Communities and Forests The newsletter of the Communities Committee of the Seventh American Forest Congress Volume 5, Number 2 Summer 2001 Los Angeles: Building community capacity through forestry by Jennifer Shepherd L.A. The two letters alone can conjure images of sun-baked strips of concrete, looping highways choked with idling cars, or rows of stucco bungalows lining treeless streets. And of course, Los Angeles is also known for its ability to make dreams into “reality” on the stages and sets of Hollywood. But living and working in this mythical urban jungle are a variety of organizations and individuals who have very real dreams of creating a different kind of city; one that has a thriving human habitat as well as a vital natural habitat. After the fire The current era of urban forestry in Los Angeles has its roots in the ashes left from fires that blazed across the city just under a decade ago. In 1992 the city was devastated Making a living from forest restoration by the rioting that followed the infamous by Ann Moote Rodney King trials. Fifty-three people died The arid forests of the southwestern United States once produced more timber than in the violence, and over 600 buildings were any other region in the country, but by the late 1980s, most were considered destroyed by fire. Many lots remain unhealthy fire hazards. By the early 1990s, changing federal policies and empty—scars of an estimated $1 billion environmental groups’ lawsuits had stopped most timber production in the worth of damage. Southwest, devastating small communities that were economically dependent on the In an initial effort to help the city recover timber industry. Today, many of these same communities are looking to forest from some of the damage, the U.S. Forest restoration to fill the employment void left by the departing timber industry. They are Service initiated a jobs program called developing innovative, value-added markets for the small-diameter timber and waste Opportunity L.A. as well as an urban garden products produced by forest thinning. Yet they remain challenged by the uncertain grants program called the Urban Greening supply of raw materials from national forests and the low wages paid for most Initiative. A host of non-profit organizations restoration work. joined in the effort to implement projects that included “green” industry job-training Catron County, New Mexico continued on page 6 At its peak, timber harvest in Catron County removed up to 30-million board feet per year and employed 300 people. Most residents now agree that that level of harvest Feature: Los Angeles forestry...... 1 was not sustainable, says Bob Moore, coordinator of the Catron County Citizens Group (CCCG). The CCCG, working with the U.S. Forest Service and environmental Feature: Forest restoration...... 1 group representatives, has mapped the entire county and projected a sustainable level of forest restoration activities, based on forest inventory data.The group thinks the The Inside Scoop: Week in Washington...2 forest can sustain a harvest of 5-7-million board feet of mostly small-diameter timber Member Profile: Eleanor Torres...... 4 for 50 to 70 years—without any activity in roadless areas, threatened and endangered species habitat, or other ecologically sensitive areas. Feasibility studies conducted by News & Views: Research roles...... 5 the CCCG indicate that a value-added wood industry utilizing small-diameter timber can employ 150-200 people. Resources...... 7 continued on page 3 Page 2 Communities and Forests Summer 2001
Communities and Forests is published by The University of Arizona’s Udall Center The Inside Scoop for Studies in Public Policy for the Communities Committee of the Seventh Forest practitioners’ Week in Washington American Forest Congress. by Maia Enzer This past April, seventeen forest practitioners from around the country gathered in Comments, subscription requests, Washington, D.C., to participate in the third annual “Week in Washington,” and submissions may be sent to: organized by staff from American Forests, the National Network of Forest Communities and Forests Practitioners, the Pinchot Institute for Conservation, and the Communities Communities Committee of the Seventh Committee of the Seventh American Forest Congress. The Week in Washington American Forest Congress provides community forestry practitioners with training on how to influence the 919 Elk Park Rd., Columbia Falls, MT 59912 federal appropriations process and build relationships with key federal 406-892-8155 (phone) policymakers. This year, the Week in Washington included briefings with the 406-892-8161 (fax) Forest Service, the Senate, and the House as well as a roundtable discussion with [email protected] representatives from national environmental organizations. In addition, Week in www.communitiescommittee.org Washington participants received advocacy training and testified at three congressional oversight hearings. Editorial Board: Sharing stories Christina Cromley, American Forests Genevieve Cross During the course of the week, participants told each other their stories. These Maia Enzer, Sustainable Northwest included the Maidu Cultural Development Group’s work to implement cultural Wendy Hinrichs Sanders, Great Lakes stewardship in northern California; the efforts of underserved minority landowners Forest Alliance in Mississippi to receive federal assistance; the Forest Stewardship Project in Bryant Smith, U.S. Forest Service Methow Valley, Washington, where residents aim to ensure that federal forest managers “take a holistic perspective with a long view;” and Arizona and New Ann Moote, Editor Mexico initiatives in which practitioners endeavor to add value to the byproducts Kathleen Veslany, Copy Editor of forest restoration. While the stories are unique, participants