Forests: a new view - conservation - includes related article on the increasing importance placed on forests

New knowledge and an evolving conservation ethic reflect a promising future for our nation's trees.

As we approach the beginning of the new millennium, a change is occurring in the science and practice of forestry. Major advances in our knowledge of the social, ecological, and economic values of trees and forests have resulted in new criteria for evaluating these resources. And that new knowledge is allowing citizens to become more involved in deciding how forests are used.

The result? A new ethic of forest conservation that is causing us to readjust our perspective on forests and our relationship with them.

The change comes just in time. Nearly half the forests that once covered the globe are gone, and each year another 40 million acres are lost. Forest loss is a global issue with severe environmental, social, and economic effects (see "At Your Service," page 20). Until recently most forest loss occurred in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and temperate North America; between 1960 and 1990 one-fifth of all tropical forest cover was lost.

In North America forest cover stabilized in the 20th century, and citizen conservation concerns focused on the quality - the health - of existing forest cover. With new information detailing trees' vital role in erosion control, wildlife habitat, biodiversity, and water and carbon cycling, people realized that healthy forests translate to a healthier planet and healthier people.

As Janet Abramovitz says in the State of the World 1998, "the real wealth of the forest - lies in healthy forest ecosystems." Robert Costanza of the University of Maryland agrees, writing in Nature that the economic value of the world's ecosystem services averages at least $32 trillion a year.

This new focus means that forest management strategies must emphasize long-term forest ecosystem health. While definitions of what constitutes sustainable forest management abound, all include this basic principle: Forests should be managed to meet the social, economic, and ecological needs of present and future generations. Quite simply, the people who are dependent on a forest, especially local communities, must be part of the decisions and actions that take place in that forest. Innovative programs around the country are now teaching us ways to derive products from the forest while still improving the overall health of the ecosystem (see "A Junk to Jobs Experiment," page 26).

U.S. Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck has made ecosystem restoration and watershed protection the top priorities for his agency, which manages our National Forests, provides assistance to states and landowners, and coordinates our largest forest research effort. Public opinion, fueled by better science and better communication, has had much to do with conservation moving from a "special interest" to a national priority, he says. As a result, over the last 10 years clearcutting has dropped 84 percent, ecosystem health-related timber sales have increased by 70 percent, and the amount of wood fiber harvested annually fell from 12 billion to 3 billion board-feet.

The forest industry, too, is changing. In 1994 its trade group, the American Forest & Paper Association, launched a Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) to develop "a comprehensive system of principles, guidelines, and performance measures that integrates the perpetual growing and harvesting of trees with the protection of wildlife, plants, soil, and water quality."

The challenges are many, long-term, and difficult, perhaps none more so than convincing a savvy but skeptical citizenry. As with any industry-regulated standards, establishing and maintaining credible, widely accepted monitoring and reporting methods is essential for public support and sustainable management.

Although sustainable management implies a large-scale perspective, changes in private nonindustrial forest ownership are working against the implementation of broad, ecosystem-wide strategies. Private nonindustrial lands now represent 46 percent of all U.S. forests and 79 percent of forests that are privately owned. If present trends continue, 95 percent of those owning private forestland in 2010 will have fewer than 100 acres, according to Neil Sampson and Lester DeCoster in AMERICAN FORESTS' recent book Public Programs for Private Forestry (see "Private Forests: More Owners, Fewer Acres" page 23).

By 2010 small-parcel owners will control 38 percent of aH private forestlands - about 150 million acres - with an average size of about 17 acres, which DeCoster terms "too large to trim, too small to log."

This fragmentation is driven by death, taxes, and lifestyles as land is divvied up among heirs or subdivided to pay estate taxes. As more people own smaller and smaller bits of forest, we lose our chance for ecosystem-wide protection and restoration - unless we can communicate their role in preserving the forests' overall health.

Complicating this challenge is the fact that many of these owners are among the 80 percent of Americans who live in cities and towns. Educating them about these issues will require new communication efforts. Fortunately, concern for such basics as clean air and water has expanded the audience for conservation into cities, and urban residents are becoming more savvy about the role trees can play in their lives.