NRSFIA RMT

FIA Budget Situation FIA Funding Source FY10 (mm $) FY11 (mm $) FY12 (mm $) FY13 (mm $) FY14 P.P. (mm $) FY14 Senate (mm $) FY14 House (mm $) FY14 CR (mm $) FY14 CR – (3%-8%) (mm $) NationalR&D /56.0 S&PF /3.4 Total /59.4 NRSR&D ~ ~14.2/13.4 S&PF ~0.0 ~1.31.0~1.0/0.9 Total ~16.0 ~ ~15.2/14.3 Lot’s of scenarios for final FY14 – better, better, best, okay, worse, bad Funding targets under new Strategic Plan--$80+ base; $90+ Farm Bill pushes

FIA Strategic Plan Initial thoughts--focus on 11 FIA Farm Bill points: 1.Fully Annual (AK) 2.Urban 3.Carbon/Biomass 4.Reevaluate the Core 5.TPO 6.Cooperation/Support 7.Partnering (analysis and IM) 8.Remote Sensing 9.Land-use Change 10.NWOS 11.Better estimates for smaller areas But the Farm Bill hasn’t passed, so….

FIA Strategic Plan 4 Main Themes –Solidify the Base Program –Enhance Delivery of the Base Program –Expand the Program –Flexibility

Solidify the Base Program Inventory Interior Alaska –The final frontier where no annual FIA crew has gone before Fully Develop the Non-Plot Mission Areas of FIA –Timber Product Output (TPO) Nationalize and create center of excellence thru a university partner –National Woodland Owners Survey (NWOS) Bolster Family Forest Research Center at U of MA –Forest Carbon Accounting Institutionalize within FIA (Carbon is Us) Continually improve National Greenhouse Gas Inventory

Enhance Delivery of the Base Program Partnerships –Got us here; critical to getting us there New Technology –Gizmos, Gadgets, and Glitz More Techniques Research –Faster, Better, Cheaper Increased Analytical Capability –Making Hay. Education –Training, Tools, and Touting

Expand the Program The FIA Grid—A Marginal Cost Opportunity –Treed Land Inventory Urban forests Riparian forests Working trees in agricultural landscapes –Windrows –Shelterbelts –Etc. –Vegetative Inventory Rangelands Etc. Extend the FIA Grid across all land uses and covers

Expand the Program Focus on Urban First – Urban first The forests amongst which most of our populace live (and vote) The only forests that many of our populace ever know The forests often first impacted by invasive species The forests on the frontline of service to people and communities The forests not yet covered by a continuous monitoring system – Fill the information gap Foster urban forest stewardship Provide an urban to rural gradient Cover the wildland-urban interface Support “vibrant city” initiatives Feed the link to human health and safety, and community stability Care for the land and serve the people where they live

Flexibility FIA budgets are trending down Past protocols and procedures too rigid Bumping up against budgetary realities Reaching logistical limits No desire to return a timber inventory Need sampling and protocol flexibilities Provide a robust inventory of forest ecosystems Accommodate regional needs and diversity Remain nationally consistent Balance delivery with resources

Flexibilities Sub-paneling for optimal cycle lengths Sub-sampling plots in a sub-panel –Summer-window or other optimal sub-sample Sub-sampling sub/micro/macro-plots on plots –Better logistical balance Accommodating levels of indicator attribution –“Lite” to “Heavy” –Better balance info needs with workload constraints Temporal flexibility in re-measurement cycles –If it doesn’t change often then measure it less frequently

Sliding Scale Conceptual Model 96000…..…………………… …6000 Spatial Sample Intensity (ac/plt) Grid Subsample Veg 5……………………7…………………………….10 Temporal Cycle Length (yrs) Lite………………………………………..Heavy Level Attribute Detail 96000…..…………………… …6000 Spatial Sample Intensity (ac/plt) Plot Subsample Height 5……………………7…………………………….10 Temporal Cycle Length (yrs) Light………………………………………..Normal Level Attribute Detail 96000…..…………………… …6000 Spatial Sample Intensity (ac/plt) Subpopulations Reserved 5……………………7…………………………….10 Temporal Cycle Length (yrs) Light………………………………………..Normal Level Attribute Detail Light………………………………………..Normal Level Attribute Detail 5……………………7…………………………….10 Temporal Cycle Length (yrs) 96000…..…………………… …6000 Spatial Sample Intensity (ac/plt) Subpopulations Timberland Min……………………………………..Max Sliding RangeSliding Elements Survey Design Component Unit A Unit B Minimums ensure viable national effort Maximums set the limit of federal investment; any more needs cash infusion All efforts within min/max bounds nationally consistent No state, forestland, ownership, core variable left behind Needs a very robust IT system, currently underdevelopment Each region needs similar proportion of full funding NA Nationalize and regionally optimize Regionally robust within national confines

FIA Strategic Plan Finalize as soon as we know the outcome of the Farm Bill debate

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