As part of a larger effort by the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Forest Service (USFS) has released its National Roadmap for Responding to Climate Change. The document is a direct response to goals set in the USDA 2010-2015 Strategic Plan, which calls for implementation of adaptation and mitigation strategies throughout the department, and builds on the Forest Service Strategic Framework for Responding to Climate Change, released in October of 2008.
The mission of the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. Americans rely on their forests and grasslands for a wide range of benefits—for provisioning services such as water, wood, and wild foods; for regulating services such as erosion, flood, and climate control; and for cultural services such as outdoor recreation, spiritual renewal, and aesthetic enjoyment. These services are connected and sustained through the integrity of the ecosystems on these lands.
Climate change places those ecosystems at risk. Most of the urgent forest and grassland management challenges of the past 20 years, such as wildfires, changing water regimes, and expanding forest insect infestations, have been driven, in part, by a changing climate. Future impacts are projected to be even more severe. Managing America’s forests and grasslands to adapt to changing climates will help ensure that they continue to produce the benefits that Americans need while helping to mitigate the effects of a changing climate and to compensate for fossil fuel emissions through carbon storage in healthy forests.
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