CLIMATE CHANGE
What Can We Do?
Connie Millar
USDA Forest Service
Sierra Nevada Research Center
Albany, California
cmillar@fs.fed.us
PLANNING GUIDELINES
USFS: NF Planning just starting to address climate issues
Wenatchee, Coleville & Okanagan, PNW
USFS: National & Regional Direction silent
Science: Don’t wait for “answers” from us
Ecological Restoration:
A Framework for Restoring
and Maintaining
the National Forests and
Grasslands
USDA Forest Service
Prepared by the
Restoration Framework
Team
August 18, 2005
1 mention
2 mentions
Issue not
addressed
Confronting Climate Change
Vegetation Management Options
Mitigation
Mgmt
Options
Adaptation
Conservation
The Five R’s:
Reduce, Resist, Resile, Respond, TRiage
What Can Be Done About Climate Change?
The 5 R’s:
Reduce
R1: Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Forestry Sector – Huge Potential (Help or Hinder)
EXECUTIVE ORDER S-3-05
by the
Governor of the State of California
Sets California GHG Targets:
By 2010 Reduce to 2000 Emission Levels
By 2020 Reduce to 1990 Emission Levels
By 2050 Reduce to 80% below 1990 Levels
Sequester Greenhouse Gases (GHG)
Goals:
• Keep all capable sites fully occupied with long-lived trees
• Maintain site occupancy as long as possible
• Keep trees healthy, alive, and fast-growing
• Once harvested, delay return of CO2 from wood to atmosphere
Winrock Internatonal 2005
Sequestering CO2 in the Forest/Plantation
#1 Choice: Afforestation
“Afforestation provides the biggest terrestrial
sequestration opportunity in the West…”
Winrock International 2005
Sequestering CO2 in the Forest/Plantation
Additional Management Practices
Reverse conversion of forest to non-forest lands
Aggressively replant after harvest or disturbance
Maintain vigorous growing stock; thin stands to improve
growth & reduce competition
Plant with broadly adapted, fast-growing species and widely
adapted genotypes
Use mixed species, genotypes, and age classes to fully utilize
the site and minimize insect & pathogen outbreaks
Minimize erosion (soil/litter disturbance, multiple entries)
Restore and maintain old-growth forests
Widen riparian zones
Sequestering CO2 Post-Harvest
Biomass Fuel and Electricity Generation
Lakeview Biomass
Project, OR
Convenor: Hal
Salwasser, OSU,
2005
Burney Mtn & Mt Lassen Power
Plants, CA
Barnett & Mason 2005
Sequestering CO2 Post-Harvest
Separation of CO2 and
Geologic Sequestration
The West is rich in
appropriate geologic
formations
Benson 2005
Reduce Unnecessary GHG Emissions
Additional Management Practices
* Use BMP to reduce risk of fire, insect &
disease mortality
* Thin or chip to reduce wildfire risk
* Avoid sale of wood for firewood
* Salvage-harvest wood after fire and
mortality events to reduce decomposition
* Limit entries to minimize soil disturbance &
erosion
Maintain ‘House in Order’
USFS-PSW ENERGY INITIATIVE
Joint Region 5 and PSW Research Station
Weingardt and Sedell
Earth Day (4/22/06) Memo
FOCUS AREAS
FLEET: Improve R5/PSW fleet energy efficiency
ENERGY OFFSET: Purchase renewable energy and
renewable energy certificates
FACILITIES: Reduce energy use and increase energy
efficiency of facilities
WATER: Decrease water use and water waste
FOCUS AREAS, cont
EDUCATION & OUTREACH: Promote public awareness
and develop educational materials
BASELINES: Evaluate baseline usages against which to
monitor progress (or regress?)
CARBON: Assess, offset, and mitigate net carbon in all
activities (from business to forest management)
COSTS: Evaluate cost effectiveness and feasibility of
implementing
http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/energy/
What Can Be Done About Climate Change?
The 5 R’s:
Reduce
Resist
R2: Create Resistance to Change
Isolate, protect, and prepare investments
for direct & indirect effects of climate
Mgmt Examples: Thinning;
Mixed Spp Pltns; Fire Breaks;
Age-Class Adjustments; Type
Conversions
Increasing over time:
• Wildfire
• Invasions by exotic species
• Insect & disease
• Site conversions
Especially: High Risk, High Value Situations
BC: lodgepole pine &
mountain pine beetle
BC Forest Service
Logan 2004
What Can Be Done About Climate Change?
The 5 R’s:
Reduce
Resist
Resil(ience)
R3: Resile After Disturbance
Create resiliency (maintain or return to former conditions)
to ongoing changes and after ‘catastrophic’ effects of
climate
Mono Lk Court Decision,
1994: 6391’ lk elevation
What Can Be Done About Climate Change?
The 5 R’s:
Reduce
Resist
Resilience
Respond
R4: Respond to Climate Influences
Options for Management:
* Follow Climate Change
Use knowledge from climate projections to plan vegetation
options Where do species’ niche spaces move?
* Anticipate and Plan for
Associated Risks
Fire, Insect & Disease, Invasive Species
*Increase Redundancy
Plantations, stands,
species, genotypes
*Expand Genetic Diversity Guidelines Seed Zones,
Transfer Guidelines, Seed Mixes
*Establish Neo-Native Locations Plantations, stands,
species, where species existed in the past under similar
conditions to future
Monterey Pine
*Promote Porous Landscapes
Large mgmt unit sizes, low
fragmentation, high mgmt
decision flexibility, continuous
riparian zones, appropriate fire
presence
What Can Be Done About Climate Change?
The 5 R’s:
Reduce
Resist
Resilience
Respond
tRiage
R5: Conduct TRIAGE
Evaluate
* Sensitive & vulnerable vs resistant & resilient
Ecotones &
high elevations
Fire-sensitive systems
Species margins
Riparian and waterdependent situations
Single species/
age classes
Mitigate
Adapt
Conserve
Reduce Greenhouse Gases
Sequester, Reduce Emissions, House in Order
Create Resistance to Effects of Climate
Increase Resilience to Climate Change
Allow ecosystems to Respond to Climate Change
Conduct TRiage