2. The Future of our Forests: Clarifying the Debate…

3. We all agree that forests are important…

4. Why?

5. Water and Beauty

6. Jobs and Employment

7. Wildlife

8. Recreation and Culture

9. Do our forests reflect good management?

10. Do our forests reflect good management? That depends on who you ask

11. Rocky Mountain News

12. New York Times

13. Bangor Daily News

14. St. Petersburg Times

15. Seattle Post Intelligencer

16. How do we know what information is correct?

17. How do we know what information is correct? How do we make good decisions?

18. ABC News reports.… this lack of information hurts policy- making.

19. The Economist says…. we’re “flying blind.”

20. When assessing the economy, we look at trends in economic indicators:

21. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Employment Rate Investments (stocks, bonds)

22. Can we have similar trend data for our forests?

23. Yes!

24. It is possible to assess information for forest management through the use of Criteria and Indicators.

25. Criteria and Indicators provide:

26. Criteria and Indicators provide: a common understanding of sustainable forest management

27. just as economic indicators define the economy…

28. Criteria and Indicators provide:

29. Criteria and Indicators provide: a framework for monitoring, assessments, research and policy-making

30. just as economic indicators show how different aspects of the economy work…

31. Criteria and Indicators inform us of changes in biological, economic and social conditions. Changes in forest condition are the result of our management.

32. By monitoring the trends in forest condition, we can better understand how management impacts our forests.

33. Criteria and Indicators improve forest management by providing a commonly accepted and systematically collected set of forest data…

34. …therefore policy makers and the public can focus on deciding what to do, rather than determining what information is correct.

35. There is a global consensus on using Criteria and Indicators for forest management.

36. 140 Countries have agreed to use Criteria and Indicators for forest management.

37. The US participates in the Montreal Process, which uses the following criteria:

38. Biological Diversity Productive Capacity Forest Health Soil + Water Resources Global Carbon Cycles Socio-economic Benefits Legal + Institutional Frameworks

39. Criteria and Indicator data will look like an expanded version of trend data currently available on our forests…

40. Forest Land Trends [FS-696, April 2001, p.3]

41. Trends in Reserved Forest Land [FS-696, April 2001, p.5]

42. Trends in Forest Employment Year

43. The first National Reports using forest Criteria and Indicators are now available, but more work is needed.

44. The Economist says we’re “flying blind”….

45. …data for Criteria and Indicators can fix this!

46. For more information you can use... visit the following websites:

48. For more information you can use… visit the following websites: The Montreal Process www.mpci.org US Roundtable for Sustainable Forests www.sustainableforests.net USDA Forest Service, Sustainable Forests www.fs.fed.us/research/sustain/