The Southern Forest Resource Assessment: Lessons Learned for Management & Research

Dr. David N. Wear, Assessment Co-leader
United States Forest Service

In May 1999, the Southern Forest Resource Assessment (SFRA) was initiated to examine the status, trends, and potential future of southern forests and their various benefits. The effort is being led by the USDA Forest Service in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and southern states represented by state forestry and other natural resource agencies. The SFRA was initiated to address a set of concerns raised regarding the overall sustainability of southern forests. Concerns are related to forest losses to urbanization, increasing timber harvests, intensified forest management, and other biological and physical forces. The intent of the Assessment was to develop a thorough description of forest conditions and trends in the South-that is, to inform the public on these complex and important topics.

A question-driven approach was used to conduct the Assessment. Public meetings and comment were used to distill the concerns down to 23 specific questions. "Question managers" were assigned to answer each of these questions and comprised an Assessment Team. A rapid scientific approach was employed and answers to each question define a chapter in the SFRA Technical Report. A Summary Report was developed to compile and interpret the findings in the encyclopedic Technical Report. The results of the Assessment provide a set of insights for managing both public and private lands, implications for delivery of services by public agencies, and new challenges for researchers in the South.