Update on the Four Forest Restoration Initiative: Creating Resilient Forests for the 21 st Century

Transcription

1 Update on the Four Forest Restoration Initiative: Creating Resilient Forests for the 21 st Century 6 TH WINTER WATERSHED CONFERENCE LCRP RC&D 30 JAN 1 FEB 2013 EDWARD SMITH

2 THE NEED Departure from historical conditions Larger, hotter, more destructive wildland fires Inability to treat forests cost effectively and fast enough with business as usual approach

3 4 Forests $325 M From

4 4FRI-why here, why now? Fire season of 1996 Collaborative group formation (GFFP and NRWG) Rodeo-Chediski Fire 2002 Creation of the Arizona Governor s Forest Health Council (2003) Statewide Strategy for Restoring Arizona s Forests (2007) Analysis of Small Diameter Wood Supply in Northern Arizona (2008) Kaibab Forest Health Focus (2008) White Mountain Stewardship Contract (2004) Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Act (2009) Selection as a CFLRP project (2010)

5 STAKEHOLDERS Arizona Eastern Counties Association Arizona Elk Society Arizona State Forestry Division Coconino County Ecological Restoration Institute Greater Flagstaff Forest Partnership National Wild Turkey Federation Northern Arizona Logging Association Pioneer Association Southwest Sustainable Forests Partnership Arizona Forest Restoration Products Arizona Wildlife Federation Coconino Natural Resources Conservation District City of Flagstaff FFD Graham County Gila County Greenlee County The Natural Resources Working Group NAU Forest Ecosystem Restoration Analysis Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Arizona Game and Fish Department Center for Biological Diversity The Nature Conservancy Coconino Rural Environment Corps Forest Energy Corporation Grand Canyon Trust Mottek Consulting Navajo County Northern Arizona Wood Products Association U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Sierra Club

6 OBJECTIVE To restore ecological resilience and function across 2.4 million acres of northern Arizona s ponderosa pine forest and to attract appropriately sized industry to the region.

7 2.4M Acres Four National Forests

8 OVERALL GOALS Mechanical restoration treatments across ~1 million acres over ~20 years Provide for the re-establishment of natural fire patterns across the landscape Treat on average 30,000 additional acres/year, through contracts at no cost to the government Close over 1,000 miles of roads Restore ephemeral channels

9 FIRST ANALYSIS AREA ~998,000-Acre Analysis Area Proposed Action August 2011 ~390,000 acres of mechanical thinning ~600,000 acres of prescribed burning ~1,000 miles of road decommissioning ~80 springs restored ~40 miles of ephemeral channels restored ~80 miles of aspen fencing

10 Why 2.4 MM Acres? Ecological Increasing size of severe wildfires Safe reintroduction of fire to landscape Comprehensive watershed management

11 Why 2.4 MM Acres? Ecological Increasing size of severe wildfires Safe reintroduction of fire to landscape Comprehensive watershed management Economic Dependable, long-term wood supply Ability to use fire to maintain treatments

12 Ecological Why 2.4 MM Acres? Increasing size of severe wildfires Safe reintroduction of fire to landscape Comprehensive watershed management Economic Dependable, long-term wood supply Ability to use fire to maintain treatments Legal and Socio-Political NEPA planning efficiencies Assurance of treatable acres

13 TIMELINE Award first Stewardship Contract 340,000 acres over 10 years May 2012 Begin issuance of task orders under first Contract in spring shelfstock Finalize 1 st EIS in Fall 2013 Begin next EIS in Summer of 2013 Full implementation of first 4FRI EIS in 2014/15

14 Pioneer Forest Products 10 years on 340,000 acres 400K tons/yr small diameter 17 mill process lines 400K tons/yr biomass process heat and biodiesel Funding coming, break ground February 2013 Approximately new jobs Herman Hauk, Principal of Pioneer Forest Products (photo) Marlin Johnson, Forestry Operations Mike Cooley, Mill Operations

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16 CHALLENGES Monitoring and Adaptive Management Smoke from prescribed fire Retention of old and large trees Canopy cover after treatment Funding

17 Large and Old-Growth Trees No old-growth trees (pre-dating Euro- American settlement) shall be cut. Except in specified circumstances, large trees should be retained. Seeps and Springs Riparian Areas Wet Meadows Encroached Grasslands Savannas Aspen Forests and Woodlands Pine-Oak Forest Types Within Stand Openings Heavily Stocked Stands with High Basal Area Generated by a Preponderance of Large Young Trees

18 Fire and Smoke Management To maintain thinning treatments and restore ecological processes, frequent fire must be returned to the landscape To burn at the landscape-scale, and reduce the impact of smoke on communities, burning must occur throughout the year Actions will be taken to mitigate smoke impacts on communities

19 What is Adaptive Management A way to learn by doing Not trial and Error Plan Goal: Each new action incorporates lessons learned from previous action Inform Act Requires monitoring and a commitment to change when new information is available Evaluate Monitor

20 Monitoring: Critical for Adaptive Management Monitoring is how we learn from our mistakes and repeat our successes. Meaningful monitoring requires resources that have been historically difficult to secure Without monitoring Adaptive Management does not occur

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