{"id":383427,"date":"2010-03-03T09:15:39","date_gmt":"2010-03-03T13:15:39","guid":{"rendered":"11523 at http:\/\/www.wri.org"},"modified":"2010-03-03T09:15:39","modified_gmt":"2010-03-03T13:15:39","slug":"news-release-risks-to-southern-u-s-forests-highlighted-on-new-online-mapping-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/383427","title":{"rendered":"NEWS RELEASE: Risks to Southern U.S. Forests Highlighted on New Online Mapping System"},"content":{"rendered":"

The video news release can be viewed here<\/a> and at the bottom of this page. For state and city information, please see below.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A new online system that maps a rich trove of environmental data of southern U.S. forests onto satellite images from the past 35 years was launched today by the World Resources Institute (WRI)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The system, located at SeeSouthernForests.org<\/a>, highlights risks to these forests such as pest and pathogen outbreaks, active wildfires, potential climate change impacts, and forest conversion to suburban development \u2013 the leading cause of southern U.S. forest loss in recent decades. The system also maps other features such as the region\u2019s protected areas and forest ownership.<\/p>\n

\"\"Extent of Southern Forests, by County (Early 2000s)<\/span><\/div>\n

\u201cSeeSouthernForests.org is a first-of-its-kind one-stop shop for map-based information about southern forests,\u201d said Craig Hanson<\/a>, director of WRI\u2019s People & Ecosystems Program<\/a>. \u201cWe have pulled together the power of GoogleEarth<\/a>, Microsoft\u2019s Bing Maps<\/a>, NASA satellite images, ESRI<\/a> technology, and a wide variety of forest data to raise awareness about the benefits of southern forests and the challenges they face.\u201d<\/p>\n

The system is the first step in a multiyear WRI project<\/a>, Southern Forests for the Future<\/a>, aimed at helping landowners, conservation organizations, and others ensure the ability of these forests to continue providing a range of benefits \u2013 called \u201cecosystem services\u201d \u2013 to people.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt a time when the world is concerned about climate change, freshwater availability, the economy and jobs, southern forests are part of the answer,\u201d said Jonathan Lash<\/a>, president of WRI. \u201cThe pattern of forest cover loss in this region has been acres here and acres there. Continuous but dispersed change often goes unnoticed. This new online system addresses that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stretching from Texas to Virginia and from Kentucky to Florida, the southern U.S. forests are among the world\u2019s most biologically diverse temperate forests. Though they comprise just two percent of the planet\u2019s forest cover, they underpin hundreds of thousands of jobs and produce more pulp for paper by volume than any single nation \u2013 other than the entire United States.<\/p>\n

In addition, they supply other ecosystem services, such as watershed protection, recreation, and carbon storage.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of focus in global climate change discussions to date has been on tropical rainforests,\u201d said Susan Minnemeyer<\/a>, a WRI senior associate. \u201cBut U.S. forests are important too. When domestic forest acreage declines, the nation\u2019s carbon sink shrinks.\u201d<\/p>\n

The future of these forests mostly rests in the hands of private landowners. Approximately 27 percent of southern forest acreage is held by companies and financial institutions while another 60 percent is owned by individuals and families. But three-quarters of these family forests are owned by people 55 years of age and older. A generational transfer is on the horizon.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn many ways, the next 20 years will shape the fate of southern forests,\u201d said Todd Gartner<\/a>, manager of Conservation Incentives at the American Forest Foundation<\/a>. \u201cSurveys indicate that most families want to pass their forests on to the next generation. However, with increasing development pressure, market-based incentives are needed to ensure that private forests remain as forests.\u201d<\/p>\n

WRI\u2019s new online mapping system can help forest landowners in the South see the history of their forests through satellite images and better understand the forces of change affecting their properties. It also showcases examples of successful approaches for owners who want to retain their forests.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeSouthernForests.org will be really helpful when engaging a community and working with local landowners regarding forest conservation and sustainable management,\u201d said Tom Bancroft<\/a>, chief scientist at the Audubon Society<\/a>. \u201cIf a picture is worth a thousand words, satellite images and a good map are worth 10,000.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope the site will raise awareness about the economic and environmental benefits of southern forests and put important information at people\u2019s fingertips,\u201d said Patricia Pineda<\/a> of Toyota<\/a>, which is sponsoring WRI\u2019s work as part of the company\u2019s commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were thrilled that Toyota and WRI committed to launch SeeSouthernForests.org at the Clinton Global Initiative\u2019s Annual Meeting last year,\u201d said Robert S. Harrison, CEO of the Clinton Global Initiative<\/a>. \u201cWe hope this site will empower more and more people to appreciate southern forests and the benefits they provide to people in the region and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/param><\/param><\/embed><\/object><\/center><\/p>\n

Alabama<\/strong>
\nSatellite Images of Forest Change<\/a> Landowner Contact:
\nGail and Philip Jones
\n334.222.3138<\/em><\/p>\n

Arkansas<\/strong>
\nSatellite Images of Forest Change<\/a>
\nLandowner Contact:
\nGary Churchill
\n479-264-8080<\/em><\/p>\n

Florida<\/strong>
\nSatellite Images of Forest Change<\/a>
\nLandowner Contact:
\nJon Gould, Washington County, Florida,
\n(205) 991-6918 – work,
\n(850) 535-2461 – home,
\n(205) 296-4923 – cell<\/em><\/p>\n

Georgia<\/strong>
\nSatellite Images of Forest Change<\/a>
\nLandowner Contact:
\nEarl & Wanda Barrs
\n478-934-4728<\/em><\/p>\n

Kentucky<\/strong>
\nSatellite Images of Forest Change<\/a>
\nLandowner Contact:
\nGreg Kuhns
\n334.804.1151<\/em><\/p>\n

Louisiana<\/strong>
\nSatellite Images of Forest Change<\/a><\/p>\n

Mississippi<\/strong>
\nSatellite Images of Forest Change<\/a>
\nLandowner Contact:
\nJudd Brooke
\nHancock County, Mississippi
\n(228) 518-1259<\/em><\/p>\n

North Carolina<\/strong>
\nSatellite Images of Forest Change<\/a>
\nLandowner Contact:
\nJim Gray
\nDunn, North Carolina
\n(910) 891-7376 (cell)<\/em><\/p>\n

Oklahoma<\/strong>
\nSatellite Images of Forest Change<\/a><\/p>\n

South Carolina<\/strong>
\nSatellite Images of Forest Change<\/a>
\nLandowner Contact:
\nJeff Dennis
\nColleton County, South Carolina
\n(843) 509-8809<\/em><\/p>\n

Tennessee<\/strong>
\nSatellite Images of Forest Change<\/a><\/p>\n

Texas<\/strong>
\nSatellite Images of Forest Change<\/a><\/p>\n

Virginia<\/strong>
\nSatellite Images of Forest Change<\/a> Landowner Contact:
\nJim Gray
\n(910) 891-7376 (cell)<\/em><\/p>\n

\n<\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The video news release can be viewed here and at the bottom of this page. For state and city information, please see below. A new online system that maps a rich trove of environmental data of southern U.S. forests onto satellite images from the past 35 years was launched today by the World Resources Institute […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-383427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4281"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=383427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383427\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=383427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=383427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=383427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}