Wildlands and Woodlands · Managed Woodlands • 63% of the New England landscape or ~27 million...

Wildlands and

WoodlandsA Vision for the New England Landscape

May 19, 2010

W&W

Authors

John Aber University of New Hampshire

Charles Cogbill Sterling College

Elizabeth Colburn Harvard Forest, Harvard University

Anthony D’Amato University of Minnesota

Brian Donahue Brandeis University

Charles Driscoll Syracuse University

Aaron Ellison Harvard Forest, Harvard University

Timothy Fahey Cornell University

David Foster Harvard Forest, Harvard University

Brian Hall Harvard Forest, Harvard University

Clarisse Hart Harvard Forest, Harvard University

Malcolm Hunter University of Maine, Orono

Lloyd Irland Yale University

William Keeton University of Vermont

David Kittredge University of Massachusetts

Kathleen Lambert Harvard Forest, Harvard University

James Levitt Harvard Forest, Harvard University

Robert Lilieholm University of Maine

David Orwig Harvard Forest, Harvard University

Jonathan Thompson Smithsonian Institution.

David R. Foster, Ph.D.Director, Harvard Forest

Harvard University

Wildlands and Woodlands author

Slide 3

A Turning Point

Slide 4

Return of New England’s forests represents unprecedented opportunity.

Forest cover is declining in all 6 New England states.

In response to opportunity & challenge 20 scholars are

releasing a new report.

Wildlands and Woodlands Vision:

conserve 70% of

New England in forestland,

permanently free from development.

The Vision

Slide 5

Managed Woodlands

• 63% of the New England

landscape or ~27 million

acres.

• 90% of the conserved

forestland in the region.

• Provide clean water, local

wood, climate buffering,

jobs and recreation.

Managed Woodlands

Slide 6

New England

forests can

support greater

use of wood

resources.

New England Wood Supply

Slide 7

Wildlands

• 7% of the New England

landscape or ~3 million

acres.

• 10% of the conserved

forestland in the region.

• Large forest areas

shaped by natural

processes.

Wildland Reserves

Slide 8

• Conserved forests = 70% of the New England landscape.

• Farmland = at least 7% of the landscape.

• Development could double from current levels = up to 20%.

• W&W will require roughly a doubling of the current rate of conservation.

The Vision at a Glance

Slide 9

Robert Lilieholm, Ph.D.

E. L. Giddings Professor of Forest Policy

University of Maine, Orono

Wildlands & Woodlands co-author

Slide 10

Factors driving forest loss vary across the region…

North – Shifting land ownership & leisure development

South & Coastal Areas –sprawling residential & commercial development

Forest Change in New England

Slide 11

Changing Ownership Patterns

Slide 12

• Fragments parcels & forests

• Hinders coherent management

• Deforestation & development

• Threatens long-standing

tradition of public access

Risks of Shifting Ownership…

Slide 13

Projected Forest Loss to Development

Slide 14

By 2030, 40

to 63% of

forests in

highly

populated

areas will be

lost to

development.

• Contributes to habitat loss

• Alters water quality & flow

• Increases carbon emissions

• Municipal fiscal impacts

• Reduces availability of

timber & other renewable

resources…

Impacts of Forest Conversion…

Slide 15

James N. Levitt

Director, Program on Conservation Innovation

Harvard Forest, Harvard University

Wildlands & Woodlands co-author

Slide 16

• Achieving W&W by 2060 will require collaboration across the public, private and non-profit sectors

– Conservation easements by willing private landowners and inventive non-profits --example: Pingree project completed by the New England Forestry Foundation

– Avoided deforestation through targeted public funding -- example: federal Forest Legacy funding of Quabbin Corridor project

– Economic development with relatively low impact on the landscape -- example: The Pinehills in Plymouth, MA

Achieving the Vision

Slide 17

• A mix of traditional &

innovative conservation

tools will be needed

– Landscape-scale initiatives, such

as those emerging across New

England

– Conservation aggregation projects

– Planning and policies to reduce

sprawl and encourage low-impact

development

Conservation Tools

Slide 18

Funding & Finance

We will need to continue to develop sources of

human, social and financial capital for conservation

and sustainable economic development

– Increased public funding (examples: federal Land and Water

Conservation Fund, local ballot initiatives).

– Strengthened conservation incentives (examples: renewal of

federal tax deductions for easements, fast-track permitting for

low-impact developers).

– Development of new and existing ecosystem service markets

(examples: carbon sequestration, clean water, sustainably

harvested wood products, biofuels).

Slide 19

• Increase outreach and collaboration

• Can be used to employ new methods and strategies, such as aggregation, across jurisdictional boundaries

• W&W Partnership - a network of more than 60 conservation organizations working to achieve the W&W vision

Regional Partnerships

Slide 20

• W&W builds on a long tradition of conservation leadership

in New England.

• W&W comes at a time of growing attention to the future of

forests in New England and worldwide.

• W&W goals are ambitious and achievable, following

examples set by the Pingree project, The Pinehills, and by

regional collaborators in the North Quabbin.

Slide 21

Another Turning Point

Timothy J. Fahey

Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor

Department of Natural Resources

Cornell University

Wildlands & Woodlands co-author

Slide 22

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Forestry Rural Suburban Urban

Carb

on

Sto

rag

e (

g/m

2)/

yr)

Forest Carbon Storage

Courtesy: Hubbard Brook Research Foundation

Raciti et al. In prep.

Forests in rural

areas in the

Northeast

absorb a lot of

carbon

compared to

urban areas.

Slide 23

93 96

71

3025.4

187

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Forestry Rural Suburban Urban

(g C

/m2

/yr)

Forest Carbon Storage & Emissions

Forest Sequestration

Emissions

11,000

2,000 1,900

11,000

Slide 24

Courtesy: Hubbard Brook Research Foundation

Raciti et al. In prep.

Forests absorb

large amounts

of carbon

relative to

emissions in

rural areas, but

not in urban

areas.

Lynn Lyford

Executive Director

New England Forestry Foundation

Slide 25

• Bundling individual land

trust projects vs. one

project at a time

• Western MA Pilot Project

Seven land trusts

72 projects

10,300 acres

$21.3 million

Slide 26

W&W in Action: Conservation Aggregation

• Realize a landscape scale vision

• Access funding sources not generally

available

• Conserve a variety of forest lands

• Achieve economies of scale

• Nurture new conservation technologies

Slide 27

Aggregation Benefits

In Summary

• Critical turning point - forest cover is declining.

• Factors - changing ownership and development.

• Vision - conserve 70% of the landscape in forest to

retain infrastructure – mostly as managed woodlands.

• How - double the rate of forest conservation working

with existing groups and willing private landowners.

For more information visit:

www.wildlandsandwoodlands.org

To schedule an interview contact:

Clarisse Hart: 978/756-6157