Using an All lands Framework for Conservation of Ecosystem Services

Transcription

1 Using an All lands Framework for Conservation of Ecosystem Services Robert Deal USDA Forest Service - PNW Research Station, Portland, OR Nikola Smith USDA Forest Service - Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, OR

2 Ecosystem Services Ecosystem Services are the benefits that flow from ecosystems or from nature. Ecosystem Services directly includes benefits for people from natural environment. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) defines ecosystem services as the benefits people obtain from ecosystems

3 Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems Source: Millenium Ecosystem Assessment, (

4 Ecosystem Services Markets and Payment Programs in the USA Compliance markets based on environmental regulations Voluntary markets for market access and desire to do the right thing for nature Government payment programs

5 Emerging markets for Ecosystem Services Water quality trading Wetland mitigation Species conservation banking Carbon credits Biodiversity and voluntary markets

6 Willamette Valley, Oregon

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9 Bundling ecosystem services to increase forest value Credit Bundle Vertebrate Habitat Terrestrial Habitat Wetlands Water Quality Carbon Sequestration Aquatic Habitat

10 Willamette Partnership- Counting on the Environment COTE developed of an integrated ecosystem credit accounting protocol for four ecosystem service markets: Water quality trading Wetland mitigation Salmonid habitat Prairie habitat

11 Ecosystem Services: more than just markets

12 Using Ecosystem Services as a Framework for Forest Stewardship A collaboration between the Deschutes National Forest and the USFS Pacific Northwest Research Station Dale Blahna, Robert Deal, Jeff Kline, Trista Patterson, Tom Spies PNW Research Station John Allen, Tom Mafera Deschutes National Forest Nikola Smith, Karen Bennett USFS Region 6

13 Deschutes National Forest Project Why is there interest in this ES framework? New approach for multiple resource management. Public demand for natural resource stewardship. Multiple benefits that forests provide to public. Integrates commodities including timber and water with less apparent benefits (e.g. climate regulation, soil productivity, carbon sequestration, wetlands, recreation, and wildlife and fisheries habitat).

14 Building a New Language for Management: An Ecosystem Services Framework Project Goals Articulate the values that the forest provides to the public. Evaluate effects between management actions and the sustainable delivery of ecosystem services. Build ecosystem services-based partnerships to design and fund needed work on the ground. Create analytical tools that allow managers to assess project outcomes and tradeoffs in ecosystem services terms, i.e., across resource areas and over longer time scales.

15 Place-Based Approach 1.6 million acres along the east side of the Cascade Range in Central Oregon Diverse landscape, multiple climatic gradients 350 species of fish and wildlife, including the Northern Spotted Owl History of fire suppression One of the most heavily-used forests for recreation in the Pacific Northwest

16 Define ecosystem services in National Forest terms.

17 Some services can be quantified and monetized, while others are described qualitatively

18 Drawing connections between Forest Service management and delivery of ecosystem services Restoration of aspen, meadows, marshes, wetlands and stream channels. Culvert replacement to facilitate fish passage. Tillage treatments to restore soil porosity. Road restoration and decommissioning. Removal of invasive species.

19 Who benefits from Forest Service management actions? Who shares common interests in ecosystem service provision?

20 The benefits of an ecosystem services approach to management An integrated approach - allows managers to assess the costs and benefits of projects across resource areas and beyond forest boundaries. Creates awareness about the services provided by public lands and brings attention to under-valued projects. Leverages partnerships and funds to implement work needed on the ground.

21 Deschutes Skyline Proposal Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project Photo Credit: Aerial Images for Deschutes Land Trust

22 Goals Move forest into more resilient condition. Support watershed restoration and reintroduction of anadromous fish. Reduce risk of high intensity fire in WUI and drinking watersheds. Provide forest restoration jobs and fiber for small diameter enterprises.

23 Natural Resource Values and Jobs Drinking water for Bend and Sisters. Hiking and biking trails, recreation. Forecast of 108 jobs each year over 10 years. Small diameter wood products, wood fiber, manufacturing facilities from forest restoration activities. Habitat for fish and wildlife, species of concern.

