Four Threats
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Four Threats to the Health of the Nation's Forests and Grasslands
Healthy forests make for a healthy nation.
In the 21st century, the nation’s forests and grasslands
face four threats. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth names them
as: (a) fire and fuels, (b) invasive
species, (c) loss of open space,
and (d) unmanaged recreation.
Fire and Fuels
Rehabilitation and restoration treatment priorities are highest
where risks are greatest. Estimates are that high priority treatment
areas cover 397 million acres across all ownerships, public and
private, an area three times the size of France. Quick Facts Key
Messages
Strategic Leader - Contact: Janet Anderson (202) 205-1489
or Mark Beighley (202) 205-0888, State & Private Forestry
Invasive Species
Of 2,000 nonnative plants found in the United States, 400 are invasive
species. The U.S. spends $13 billion per year to prevent and contain
the spread of invasives. For all invasives combined, the price tag
is $138 billion per year in total economic damages and associated
control costs. In addition to nonnative plants, 70 million acres
of forest in all ownerships (public and private landholdings) are
at serious risk of being wiped out by 26 different insects and diseases
(e.g., gypsy moth, hemlock woolly adelgid, dogwood anthracnose –
the list goes on).
Quick Facts Key
Messages
Strategic Leader - Contact: Rob Mangold (202) 605-5340
or Dave Thomas (202) 605-5342, State & Private Forestry
Loss of Open Space
More than 21.8 million acres of open space were lost to development
between 1982 and 1997, about 4,000 acres per day, 3 acres a minute.
Of this loss, close to 10.3 million acres are in forestland. It
continues today.
Quick Facts Key
Messages
Strategic Leader - Contact: Larry Payne (202) 205-1389
or Rick Cooksey (202) 205-1469, State & Private Forestry
Unmanaged Recreation
Increasing use of the national forests for outdoor activities prompts
the need to manage these forms of recreation, including the use
of off-highway vehicles (OHVs). OHV ownership has grown from 5 million
in 1972 to 36 million in 2002. Depending on the site, unmanaged
OHV use in the national forest can have serious impact on the land,
among them: (1) damage to wetlands and wetland species, (2) severe
soil erosion, and (3) spread of invasive species.
Quick Facts Key
Messages
Strategic Leader - Contact: Dave Holland (202) 205-0900
or Mary Wagner (202) 205-0925, State & Private Forestry
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