource Assessment (SFRA, Wear and Greis 2002) which identified several forces of change reshaping forests and the potential implications of these changes for economic conditions and ecological services. The Southern Forest Futures Project (herein referred to as the Futures Project) is designed to further examine how these and some new emerging factors could reshape forests over the next half century and beyond. While SFRA provided forecasts of some key variables, it focused primarily on understanding trends and conditions. The Futures Project will focus on forecasting future change and its potential implications for forest ecosystems, their services, and human communities. The overall goal of the Futures Project is to inform forest management choices, policy discussions, and science programs with the best possible understanding of the long term implications of changes in southern forests as well as critical uncertainties regarding forest sustainability.