Forest Service Southern Region

Tom PetersonActing Regional Forester

What is The Forest Service Doing About Climate Change?

• Our strategy is based on 20 years of research

• Agency has highly skilled and experienced land managers and internationally recognized climate scientists

Five Focus Areas

• Adapt to Climate Change

• Increase Capture of Carbon Dioxide by forests

• Reduce and Replace Fossil Fuels

• Maintain a Research Program

• Reduce our own Environmental Footprint

Helping Forests Adapt to Climate Change

• Improve resilience of forest, range and aquatic ecosystems created by climate change

• Reduce overstocking that creates risks• Control invasive species• Restore wetlands and streams• Assisting species migration• Relocate, redesign, managing human use

Southern Region Examples

• Region is leading an effort to design a monitoring strategy for climate change

• Since 2003 distributed $60 million for SPB prevention and restoration to 12 forests in 13 states treated over 250,000 acres

• Formed Southern Region Invasive Species Team• National Forests in Mississippi

has included climate change direction in their forest plan

Increase Capture of Carbon Dioxide

• Increase carbon sequestration in forest and ecosystems

• Rapid reforestation of damaged forests

• Demonstration projects to support development of private markets for ecosystem services and carbon sequestration

Southern Region Examples• USFS awarded grant to Texas Forest Service to provide

an impetus for developing ecosystem services markets• Texas Forest Service first to become a Authorized Verifier

for Forestry Offset Projects by the Chicago Climate Exchange (currently only market that trades forestry carbon)

• Georgia Forestry and UGA have established a carbon registry for the state

• Longleaf Pine restoration initiative• Tree planting and conservation in

urban areas Longleaf Pine Research Natural AreaApalachicola National Forest, Florida

Use Forest Products to Reduce and Replace Fossil Fuels

• Substitute wood based building projects for energy-intensive material (aluminum and concrete)

• More use of excess and waste wood as source of heat and power

• Development of cost-effective wood based bio-fuels such as cellulosic ethanol and bio-diesel

Southern Region Examples• Woody Biomass Utilization Program• South has thriving forest industry and potential for

expanded biomass markets• Range Fuels broke ground on commercial scale cellulosic

ethanol plant near Soperton, GA• Kisatchie NF, Winn Ranger District, will be first FS office to

use electricity from woody biomass by using a Bio Max 25 gasification unit

Maintain Research Program• Build on existing expertise in landscape ecology,

watershed hydrology, vegetation modeling, nutrient cycling and forest management

• Agency climate scientists recognized with Nobel Peace Prize

• Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center

• Salt water intrusion into coastal areas

Reduce Agency’s Environmental Footprint

• FS is evaluating its operations and reducing consumption of non-renewable energy and material

• Region forming “Green Teams”

• Ozark-St. Francis NF first in FS to have a LEED certified building

• FS has joined EPA’s Climate Change Leaders program

Southern Region Current Initiatives

• Videoconferencing to reduce travel

• Energy audits and efficiency improvements

• Hybrids, E85 and “right-sizing” vehicles

• Recycling program on each unit• Launched climate change website