Urban Development

Incidence of Public Lands

At least 78 BLM and USFS Land Use Plans are Now Being ActivelyAt least 78 BLM and USFS Land Use Plans are Now Being Actively Worked - How Many with Formal DoD Input?Worked - How Many with Formal DoD Input?

Where and What Are Southern Forests

• All or parts of 13 states

• 215 million acres

• 89% privately owned

• Profoundly changed since European settlement

• Still immensely important

• But undervalued by nation

Forest area and Forest area and ownershipownership

Forest area and ownershipForest

industry20%

NI private69%

Other public

5%

Nationalforest

6%

200 million acres

Now Changing Very Rapidly

• Sale of large industrial ownerships

• Urbanization in eastern portion of region and coastal plain: a million acres a year

• Recreational pressures

• Rapidly rising land prices

• Global competition for industry

• New waves of forest pests

Forecast land use change (2020)

EPA Southeast US Ecological Framework

Joint Use Regional Airspace

Extends to Jacksonville & connects with Camp Blanding Restricted Airspace

Potential DoD Corridors with Florida Forever and Managed Lands

The NatureConservancy

FloridaDepartment ofEnvironmental

Protection

OkaloosaEconomic

DevelopmentCouncil

AirArmament

Center

A Southern Forest Coalition• Beginning groups

– American Forest Foundation (Tree Farm)– Environmental Defense– National Wildlife Federation– Southern Environmental Law Center– The Nature Conservancy

• Dialogue with State Foresters and others• Developing a strategy for southern forests• Key elements will include regional cooperation and

incentives for private landowners

Obtain private, state, and federal funding to support

action on all three axes - incentives for private landowners vital

Leverage existing state and federal programs

Develop scientific consensus on objectives,

data and planning

Modify state and federal regulations and legislation as

required

Base private, state, and federal conservation efforts on shared objectives, data, and planning

methods

Biodiversity protected

Other values protected

Public-private cooperation

Regional cooperation