were struck by the commonality of the Contributors: challenges they face. “It was great to meet other people who are working on a Thomas Brendler, Max Cordova, Genevieve parallel track, forging the middle way, and working to implement projects that are Cross, Maia Enzer, Carla Harper, Donna good for the environment and create jobs,” said Melanie Parker from Swan Valley, House, Ann Moote, Martha Schuman, Montana. She added, “The week was also an incredible civics lesson. I got to see Jennifer Shepherd, Eleanor Torres how my issues get acted upon at the D.C. level—from both a funding and a policy perspective.” Listservs: Testifying before Congress The Communities Committee maintains two community-forestry related listservs. The House Resources Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health held its first oversight hearing on community-based forestry and invited four practitioners to testify. [email protected] is a bulletin- Another practitioner testified before the House Agriculture Committee on the National board type list where committee members Fire Plan. Four practitioners testified before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources post weekly federal policy updates, Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land Management. announcements of upcoming workshops All of those who testified spoke of the need to invest in rebuilding social and and conferences, job announcments, and natural capital in order to create a conservation-based economy. Several focused related notices. To subscribe to this listserv, specifically on the need for workforce training and business development related to send the following message to ecosystem management and forest restoration. [email protected]: At the Senate Hearing on the National Fire Plan, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) asked subscribe cfnews Your Name Lyle Laverty, a regional forester with the U.S. Forest Service, when communities could (Type your first and last name in place of expect the contracts from the 2001 federal fire plan to be on the street and what “Your Name.”) percentage of those contracts he expects will be awarded locally. Laverty indicated the contracts would be awarded in May and that at least half were expected to go to [email protected] is local firms. At the hearing, Nils Christoffersen of Willawa Resources in Oregon, intended for discussion of community- testified in response that “We are very pleased that the Forest Service is willing to forestry related issues. To subscribe to this make that kind of commitment. However, we think there are a number of significant listserv, send the following message to obstacles in budgeting and contracting that still need to be overcome in order to [email protected]: meet that target.” Christoffersen was referring to the complex federal budgetting subscribe cfforum Your Name process, performance targets that are inappropriate to forest restoration work, and (Type your first and last name in place of contracting that is geared toward commodity outputs, among other problems. “Your Name.”). continued on page 8 Summer 2001 Communities and Forests Page 3
Restoration, continued from page 1 Forestry Partnership. “People are in a an agreement with the district to thin the “For the community, forest thinning Catch-22 situation because they don’t have block according to Forest Service provides a means to create jobs and work to raise money to retool for forest specifications. Henry Lopez, lead forestry replace an historical timber industry that restoration work, and then they aren’t in a technician on the Camino Real District and was not sustainable,” Moore says. position to do the work when it becomes manager of the stewardship block program, The jobs would be in niche markets. available. The timber industry is being says demand for the stewardship blocks is For example, CCCG plans to build a creative and learning to work with small- much greater than he can keep up with. turning mill to produce round poles from diameter wood and waste products, but Other forest districts are interested in small-diameter trees for furniture-making, they aren’t willing to put up capital to re- developing similar programs. custom fences, and other products. tool until they have an assured supply of Residue and waste materials may be used these forest products.” Paying for forest restoration Even with assured supply, however, “true to develop landscaping and mulch In Southern Utah, SUPFA is working to forest restoration activities cannot be products. CCCG is also exploring a wood- address some of these challenges through expected to be economically feasible by concrete-mix product that can be used for its new Southern Utah Forest Products themselves,” say Bob Moore. “We can landscaping products like stepping stones Resource Center, which is intended to help offset some of the costs by producing and outdoor furniture. “provide the technical assistance necessary for local businesses to access value-added products from the material we Identifying new markets both a sustainable timber supply and remove, but the Forest Service is still going The Southern Utah Forest Products achieve nontraditional, high-value to have to pay to get the forest restoration Association (SUPFA) is similarly working markets.” A second innovation was the work done.” to develop value-added forest product incorporation of SUPFA as an agricultural Current Forest Service contracts for market opportunities to replace the region’s cooperative. Still, SUPFA coordinator restoration services don’t reflect the cost of dying timber industry. SUPFA considers Susan Snow says, these efforts may not the work, according to Max Cordova. “The the timber industry in southern Utah pay off if the group can’t develop an Forest Service is offering $6.47 an