1. Emerging Themes for Natural Resources Research and Sustainability in the United States Dr. Ann M. Bartuska Deputy Chief USDA Forest Service Washington DC IUFRO World Congress 2005 Brisbane, Australia Directors’ Forum

2. Adapting Forestry Research Increasing rates of environmental change New kinds of problems to tackle A global vision and context for these problems Expectations that research will provide solutions that result in changes on the ground

3. 1890 20001950 For example, the importance of biodiversity is increasing Forest Reserve Act Forest Management Act FS Wildlife Manual Clearcutting Blue Mountain Study Spotted Owl, Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Research Emphasis

4. 1890 20001950 Increasingly, research must consider the scale of effects in a landscape context Ecosystems Disturbance, fire Multivariate approaches GIS Research Emphasis

5. How do we measure value in forests? Wood production Sustainability Biodiversity Genetic Diversity Carbon sequestration Clean water Clean air

6. These values lead us down very different research paths.

7. Research needs to address multiple values. For example, How do we manage to reduce risk of catastrophic wildfire and Maintain or improve biodiversity Sustain production of quality wood products Predict effects of management alternatives on rivers and streams Describe effects on carbon sequestration

8. What do we do with this information?

9. Drivers of Forestry Science Rehabilitation and Recovery Managing with disturbances Capturing value from forests Linking land use and water Social dynamics and forest use Urban natural resource stewardship Globalization

10. Research & Development Capacity and Assets Approximately 500 permanent scientists plus dozens of post-docs A network of 77 field laboratories in 67 locations Long-term research on 83 experimental forests and ranges, plus 370 research natural areas More than 1,000 cooperative research agreements with partners Budget - $280 million

11. Dynamics of Science Skills ~ 25% of our scientists are eligible to retire within 5 years. ~ 30% of our scientists are Foresters or Forest Engineers. About 60% of these are eligible to retire within 5 years. What skills will we be looking for?

12. A Vision for Forestry Science Back to the basics – sustaining the fundamentals Embracing new disciplines Rejuvenating the public-private partnership in research Building upon unique capabilities Comprehensive approach to monitoring Communication of science Implementing adaptive management