24 From Theory to Practice The Marsh Project 30,000 acre watershed just South of Crescent Lake in Central Oregon. Focal point: Big Marsh (2,000 acres) one of the highest elevation wetland / marsh complexes in the continental United States. Previously drained for cattle grazing. USFS and partners restored much of the hydrology and habitat.

25 Management Context Fire Regime Condition Class 3 Dense lodgepole pine stands Mixed conifer has contiguous ladder fuels Reminiscent of conditions pre-davis Fire (2003) State s largest Oregon Spotted Frog habitat Habitat for two rare graminoids (Scirpus subterminalis, Carex lasiocarpa) Matsutake mushroom, big game and fish habitat Great grey and northern spotted owl Two Late Successional Reserves Oregon Cascades Recreation Area Important for late season water storage and flows to Little Deschutes River Limited motorized access, valued for dispersed recreation

26 Internal and External Workshops: Collaborative Identification of Priority Ecosystem Services Identify Values & Benefits Describe Attributes Define Current Condition Action or Inaction Possible Outcomes & Tradeoffs

27 Comparison of Targets with Ecosystem Services Accomplishments Resource/Activity Project Target/Metric FY08 Accomplishment Ecosystem Services Outcomes Fuel Treatment Fuel Reduction Acres 25,000 Forest resilience to disturbance, resulting in sustained vegetation cover that provides climate, water and erosion regulation Wildlife habitat Community safety Economic wellbeing (property protection)

28 Ecological Processes and Functions Management Activities Across Disciplines Consideration of Tradeoffs Values/Ecosystem Services

29 Ecosystem Services in the USFS Planning Rule..to guide the development, amendment, and revision of land management plans to maintain and restore National Forest System land and water ecosystems while providing for ecosystem services and multiple uses. Federal Register - April 9, 2012

30 The USDA All Lands Approach "The Forest Service must not be viewed as an agency concerned only with the fate of our National Forests, but must instead be acknowledged for its work in protecting and maintaining all American forests, including state and private lands. - U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Integrated Resource Restoration - Stressors and resiliency of ecosystems - Engagement of diverse groups and individuals - Utilizing traditional and emerging markets to improve ecosystem functions photo credits: Duncan Berry

31 Willamette National Forest Sweet Home Ranger District

32 Participatory Planning Approach Collaboratively evaluate the inherent capacity of the landscape to provide ecosystem services Cascade Timber Consulting, South Santiam Watershed Council, City of Sweet Home, Linn County Parks, forest products industry, environmental organizations, universities, state and federal agencies Understand changes to that capacity based on historic land uses and existing conditions Cooperatively develop a restoration plan that is ecologically sustainable and economically viable

33 Assessing Tradeoffs Among Multiple Ecosystem Services in Response to Alternative Landscape Scale Forest Management Plans John Bolte et al., Oregon State University Visualizing Ecosystems for Land Management Assessments (VELMA) Bob McKane et al., U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

34 Who benefits? Who is incurring costs? Stewardship Contracts / Retained Receipts Investments by Utilities or Private Companies Timber and Non-Timber Forest Products Diversified Portfolio Recreation Leases Federal Cost-Share Programs Grants & Incentives to Protect Species of Concern

35 USFS Forests to Faucets Project

36 Index of surface drinking water importance

37 Land Ownership in the McKenzie River Watershed (Oregon)

38 Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) Voluntary Incentives Program McKenzie Watershed, Oregon Ideas under consideration: portion of rate payer fees paid to private landowners to maintain high quality riparian areas payments to industrial forest landowners for increasing buffers partnerships to fund restoration of degraded areas working with the Willamette National Forest to maintain the quality of the McKenzie headwaters

39 Ecosystem Services Valued and/or Identified in the McKenzie Watershed

40 The Brewshed Concept

41 Articulating the Value of Forests and Forest Management Working with partners to increase capacity to define water quality and habitat benefits that result from upland forest management Stimulates market development and public / private partnerships

42 Conclusions An Ecosystem Services Framework can support a more integrated, landscape scale approach that sustains forest ecosystems and the multiple benefits they provide. Increasing capacity to articulate the relationship between forests and ecosystem services can stimulate market activity for restoration and encourage partnerships across ownership boundaries.

43 Thank you! Robert Deal USFS Pacific Northwest Research Station Nikola Smith USFS Pacific Northwest Region