hour for unsustainable because the large volume assured supply of raw materials. thinning jobs. At those wages you’re and high minimum bid price for timber sales competing with McDonalds. If they’re exclude local operators, and because timber Forest access uncertain serious about getting quality thinning, produced from this region (primarily Virtually all forests in the Southwest are they’ll have to pay at least $10 an hour. We Engelman spruce, sub-alpine fir, and national forests, which makes forest have the same problem with contracts for quaking aspen) is fairly low-value. restoration and wood products businesses restoration. It’s not possible to do forest A study commissioned by SUPFA in the entirely dependent on Forest Service restoration work at $75 an acre, but that’s mid-1990s found potential for contracts. By law, Forest Service contracts what they’re offering.” The CCCG nontraditional wood products markets in have to be reopened every year and estimates that it will cost the agency about the region but also showed that products changing federal policies mean the number $300 an acre for high-quality forest would have to be produced in larger of contracts available can vary restoration work in Catron County. quantities than any one operator could considerably from year to year. Variable Without the value-added products, that handle and local operators were unwilling supply has forced Tierra Alta Fuels, a new same work would cost up to $500 per acre. or unable to risk investing capital resources cooperative in southern New Mexico that “There is a burden to the public to do required to develop value-added products. turns sawdust and other waste products forest restoration,” Moore says. “Our The cost of refurbishing timber-harvest into high-energy fuel pellets for wood- biggest concern is that we don’t really industries for forest restoration and non- burning stoves, to turn to Mexico for its have buy-in yet from the public, the Forest traditional products has also stymied La sawdust supply. Service, or Congressional leaders.” Montaña de Truchas, a community-based “The bottom line is supply,” says Carla forestry company in northeastern New Harper, who believes that forest restoration Ongoing maintenance Mexico that works to create economic and fuels reduction work will not be Max Cordova say the Forest Service, development projects for traditional rural economically self-supporting until the U.S. Congress, and the American public need to communities, some of which have Forest Service starts consistently start thinking of restoration as ongoing depended on the national forest for its providing annual timber sales. “It doesn’t maintenance. “We’ve found that in some livelihood for over 200 years. Max Cordova, have to be a lot—no one is expecting or areas, about three years after we thin, the President of La Montaña de Truchas, says even hoping for a big timber sale program. trees release seeds, and about six years his company is bidding on forest But there has to be a reliable supply.” after that, you have more trees,” Cordova restoration contracts without the ability to Local forest district staff agree that says. “So the work is not permanent; it defray costs with value-added processing. contracting has been variable, and say requires ongoing maintenance. It’s been “We need to get into the niche markets budget and staff reductions over the last very hard to sell this concept to the with value-added products, but to do that five years have made it difficult to maintain agency. They still think we should only we need specialized equipment that we their timber sale programs. have to go in once to remove trees.” can’t afford,” Cordova says. The Camino Real Forest District in the Calling forest restoration “the new Carson National Forest has tried to address forestry,” Harper says, “We should be Catch-22 situation local needs for small-diameter wood by looking at forest restoration as basic forest Lack of appropriate equipment is a common developing a system of one-acre management, an ongoing activity that problem across the Southwest, says Carla “stewardship blocks.” Each block is provides real family-wage jobs, not just Harper of the Four Corners Sustainable managed by an individual who enters into minimum-wage jobs. Page 4 Communities and Forests Summer 2001
At the Paquoima Elementary School, for example, the kids weren’t going to school some days because of standing water in Member Profile the yard and in bottom floors of the building. An increase in impermeable surfaces had resulted in an urban environment that could no longer handle the kinds of intermittent flooding that Eleanor Torres occurs there. We brought in engineers who looked at the topography and geology of the schoolyard, and saw that it I am the executive director of Integrated Infrastructures, Inc., a company that strives to integrate traditional and nontraditional required a percolation system. We let the school children urban planning and resource management methods to work themselves design the persolation system. They chose to develop towards economic, ecological, and social sustainability. I live and a river through their schoolyard, and that river now serves as an work in Pasadena, California. Prior to getting involved in community environmental education site. forestry issues, I worked as a consultant on municipal human Job development and training services policy and implementation in Los Angeles. Community-based income generation is also an important aspect of Addressing social needs through urban greening Integrated Infrastructures’ programs. We are dedicated to I began working in the environmental field in 1992 when I providing urban communities with job-training and development became executive director of L.A. Harvest. After the devastating opportunities. There