Focus
The Western Forestry Leadership Coalition has identified the following five strategic areas to guide and focus the Coalition’s work. USDA Forest Service programs, including State and Private Forestry, Forest and Rangeland Research, and the National Forest System, are directly connected with the issues below, providing a collective foundation for which the Coalition members, staff and committees work in partnership.
- Climate Change - The science behind climate change is more compelling than ever; the impacts to forests have huge implications for nearly all the other issues we work on, from wildfire to invasive and native insects and disease. Healthy forests can also be part of the carbon sequestration and offset solution, from wood products to feedstock for biofuels and bioenergy. Within this complex web, our goal is to apply science-based forest management to improve forest ecosystem resilience in the face of a changing climate and to ensure that forests are recognized contributors to climate change solutions.
Policy Statement: Climate Change and Western Forests - Wildfire - The condition of our nation’s forest lands, both federal and non-federal, is a significant contributor to the risks of catastrophic wildfire. Efforts to reduce risk will be long-term, work across ownership boundaries, and include agencies and communities in a collaborative process. Our goal is to reduce wildfire risk to communities and mitigate wildfire impacts across the landscape being mindful of firefighter and public safety.
Policy Statement: Forestlands at Risk: Forest Health and Wildfire - Forest Health & Invasive Species - Western forests must be managed to assure ecological, economic and social sustainability. Overly-dense forests are susceptible to both native and non-native insect and disease invasions, to weather events and to catastrophic fire. These ecological system stressors threaten communities, watersheds, wildlife habitats, old-growth forests and recreation areas in the West. Our goal is to reduce impacts to forest health from insect, disease, and invasive species threats.
Policy Statement: The Threat and Impact of Invasive Species in the West: Strategies for Success - Water - Assuring a sustainable supply of freshwater requires diligent and forward-looking stewardship. Clean and abundant water is a direct result of healthy, well-managed forests; a healthy forest is a direct result of sound policies and management actions. Increasing population growth and demands on our water supplies exerts greater pressure on forested watersheds. Our goal is to secure clean and sustainable flows of water through sound and sustainable forest management.
Policy Statement: The Connection Between Healthy Forests and Clean and Abundant Water - Communities - The economic and social well-being of rural and urban communities is dependent upon the long-term health of their forests. Conversely the ecological well-being of forests is dependent upon the social and economic vitality of rural and urban communities. Our goal is to support new and existing forest-based industries and programs in both rural and urban environments that provide for the economic, social and environmental needs of our society.
