Forest Service Southern Region

1
Forest Service Southern Region

• Tom Peterson
• Acting Regional Forester

2
What is The Forest Service Doing About Climate
Change?

• Our strategy is based on 20 years of research
• Agency has highly skilled and experienced land
  managers and internationally recognized climate
  scientists

3
Five Focus Areas

• Adapt to Climate Change
• Increase Capture of Carbon Dioxide by forests
• Reduce and Replace Fossil Fuels
• Maintain a Research Program
• Reduce our own Environmental Footprint

4
Helping Forests Adapt to Climate Change

• Improve resilience of forest, range and aquatic
  ecosystems created by climate change
• Reduce overstocking that creates risks
• Control invasive species
• Restore wetlands and streams
• Assisting species migration
• Relocate, redesign, managing human
• use

5
Southern Region Examples

• Region is leading an effort to design a
  monitoring strategy for climate change
• Since 2003 distributed 60 million for SPB
  prevention and restoration to 12 forests in 13
  states treated over 250,000 acres
• Formed Southern Region
• Invasive Species Team

• National Forests in Mississippi has included
  climate change direction in their forest plan

6
Increase Capture of Carbon Dioxide

• Increase carbon sequestration in forest and
  ecosystems
• Rapid reforestation of damaged forests
• Demonstration projects to support development of
  private markets for ecosystem services and carbon
  sequestration

7
Southern Region Examples

• USFS awarded grant to Texas Forest Service to
  provide an impetus for developing ecosystem
  services markets
• Texas Forest Service first to become a Authorized
  Verifier for Forestry Offset Projects by the
  Chicago Climate Exchange (currently only market
  that trades forestry carbon)

• Georgia Forestry and UGA have established a
  carbon registry for the state
• Longleaf Pine restoration initiative
• Tree planting and conservation in urban areas

Longleaf Pine Research Natural Area Apalachicola
National Forest, Florida
8
Use Forest Products to Reduce and Replace Fossil
Fuels

• Substitute wood based building projects for
  energy-intensive material (aluminum and concrete)

• More use of excess and waste wood as source of
  heat and power
• Development of cost-effective wood based
  bio-fuels such as cellulosic ethanol and
  bio-diesel

9
Southern Region Examples

• Woody Biomass Utilization Program
• South has thriving forest industry and potential
  for expanded biomass markets
• Range Fuels broke ground on commercial scale
  cellulosic ethanol plant near Soperton, GA
• Kisatchie NF, Winn Ranger District, will be first
  FS office to use electricity from woody biomass
  by using a Bio Max 25 gasification unit

10
Maintain Research Program

• Build on existing expertise in landscape ecology,
  watershed hydrology, vegetation modeling,
  nutrient cycling and forest management
• Agency climate scientists recognized with Nobel
  Peace Prize
• Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment
  Center
• Salt water intrusion into coastal areas

11
Reduce Agencys Environmental Footprint

• FS is evaluating its operations and reducing
  consumption of non-renewable energy and material
• Region forming Green Teams
• Ozark-St. Francis NF first in FS to have a LEED
  certified building
• FS has joined EPAs Climate Change Leaders program

12
Southern Region Current Initiatives

• Videoconferencing to reduce travel
• Energy audits and efficiency improvements
• Hybrids, E85 and right-sizing vehicles
• Recycling program on each unit
• Launched climate change website