are a lot of people interested in learning skills Rodney King riots earlier that year, the U.S. Forest Service set for green-collar jobs, up a fund of $3.5 million to establish urban greening programs and I believe this is a in Los Angeles. L.A. Harvest was one of the nonprofits growing employment contracted to initiate those projects. I saw a link between the sector. We teach social issues I had been dealing with previously in human people tree services and the environmental issues that L.A. Harvest dealt maintenance and with, and I began to understand how important urban greening planting skills so that is and how effectively it can address social needs. There is a there will be people great potential for communities to become empowered through to hire to do this kind involvement in these kinds of projects. of work. After I left L.A. Harvest, I became the director of forestry at One way we’ve Tree People, where I continued to work on conservation issues provided job training and community gardening. At this time I started to identify green is through our work infrastructure as an important engineering tool, especially where on sustainable there are growth problems such as water runoff and pollution. designs for low- Addressing the energy and water-quality impacts of different income housing. In a senior low-income municipal infrastructure approaches can lead to significant long- Eleanor Torres’ work bridges term savings, especially when it comes to energy expenditures housing project in or managing stormwater runoff. Pomona that social services, civil engineering, Integrated and environmental restoration. Integrated Infrastructures, Inc. Infrastructures worked on recently, In February 1999, I left Tree People and started my current there were 150 units that needed habitat restoration. To do the company–Integrated Infrastructures, Inc. I like to call it a “one-stop work we employed parolees from Pomona and trained them at high- company” where nonprofits can partner with engineers and level environmental construction skills. developers on projects to address local problems. I think I bridge a We also did a cost-benefit analysis on these units and found lot of the gaps between the social services community and the that the improvements were indeed saving the residents money. environmental community. I try to get people to understand that One of my biggest beefs with the environmental sector is that it human habitat restoration is as important as natural habitat tends to offer only environmental technologies that disadvantaged restoration. communities can’t afford. Our company’s initial role is to help each community assess and determine its own needs. It doesn’t do any good to go into a Communities Committee encourages integration community and tell it what’s missing–local residents already know Many of the ideas that guide my work were developed through what will serve their own needs best. conversations with other Communities Committee members. I One area my staff has been involved in builds on an ongoing strongly believe that we need to foster an increased appreciation project in Los Angeles that is funded by the Department of Water for the social variables that contribute to environmental issues. and Power (DWP). DWP is working to “cool schools” and make The Communities Committee is closer to articulating and them more energy efficient through urban greening projects. I’ve comprehending that fact than any other entity I know. It promotes really enjoyed incorporating environmental education in K-12 dialogue that allows people to hear voices from different schools in conjunction with these efforts. I educate teachers and perspectives. The Communities Committee is by far the most students about the environmental, social, and economic linkages diverse committee I have ever served on, and I value the open, inherent in these kinds of urban greening projects. honest dialogue we are able to have. Summer 2001 Communities and Forests Page 5
In a sense it is knowledge that is taken for Maybe the question awaits in the News & granted. I like to say that while researchers community and its environment. may have B.S.’s and M.S.’s, we have Scientists have to be educated on how “T.S.’s” —degrees in traditional science— to work with communities. There is a lack Views that allow us to make good decisions on of research protocol and lack of information on how communities benefit the land. Researchers need to recognize from or are harmed by research. and work with the traditional scientists. “What is an Appropriate roles for researchers are to share information, to work within the appropriate role for Donna House, Botanist and Diné context of the community, and to work academic research in from the Navajo Nation, Arizona within the community’s protocols. and New Mexico Community participation, within the community forestry?” Let me begin with an example of community’s cultural context, should be a inappropriate research behavior. The key part of the academic’s research We asked four community forestry approach and research question. practitioners to address this question. Salish and Kootenai Community College Here are their responses. - Editor. has a collection of various media and documents of elders’ knowledge of Eleanor Torres, Executive plants, animals, etc. A local botanist Director, Urban Infrastructures, Carla Harper, Montezuma County gained trust with the college and Inc., southern California Federal Lands Liaison and State requested to review notes and view There are two areas of research I feel would Representative to the Four tapes and videos of elders sharing their be extremely helpful to community forestry. Corners Sustainable Forests knowledge. The college and the tribe’s One is research on ways communities and Partnership, Colorado cultural