Endangered Forest Mapping

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Endangered Forest Mapping

• Strategic Objective
• Existing Mapping Projects
• Examples from Other Regions
• Constraints to Reaching Objective
• Ways the SEFN Can Help

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I. Strategic Objective ID Protect Endangered
Forest Communities Around the Region

• According to the USFS, the South has more
  endangered forest communities than anywhere else
  in the U.S.
• Rare forest communities -- and the species that
  depend on them for survival -- will continue to
  shrink to under continued stress, and a number of
  threatened or endangered species may become
  extinct (54 amphibians, 40 reptiles, 20 birds,
  and 18 mammals are classified as imperiled).
• It is critical to halt further losses of
  critically endangered and threatened forest
  communities and the species that depend on them.

3
Objectives continued

• The future of a majority of these sensitive
  species and communities in the South depends on
  active restoration.
• Identifying and mapping these is a first critical
  step towards their protection
• Cooperation between conservation organizations,
  the government, and corporate partners is crucial
• It is essential that this work be done to assist
  corporations working to phase their supply out of
  endangered forests

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Critical Opportunities Abound

• Major commitments to stop sourcing from
  endangered forests by companies like IKEA, Home
  Depot, Lowes, Microsoft, IBM, Kinkos and many
  more
• International organizations have included
  endangered Southern forests in 2nd tier of
  priorities for implementation of above
  commitments

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International Conservation Priorities for US
Markets

• 1st Tier Great Bear Rain Forest (British
  Columbia), Amazon Basin, Chile, and Tongass NF
  (Alaska)
• 2nd Tier Southern US, Canadian Boreal, Congo,
  Indonesia, and US Public Lands

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First Steps for Protecting the Souths Endangered
Forests

• Defining Endangered Forests
• Mapping Endangered Forests
• Corporate phase-out of Endangered Forests
• Government policy to make it economically
  feasible for small private landowners

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Defining Endangered Forests

• Beginning with the US Forest Service SFRA data
  (forest communities reduced to a small percentage
  of their original range)
• Remaining large, intact natural mature forests
• Integration into the Wye River Endangered forest
  definitions

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II. Mapping the Souths Endangered Forests

• Dogwood Alliance, NRDC, Forest Ethics, and the
  Conservation Biology Institute are teaming up to
  produce comprehensive maps of Endangered Forests
  throughout the South
• Projected Completion January 1, 2004

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Southern Appalachians

• SAFCs Return the Great Forest Campaign
• Identifies crucial public private lands that
  need to be protected to ensure the regions
  conservation integrity
• Helps conservation organizations put work in
  regional context so they can work together
  towards highest priorities

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Cumberland Plateau, TN

• Comprehensive Mapping has been completed for
  southernmost counties by the University of the
  South
• ForestWatch and SkyTruth currently partnering to
  map the rest of the plateau

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Ocala-Okefenokee Ecological Corridor

• Acquisition working group
• Integrated corridor management plan
• Public awareness campaign
• Work with non-industrial private landowners

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TNCs Southern Work

• Multiple efforts underway
• Unable to connect with them as of yet to get more
  details

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III. Great Bear Rainforest

• 10 year effort to protect the largest intact
  temperate rainforest in the world
• Focus on US markets resulted in corporate
  commitments
• Home Depot, Lowes, IBM, Kinkos, etc

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Great Bear Continued

• Market Pressure led to government policy
• Status1st map was all areas of intact 5,000
  hectares
• Indy grps did more detailed maps of these areas
• Conservation area design map completed with input
  from enviros, consultants, and scientists
• They are now in a multi-landuse planning process

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Pacific NW Conservation Assessment

• Provide the conservation community with an
  ongoing assessment of conservation throughout the
  greater Pacific Northwest
• Goal is to maintain this site into the
  foreseeable future so the conservation community
  has a web site that can help them plan for
  conservation whatever their region of interest.

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Yellowstone to Yukon

• Describes the Y2Y ecoregion and survey its
  natural resources
• Provide an overview of the regions current
  health
• Summarize the regions human-caused threats and
  habitat trends
• Describe the implications of these threats and
  trends for the future

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IV. Constraints to Reaching Objective

• Funding
• Scientific Expertise
• Regional Buy-In
• 90 of Souths forests are in private ownership
• Lack of message development

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V. Ways in Which SEFN Can Help

• Survey network participants and their existing
  partners for additional mapping that has been
  completed or is underway throughout the region
• Help secure buy-in from participant
  organizations, land owners, and forest
  practitioners for the project
• Support in passing complimentary government
  policy for protecting endangered forests
  (pro-landowner)