American Forests announced today a formal partnership with The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service to collaboratively advance development of a climate risk viewer, a digital mapping tool that will support climate-informed risk and resource planning for National Forest System lands across the U.S.
Working in collaboration with government, non-profit conservation organizations and technology service providers, the partners will develop a tool that will enable data-driven forest management decisions, supporting the diverse needs of forest managers. The climate risk viewer will be capable of illustrating, estimating and projecting forest trends for key resources, including carbon, water and at-risk species – features that will help to assess the need for climate adaptation and carbon stewardship activities. The tool will be publicly available to assist with planning at multiple geographic scales.
“This partnership will accelerate development and expand collaboration for the climate risk viewer, while continuing to ensure that it includes high-quality, credible datasets with robust scientific review,” said Dr. Chris Swanston, Forest Service Climate Advisor.
“My greatest hope is that it will provide a common platform of trusted and useful information that we can all use as a basis for discussing values, risk and priorities under a changing climate.”
The Forest Service climate risk viewer is currently available in a beta version that draws from 28 datasets to assess the climate exposure and vulnerability of key resources. American Forests will convene a diverse set of partners who will work together to improve the user interface and further develop the technical and analytical capabilities of the current beta version.
“Since the creation of the Forest Service and National Forest System in 1905, American Forests has been a proud partner of the Forest Service, sharing expertise, tools and information to advance forest health and conservation,” said Jad Daley, president and CEO of American Forests.
“We look forward to continued collaboration with the Forest Service and other stakeholders to develop this centralized forestry tool, which will be a critical source of information to guide climate-informed management practices and support healthy, resilient forests.”
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ABOUT AMERICAN FORESTS: American Forests is the first national nonprofit conservation organization created in the U.S. Since its founding in 1875, the organization has been the pathfinders for the forest conservation movement. Its mission is to create healthy and resilient forests, from cities to large natural landscapes, that deliver essential benefits for climate, people, water and wildlife. The organization advances its mission through forestry, innovation, place-based partnerships to plant and restore forests, and movement building. For more information visit: www.americanforests.org.