• Ecosystems Resources

Forestry Resources

This tab includes resources that focus on potential impacts of climate change on forests and the forestry sector.

Resources are automatically presented by rating, but can also be sorted by date and title. Apply additional filters to narrow the list by resource type, impact, region, state, or jurisdictional focus.

 

 

274 results are shown below.

Filter by Category
Filter results to only show resources from selected resource categories.

 

 

Resource

2022 California Climate Adaptation Strategy

April 4, 2022

The 2022 California Climate Adaptation Strategy presents six state priorities and relevant actions to increase climate resilience at the state, regional, and local levels. The 2022 Strategy updates the conclusions and innovations put forth in California’s 2021 Climate Adaptation Strategy in an interactive website. The 2022 Strategy includes the six outcome-based priorities outlined in the 2021 Strategy and clearly explains the goals and actions that must be taken to achieve each of those priorities. Decisionmakers can incorporate California’s metrics into adaptation and resilience indicators in their own state, regional, and local plans or use the Strategy as a model to develop their own.

Related Organizations: State of California

Resource Category: Planning

 

See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List

 

Resource

California Dedicates $15 Billion for Climate Action and Protecting Frontline Communities

September 23, 2021

On September 23, 2021, California signed a $15-billion climate-investment package that includes 24 bills dedicated to tackling the climate crisis and protecting frontline communities in California. The bills address clean energy, wildfires, droughts, community climate resilience, sustainable agriculture, extreme heat, and sea-level rise, among other topics. As Governor Gavin Newsom explained, the bills aim to address “the climate crisis head-on while protecting the hardest-hit communities” in California.

Related Organizations: State of California

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List

 

Resource

Average Rating

California’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan

January 2021

California’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan, developed by Governor Newsom’s Forest Management Task Force in January 2021, provides a comprehensive framework of statewide strategies for forest management and community resilience. The Action Plan outlines four primary goals, which are buttressed by subsections and more specific “key actions. ” It not only presents mitigation approaches to reducing fire risk, but also embraces adaptation strategies that advance fire-resilient natural environments and bolster the infrastructure of threatened communities.

Related Organizations: California Natural Resources Agency, California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire)

Resource Category: Planning

 

See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List

 

Resource

Taking Action on Climate Change and Building a More Resilient Connecticut for All: Phase I Report

January 2021

The Phase I report by the Connecticut Governor’s Council on Climate Change (GC3) -- Taking Action on Climate Change and Building a More Climate Resilient Connecticut for All -- released January 2021, contains a wide array of recommendations for improving Connecticut’s resilience to climate change that can be implemented by early 2022. An Adaptation and Resilience plan is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2021 and will include recommendations on longer term policies. The report and forthcoming adaptation plan were called for in an executive order issued in September 2019.

Related Organizations: Connecticut Governor's Council on Climate Change (GC3)

Resource Category: Planning

 

See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List

 

Resource

Wisconsin Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change Report

December 2020

The Wisconsin Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change, established in 2019, included a broad array of stakeholders and conferred with people from across the state to identify, examine, and include strategies to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions and increase resilience to climate change impacts. The task force issued its report in December 2020, which identifies 55 strategies across 9 sectors: Climate justice and equity; Energy; Transportation; Agriculture; Resilient Systems; Clean economy; Education; Food systems; and Forestry.

Related Organizations: Wisconsin Governor's Task Force on Climate Change

Resource Category: Planning

 

See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List

 

Resource

California Executive Order N-82-20 Addressing the Biodiversity Crisis

October 7, 2020

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an Executive Order on October 7, 2020 creating a California Biodiversity Collaborative and setting a goal of conserving at least 30% of the state’s land and coastal waters by 2030 to combat the biodiversity and climate crises. The EO also calls for engaging with stakeholders across California to, among other things: prioritize investments to protect biodiversity, habitat restoration, wildfire resistant and sustainable landscapes; protect pollinators, native plants and animals, and soils; naturally sequester carbon; and develop a “Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy.

Related Organizations: State of California

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List

 

Resource

Yankeetown, Florida Natural Resource Adaptation Action Area

The Town of Yankeetown, Florida is utilizing a state authorized land-use planning tool  called Adaptation Action Areas  to mitigate the impacts of sea-level rise on local ecosystems. Specifically, Yankeetown is experiencing coastal inundation due to sea-level rise that is causing large swaths of coastal forests to rapidly decline and salt marshes to migrate inland, creating a phenomenon known as “ghost forests.” Yankeetown has taken a unique approach to planning for coastal change by utilizing Adaptation Action Areas. Adaptation Action Areas are overlay districts local governments can utilize to increase management attention and oversight over defined areas within their municipality with the goal of increasing resilience to sea-level rise impacts. Yankeetown amended its local comprehensive plan to create a “Natural Resource Adaptation Action Area,” which is the first instance of a locality in Florida using this tool for the purpose of natural resource management rather than solely infrastructure protection. The tool is helping Yankeetown shape future growth and development to conserve and protect its natural resources in the face of rising seas. Local governments could consider adopting overlay districts like Adaptation Action Areas or other zoning, land-use, or planning tools to reduce or limit development in wetland and forest migration pathways as a part of comprehensive retreat strategies. 

Related Organizations: Town of Yankeetown, Florida

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List

 

Resource

USDA NRCS Conservation Easement and Restoration Funding Programs

The U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) offers financial incentives and technical support through multiple programs to public and private landowners aiming to conserve wetlands, agricultural lands, grasslands, and forests through long-term easements. NRCS provides funding opportunities to acquire land for conservation in both a post-disaster and pre-disaster context. All NRCS programs are voluntary and allow working lands owners to be compensated for conserving their lands. These programs and easements can increase local resilience to climate change by improving water quality, reducing soil erosion, and enhancing wildlife habitat. Most USDA conservation funding is allocated through the Commodity Credit Corporation and authorized in Farm Bills (about $5.3 billion in Fiscal Year 2018), while other conservation programs - offering mostly technical assistance - are funded by discretionary spending and annual appropriations (about $1 billion annually). 

Related Organizations: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)

Resource Category: Funding

 

See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List

 

Resource

North Carolina 2020 Climate Risk Assessment and Resilience Plan

June 2, 2020

The North Carolina Climate Risk Assessment and Resilience Plan is the state’s first climate change adaptation plan. It includes the results of vulnerability assessments within 11 critical sectors, climate justice concerns and strategies, and recommendations for nature-based solutions to enhance ecosystem resiliency and sequester carbon in the state’s natural and working lands. North Carolina Governor Cooper’s 2018 Executive Order 80 directed state agencies to integrate climate adaptation and resiliency planning into their policies, programs, and operations; and mandated that the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) lead the development of this climate risk assessment and resiliency plan for the state.

Related Organizations: State of North Carolina

Resource Category: Planning

 

See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List

 

Resource

Colorado Future Avoided Cost Explorer (FACE:Hazards) Tool

June 2020

Colorado has advanced recovery resources, but the state's risk profile will continue to increase in the coming years. The state did not have a tool to quantify the cost of future risks, until now. The Future Avoided Cost Explorer or "FACE:Hazards" tool includes a suite of resources that will enable local decisionmakers to evaluate the costs of future risks from flooding, drought, and wildfire across seven economic sectors over different climate and population projections between today and 2050.

Related Organizations: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB)

Resource Category: Data and tools

 

See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List