Short Subjects from SAP 4.4 National Forests ♦ No. 2 ♦ January 2010

The U.S. Forest Service, which manages the National Forest System, 

has a broad goal of sustaining 

ecosystem health and diversity for future 

generations. To that end, the Forest Service has identified seven strategic goals for 

2007 to 2012. A desired outcome accompanies each goal along with several objectives that will be the Forest Service focus 

for that goal. The U.S. Global Change 

Research Program (formerly the U.S. Climate Change Science Program) prepares 

synthesis and assessment products (SAPs) 

to support policymaking and adaptation 

decisions regarding climate change. One 

of these reports, SAP 4.4, reviewed the 

potential effects of climate change on the 

Forest Service’s national goals. We summarize that discussion here.

These management goals are affected to 

some degree by climate change, depending 

on factors such as the temporal and spatial 

nature of climate change, the impact of climate change on the ecosystem, and influences of human activity on the ecosystem. 

Goals are also affected by the interaction 

of climate change with major stressors as 

well as assumptions about climate made in 

current management approaches.

Goal 1: Restore, Sustain, and 

Enhance the Nation’s Forests and 

Grasslands

Outcome: Forests and grasslands with the 

capacity to maintain their health, productivity, diversity, and resistance to unnaturally 

severe disturbance. 

Climate change affects forests and 

grasslands in many ways. Changes in 

temperature and precipitation affect plant 

productivity as well as some species’ 

habitat. Changes in key climate variables 

Effects of Climate Change on 

Forest Service Strategic Goals

affect the length of the fire season and the 

seasonality of National Forest hydrological regimes. Also, invasive species tend to 

adapt to climate change more easily and 

increase extinction risks for native species. 

These effects will challenge the objectives of: reducing risk to communities and 

natural resources from uncharacteristically 

severe wildfires; reducing adverse impacts from invasive species; and restoring 

and maintaining healthy watersheds and 

diverse habitats.

species respond to climate change. 

Private land market-based conservation 

and stewardship will also be faced with 

management challenges. 

Goal 3: Conserve Open Space

Outcome: Maintain the environmental, 

social, and economic benefits of forests and 

grasslands by reducing and mitigating their 

conversion to other uses. 

Working farms, ranches, and private 

timber lands that surround the National 

Forests help protect water quality; provide 

wildlife habitat, timber, and nontimber 

products; and offer places to recreate. 

Open space is lost when forests and rangelands are converted to urban and industrial 

uses. These land-use changes that further 

reduce the benefits of already problematic 

forests and grasslands will grow worse as 

climate change continues to affect ecosystems.

The objective to help private landowners and communities maintain and manage 

their land as sustainable forests and grasslands will become more difficult as climate 

change affects ecosystem services as well 

as the factors that influence land use. For 

example, the decline in desirability of the 

land best suited for agriculture or residential development under climate change 

could result in the conversion of forest and 

rangelands in other locations to accommodate these development needs.

Goal 4: Sustain and Enhance 

Outdoor Recreation Opportunities

Outcome: A variety of high-quality outdoor 

recreation opportunities on the Nation’s forests and grasslands are available to the public. 

Individual recreational opportunities are often a function of climate. 

Goal 2: Provide and Sustain 

Benefits to American People

Outcome: Forests and grasslands with sufficient long-term multiple socioeconomic 

benefits to meet the needs of society. 

The diverse ecosystems within National 

Forests and grasslands are fundamental to 

the multiple socioeconomic benefits each 

forest provides. Climate change affects 

those ecosystem services, for example, by 

changing forest and rangeland productivity, which in turn influences biomass availability for livestock and wildlife grazing, 

for wood products, and/or for energy. 

More severe drought or other extreme 

events may alter this goal because 

ecosystem composition, structure, and 

function will change as plant and animal 
For example, reduced snowpack might 

decrease the number of available days for 

skiing or snowboarding but might increase 

hiking opportunities or other warm-weather activities. Also, elevated temperatures 

are likely to reduce cold-water fisheries but 

may expand warm-water fisheries. 

