WASHINGTON -- The United States has 751 million acres of forests that have remained remarkably stable during the past 50 years, according to the U.S. Forest Service's 2010 National Report on Sustainable Forests.

"Our nation's trees and forests preserve and protect the vitality of America's clean air and water," said U.S. Forest Service chief Tom Tidwell. "In order to ensure the sustainability of America's forests in the long term, land managers need to work across jurisdictions and land-use types, viewing forested landscapes as an integrated whole, both ecologically and socially. The data and analysis found in this report will help to contribute to the all-lands approach to resource management supported by the U.S. Forest Service."

The report includes 130 pages of detailed information organized by indicator, as well as summary analyses and policy recommendations. The report underscores that action at all levels -- national, regional and local --is needed to achieve sustainable forest management in the United States.

The report also notes that forests in the United States continue to face a number of threats, ranging from fragmentation and loss of forest integrity due to development and an increase in the area and severity of forest disturbances including destructive insects, development and fire. For example, the report finds that the incidence of insect induced tree mortality has increased three-fold in the last decade.
 
Read the USDA Forest Service's press release, which includes a link to the full report.

Posted by Rich Christianson