Rich Guldin FIA National Users’ Group Meeting 23 February 2010 THE VIEW FROM THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) We are in all 50 States; only Interior Alaska remains to be entered. Serious implementation planning is occuring now to launch work there! The FIA Program’s recent successes are leading to major new opportunities, both domestically and internationally. Our vision for the future is broad, with some differences in objectives amongst domestic and international arenas We appreciate your ongoing support for the program as it continues to serve core interests and needs as well as emerging ones.

Status of 2010 Program Funded at $71.8 million $66.9 million in R&D; $4.9 million in S&PF Up $6.3 million over FY 2009 Increase split 3 ways: +$ 3 million to expand the program +$ 2 million for intensive site monitoring +$ 1.3 million for fixed cost increases

Expanding the Program in FY 2010 Completed annualized implementation in New Mexico Initiating annualized field work in Hawaii, Nevada, and Wyoming Added analytical capacity in NRS, with special focus on carbon accounting and forest products output info Added analytical capacity in SRS, with special focus on state reporting and field work in west Texas and Oklahoma

Intensive Site Monitoring Senate Report required investment in ISM Link long-term data sets on FS Experimental Forests & Ranges (EFRs) with intensified FIA plot network EFRs have detailed TEMPORAL datasets at selected sites FIA has detailed SPATIAL datasets at several points in time Integrate the two through ISM to better explain locally- observed conditions/trends in a landscape-scale context Better models Better measures and new variables

FY 2010 and “Full Funding Target” $5.854 million short of “Full Funding Target” of $77.7 million What’s left? Interior Alaska field data collection (50-60% of need) Final build-out of program analytical capacity across all Stations (25-30% of need) Produce issue-focused state reports Address emerging issues, such as biomass, carbon accounting, and threats to forest health Solidify data collection for western forest land areas not included in 1998 strategic plan (15-20% of need)

Other Work Underway in 2010 Lots of internal program improvements/upgrades; e.g. Upgrading FIDO interface; improve mapping and geospatial analysis capacities Upgrade field data collection software (MIDAS) NWOS questionnaire revision for next round Departmental initiatives; Appalachia, NRCS collaboration Urban forest inventory continues in Tennessee and Colorado, based on state contributions Launching urban forest inventory at selected locations in California, Oregon, and Washington using ARRA stimulus funding provided to PNW Station

FY 2011 President’s Budget Cuts $5 million, which would shift program back to FY 2009 program level Stop work in Hawaii, Nevada, Wyoming No planning for Interior Alaska Reduce analytical capacity Adds $1.5 million to “Inventory & Monitoring” strategic program area to build a national carbon accounting system. Money proposed outside of FIA program.

New Opportunities Nothing breeds opportunities like past success !! FIA is viewed as a very successful program High skill, high credibility, high trust, FIA “walks the talk” as an open and transparent organization with a “can do” and “will deliver” reputation Consequently, the new Administration is calling on us in a multitude of ways to support initiatives Domestically Internationally

New Opportunities at Home Improved biomass estimates Consistent volume estimates across regions Improved land use/land use change analyses Carbon estimates and carbon accounting system Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission estimates Detecting climate change impacts; teasing out climate impacts from other impacts Support landscape-scale conservation and monitoring to track improvements and effectiveness of restoration activities

New Opportunities Abroad Dept. of State and Office of U.S. Trade Representative are insisting on FIA involvement in international activities Examples of the overseas opportunities: Peru: Free Trade Agreement requires cut in illegal logging Congo Basin: Develop dependable regional inventory UN-FAO: Support Global Forest Assessment process Chile: Technical assistance to improve assessments Climate Change Negotiations: Support State Dept and US Global Change Research Program And a host of others …

Choosing Among Opportunities We are increasingly selective in saying “Yes” to opportunities Assuring alignment with FIA vision and goals Assuring that the key domestic work gets done “No, thank you” is not an acceptable answer to some opportunities “If you build it, they will come…” Well, we’ve built it … Here they come …

So, Where is the Program Headed? We will routinely deliver dependable, timely, high-quality data about America’s forests. Working together with our partners, we will excel at this core business. We will become the premier provider of geospatial data layers and models describing conditions/trends in America’s forests We will be a national and international leader in monitoring natural resource conditions and trends at multiple spatial scales—county to globally

So Where is the Program Headed? We will be a major force in science-policy dialogues about critical contemporary issues, including: Biomass energy development, greenhouse gas estimation, carbon sequestration and ecosystem services marketing Climate change, including detection of impacts and monitoring of adaptation success Disturbance monitoring and documentation of resulting long-term changes in land cover and land uses, including both biotic (pest outbreaks) and abiotic (droughts, hurricanes, fires) disturbances Land use and land cover and associated changes in the context of landscape-scale conservation and restoration

So Where is the Program Headed? We will be a national and global leader in developing next-generation talent in inventory, modeling, analysis, and assessment The FS and our partners will attract the “cream of the crop” talent to work in the program and with our data We will give our employees and our partners outstanding opportunities to be involved in cutting edge science, analysis, and policy evaluation We will be global mentors in building up capacity in other countries

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) We are in all 50 States; only Interior Alaska remains to be entered. Serious implementation planning is occuring now to launch work there! The FIA Program’s recent successes are leading to major new opportunities, both domestically and internationally. Our vision for the future is broad, with some differences in objectives amongst domestic and international arenas We appreciate your ongoing support for the program as it continues to serve both core interests and needs as well as emerging ones.