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2009 (ARRA), which the Service will use to im-
mediately address maintenance and building
projects, as well as to investigate the impacts
of climate change and managing wildfires
(USDA 2009).
These goals require that forest
managers shift away from old-
model approaches and focus on
how to improve the resiliency
of ecosystems. New climate
change models, for example,
To help in this effort, in 2007 the
USFS launched the West Wide
Climate Initiative, which gives na-
tional forest managers information
about adapting to climate change.
The program will culminate in a
meeting in mid-April 2010, where
organizers hope to have a climate
change adaptation guidebook ready to
present to managers. Constance Millar,
a research paleoecologist for USFS’s
Pacific Southwest Research Station who
helped lead West Wide, says the guidelines
will include specific tools for managers such
as a rapid screening process to monitor for sud-
den aspen decline, a dieback that may be related
to climate that has killed 90 percent of aspens in
certain areas of Colorado.
management innovations
West Wide has also developed a Climate Change Resource
Center, which features an online course titled “Adapting to
Climate Change: A Short Course for Land Managers.” The
course includes information on climate projections, ecological
responses to climate variability, and strategies land managers
By Katherine Unger and Divya Abhat
Forest photo credit: Colorado Division of Wildlife
Beetle photo credit: Forestryimages.org
Katherine Unger is Development Editor/Science Writer
for The Wildlife Professional. Divya Abhat is Production
Editor/Science Writer for The Wildlife Professional.