The pressure to provide more recreational opportunities on public land is 

associated with the projected increase in 

U.S. population and with the continual 

decline of public access to privately owned 

land. The recreation infrastructure, including ski development and reservoirs, is 

strongly influenced by past and current 

climate. And climate change will influence 

the location of recreational opportunities 

through shifts in snow pack and temperature. Preserving high-quality recreational 

experiences will depend not only on the 

condition of the land, current facilities, 

and transportation infrastructure but also 

on where such opportunities can be managed under a changing climate. 

Goal 5: Maintain Basic 

Management Capabilities 

of the Forest Service

Outcome: Administrative facilities, information systems, and landownership management strategies with the capacity to support a 

wide range of natural resource challenges. 

Resource management is already challenging in today’s environment— and 

climate change will increase that challenge. 

Maintaining technical skills associated 

with resource management will require 

the most current information on climate 

change and its potential impacts to ecosystems. Inventory and monitoring programs 

and approaches to plan revisions will need 

to reflect that information to ensure that 

staffs can make decisions in an uncertain 

environment. 

Goal 6: Engage Urban America 

With Forest Service Programs

Outcome: Broader access by Americans to 

long-term environmental, social, economic, 

and other types of benefits provided by the 

Forest Service. 

The intent of this goal is to better 

connect urban residents to the value of 

well-managed public and private forested 

lands and, through natural resource stewardship, improve the public’s quality of life. 

Climate change will challenge stewardship 

and programs that directly benefit urban 

dwellers, such as managing landscapes to 

reduce risks from wildfire and maintain 

environmental quality and services like 

water quality and availability.

Promoting conservation education to 

increase environmental literacy through 

partnerships with groups that educate 

urban populations requires up-to-date 

information on the potential effect of 

climate change on public and private lands 

as well as the urban environment. Effects 

can be harsh on plants and, with warming 

temperatures, will place further stress on 

vegetation. Urban and urbanizing communities likely will need information about 

the dynamics of the surrounding wildland 

as climate change alters natural disturbances like wildfire and drought. Urban 

and community forests will need management strategies that reduce the risks 

from uncharacteristically severe wildfires, 

drought, and pest infestations so that these 

forests will continue to provide benefits 

the public expects.

Goal 7: Provide Science-Based 

Applications and Tools for 

Sustainable Natural Resources 

Management

Outcome: Management decisions are 

informed by the best available science-based 

knowledge and tools. 

Management practices, technologies, 

and quantitative tools that do not account 

for climate change will hinder the ability of 

National Forest System managers to plan 

and manage resources. Because climate 

and natural resource conditions are changing rapidly, existing management tools 

need to be reviewed and new approaches 

must be developed to enhance managers’ 

ability to address complex issues facing 

National Forests, such as linkages among 

ecosystems, water resources, and regional 

species migration patterns.

Additional Information

We provide only a brief overview 

of the National Forest chapter. 

Additional information on the U.S. 

Forest Service strategic goals can 

be found at http://www.fs.fed.us/

publications/strategic/fs-sp-fy07-12.

pdf. Additional information and 

the scientific background for this 

overview can be found in SAP 4.4: 

Preliminary Review of Adaptation 

Options for Climate-Sensitive 

Ecosystems and Resources: A Report 

by the U.S. Climate Change Science 

Program and the Subcommittee on 

Global Change Research: http://

www.globalchange.gov/publications/

reports/scientific-assessments/saps/

sap4-4. For a summary of frequently 

asked questions about climate change, 

see Climate Change and Ecosystems: 

Summary of Recent Findings: http://

www.globalchange.gov/images/

stories/reports/SAPs/4.4%20brochure.

pdf. For more information about 

climate change and natural resource 

management, see the U.S. Forest 

Service Climate Change Resource 

Center Web site: http://www.fs.fed.

us/ccrc.

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