committee agreed, with the nongovernmental organizations can condition that no notes or knowledge Researchers at universities and other conduct evaluation and monitoring of their would be shared with others outside the institutions are important keepers of programmatic effectiveness. I see many tribe. Within the year, the botanist had an history, progress, and common themes. NGOs struggling to create evaluation and ethnobotany book published, based on They can be important sources of monitoring programs without benefit from the Salish and Kootenai elders’ information for communities. But they often existing academic knowledge. knowledge, without permission and do not leave communities with a sense of Often my work takes me to universities in knowledge of all parties. mutual benefit. The researchers get degrees search of faculty and their graduate Knowing the history of peoples and the and publications, and the communities students who are interested in assisting land they live on can be important to a often don’t even get the information that organizations with monitoring and reacher’s success in working with an has been gathered. In the worst cases, evaluation work. I have found that Indigenous community. The researcher communities are sometimes the victims of evaluations undertaken by or with needs to ask her/himself: Is the research superficial or biased research that can hurt academics provide a tremendous amount of question appropriate? Who will benefit them. credibility that community groups can then from this research? Who owns the It is important that researchers find out leverage to obtain future funding sources. copyrights/intillectual property rights? Did what a community needs and tailor their Secondly, I feel that academics can do a the community have a role in the design of research to meet that need or even do great deal more to educate local policy- the research question? Will the academic additional research if the community makers regarding the linkages between civil researcher respect the community’s requests it. Sharing research with infrastructure and green infrastructure. protocols? How can the community communities engenders a sense of goodwill Local policymakers require a lot of hand- participate in the data gathering or and makes communities more receptive to holding before they can see the monitoring? Will the results be shared with the next researcher. connections between the environment and the community? What is the impact on things like public health, educational Max Cordova, Director, La traditional economics? On community opportunities, job development, cost dynamics and structure? What are the effetiveness, and the like. But once they do Montaña de Truchas, New Mexico protocols in obtaining permission from the see it, they can provide some powerful I think it strengthens communities to get community and its government? opportunities for community forestry. involved in academic research. I see it as a To conduct research that is sensitive to I often read research papers or attend two-way process, with both sides learning an indigenous community, researchers academic seminars and find myself from each other. Communities have learned need to spend time getting to know that wondering why our local policymakers a lot from some researchers, but there is community and need to ask for the aren’t aware of this information. Research also a lot of what I call traditional science community’s input and permission to has such important bearing on urban within the community that often surprises conduct the research. Let the community planning, yet there’s a real problem with researchers and that they can learn from. and the land be part of the collaborative information dissemination to planners and Traditional science is knowledge that has team that formulates the research question. policymakers. The information that exists been passed on from generation to Maybe the question is not what the doesn’t always get out to the people who generation and is built into the community. researcher originally thought it would be. can use it. Page 6 Communities and Forests Summer 2001
LA, continued from page 1 training program. “I’m very gratified with been challenging to maintain a real for the chronically unemployed and the progress we’ve been able to make,” coherent connection with the community targeted greening activities in those says Wilson. “Many of our kids have needs.” neighborhoods most severely impacted by gotten summer jobs as gardeners and Retamoza has had to adapt to the the riots. doing tree maintenance as a result of the changing funding situation. “My role has Saturday training program we offer.” shifted from one of a funder and grant Nurturing community Eleanor Torres, former director of provider to more of a facilitator of Another Forest Service project, GreenLink, forestry at Tree People, recounts a similar relationships. People come to me now to was formed in 1994 in an attempt to program undertaken by that organization. talk about ways that they can link up with maintain the momentum created by the “We worked with at-risk youth and the other groups or other funding sources. I Urban Greening Initiative and Opportunity homeless from the L.A. Free Clinic,” try to nurture the connections that exist,” L.A. GreenLink’s goal is to respond to Torres says. “These are considered he says. community priorities and facilitate problematic populations, but we managed Retamoza s feels a ‘bottom-up’ partnerships between urban communities, to leverage training with another entity approach may be most effective. He also the Forest Service, and other organizations. that does job placement. As a result, three believes that in some ways communities Originally, GreenLink emphasized of the people we trained were hired to do working