Current and Future Roles of the USFS from a State Perspective

Bill StewartCDF Fire and Resource

Assessment Program (FRAP)

Guiding management philosophies of USFS, Congress, and the Public

Organic ActWeeks ActMultiple UsePublic Use“My backyard” syndromeForest and Range Sustainability

Three different roles of the USFS in California

National Forests

Research Organization

Financial support for state and private forestry

A Californian’s perspectives

• As forest, shrub, and woodland habitats• As examples of land use zoning• As timberlands• As key watersheds• As burnable landscapes• As recreational lands• As examples of sustainable forests

Type of Wildland

Area (million acres)

Pct USFS

Forests 23.7 50%Shrubs 14.6 40%Woodlands 7.5 20%Desert 23.5 1%All Wildlands 80.5 24%

By Management Class

19% Reserve

67% Working

11% Irrigated

3% Urban

National Forests as part of a timber production system

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Area

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scap

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(%)

Reserve

Working/Public

Working/Private

Rural Residential

Agriculture

Urban

Land Uses in Shared Watersheds

Fire threat USFS is one of the many owners of flammable California

USFS role in reducing the negative impacts of large, damaging fires

Prescribed Burn in the Santa Ana Watershed

USFS as a neighbor to communities and metropolitan

areas

USFS as the #1 provider of outdoor recreational opportunities

Wildland Owner Area Use Days

USFS 45% 45%State Parks 3% 24%National Parks 16% 10%Regional Parks 1% 9%BLM 34% 7%DFG 1% 5%

Intensity of recreational use on National Forests

LocationArea in

Million acresUse days/

Acre

Metro Forests 3 4Non-Metro

Forests 11 1Wilderness 6 0.4

Sustainable Forestry and the USFS

As citizens:

• We are consumers of forest commodities and ecosystem services

• We oversee the stewards of the landscape• We need to consider the multiple facets of

forests– economic, environmental, and social

Potential analogs for the USFS in the 21st Century

• One ownership, one uniform plan • Managers of a balanced portfolio like a

good retirement plan • A big piece of a global approach to

sustainable forestry