on getting grant money are building community capacity, working from tree maintenance for the city.” restricted by the conditions of the grant, the theory that urban greening projects The Los Angeles Conservation Corps which may not coincide exactly with their can give communities non- trains youth teams to conduct forest particular needs: “When someone comes confrontational, non-political restoration and maintenance work on the to me for help, we sit down and try to opportunities to work together and effect urban national forests in and around L.A. identify a specific need or issue that a positive change in their environment. These young adults receive educational pertains to their community, and then we After this initial step of building capacity, training, leadership training, and paid figure out how we can develop a the theory suggests, community members employment, and frequently transition on solution. There’s no compromise, and it can build on the networking capacity to work in the natural resources field. really seems to be working for us and they have established and tackle other In a similar program, GreenLink has taking some hold in terms of addressing issues. partnered with the California the real needs of these communities.” One way GreenLink has tried to foster Environmental Project to sponsor community health is through a family bilingual Forest EcoTeams who help forest Building a sense of community recreationists communicate with non- camping program, which it runs with the Another challenge for community Anglo, inner-city communities that California Department of Parks and forestry in Los Angeles is the city’s recreate in the national forests. The Forest Recreation. “We try to provide sheer size. L.A. sprawls out over 470 EcoTeams have helped reduce litter and opportunities for youth and families to square miles, and the community forestry prevent forest fires in the high-use have quality experiences in the urban efforts initiated in 1992 were widely canyon areas of the Angeles and San national forests. It sounds corny, but dispersed. The layout of individual Bernardino National Forests. families that camp together stay neighborhoods raises problems, as well; Other California Environmental together,” says Rudy Retamoza, urban the urban environment here is not often Programs, such as Adopt-a-Canyon, forester and director of GreenLink. This conducive to a sense of community. encourage volunteers to come personally program also provides training Despite these spatial challenges, there involved in the restoration and opportunities for youth, several of whom are some shining success stories. “Take maintenance of a specific canyon, forest, go on each year to become trip leaders. for example the L.A. Regional Food Bank or other natural area. Community Garden in South Central Los Education and job training Meeting needs without funds Angeles,” says Retamoza. “The neighborhood is in a light industrial area, Other organizations have been successful While nongovernmental organizations so there are houses mixed in with at incorporating educational and job- around the city continue to focus on warehouses, separated by railroad tracks. training opportunities into urban forestry capacity-building programs, there has Yet residents in this neighborhood have projects. Scott Wilson, Director of NE been a reduction in funds for these been able to establish a seven-acre Trees (working in northeast Los efforts, particularly for GreenLink. garden that is enabling almost 400 Angeles), has put a lifetime of experience Significant budget cutbacks at the U.S. families to grow their own food and, in as an educator to work in developing Forest Service have made that agency some cases, sell produce to local innovative school programs that combine reluctant to funnel dollars to communities restaurants. environmental education with greening when funds are already being cut from “Perhaps more importantly, the garden and infrastructure improvements to area more established areas of the agency’s has really created a sense of schoolyards. urban forestry programs. neighborhood that didn’t previously NE Trees’ successes include “The emphasis has really shifted to exist. The garden created a place where revitalizing part of the once famous just getting the trees in the ground, and people can get together—it’s become the Elysian Park into a children’s arboretum this has left a void in our involvement and establishing a successful youth with communities,” says Retamoza. “It’s focal point for the entire community.” Summer 2001 Communities and Forests Page 7
Events Resources Community Research Network Conference. July 6-8, 2001, Austin, Texas. The fourth annual Loka Institute conference on community research will focus on legitimizing community Publications and Web sites knowledge as part of the research process. For more information, contact the Loka Institute at 413-559-5860,
Mission Statement: The purpose of the Communities Committee is to focus attention on the interdependence between America’s forests and the vitality of rural and urban communities, and to promote: • improvements in political and economic structures to ensure local community well-being and the long-term sustainability of forested ecosytems; • an increasing stewardship role of local communities in the maintenance and restoration of ecosystem integrity and biodiversity; • participation by ethnically and socially diverse members of urban and rural communities in decision-making and sharing benefits of forests; • the innovation and use of collaborative processes, tools, and technologies; and • recognition of the rights and responsibilities of diverse forest landowners.
Communities and Forests Communities Committee of the Seventh American Forest Congress 919 Elk Park Road Columbia Falls, MT 59912