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Working in the Urbanizing Landscape: Changing Roles for Natural Resource Professionals

Oregon Department of Forestry“Stewardship in Forestry”

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Presentation Outline• What is the forested area we are

concerned about?–Residential Emphasis forest–Low-density residential– Wildland-urban interface

• Description of the interface• Why do we care about this area?• Challenges and Opportunities

Working in the Urbanizing Landscape, May 23-24, 2011 - Beaverton, OR

Multiple-use emphasis forests Mostly state, tribal, some family, some federal

Wood production emphasis forests Mostly forest industry, some state, tribal, family

Residential value emphasis

forests

Wildland urban interface,

rural residential zones,

urban and community

forests

Social BenefitsEc

onom

ic B

enefi

tsSustainability

Environmental Benefits

Nature emphasis forests– Parks, wilderness, wild areas Mostly federal lands, some state, tribal and private

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Fragmentation & Conversion

• All states confronting an increase in land conversion as – Globalization and rising social costs erode

forestry profitability

• Alternative land values on the rise– Risk to “green infrastructure” needed to attract

new industries; maintain quality of life – Risk to rural economies, family-wage jobs

Non-Forest Profitability is Attractive

Real Estate versus Timber Value

1.50

2.75

1.75

6.50

3.75

1.75

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

7.00

Western Oregon NortheastOregon

NortheastWashington

Idaho Minnesota Louisiana

Region

Mu

ltip

le (

Re

tail/

Tim

be

r)

Source: Forest Capital P artners, LLC

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Fragmentation & Conversion

• Compared to other states, Oregon is currently well-positioned to protect its forestland base

• However, Oregon is seeing an increase in the number of dwellings in wildland forests

• And shift from wildland forests to residential forests

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Oregon’s Private Forests

• 10.7 million acres– 4.7 million acres of nonindustrial or family

forests– 6.0 million acres of industrial / investment

forests

• Significant economic impact– Total economic output of $22 billion in Oregon;

11% of goods and services (2007)– Forest products sector pays higher than the state

average

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Oregon’s Private Forests• An estimated 330 thousand acres of Oregon

forest - about 5 percent of private forestland - exist inside urban growth boundaries or other development zones.

• Another 1.8 million acres of private forest exist within one mile of developable areas.

• The remainder extends out from the wildland-urban interface to the more rural areas.

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Oregon’s Private Forests

• Approximately 3% of family forestland occurs within Urban Growth Boundaries (UGB) and 34% in Wildlan-Urban Interface (WUI)

• Approximately 9% of Industrial / Investment forests occurs withinWUI

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Why Do We Care about these Urbanizing Areas?• Board of Forestry Objectives • Potentail loss of forest benefits• Changes the way the surrounding

landscape is managed• Affects surrounding economies and

supporting industries• Risks and cost of Fire protection

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Board of Forestry2011 Forestry Program for Oregon (FPFO)

• Goal C: Protect and improve the productive capacity of Oregon's forests– Key challenge: Maintaining the Forest Land

Base

New forces are reshaping Oregon’s forests in ways more significant than any wildfire, windstorm, or disease outbreak.

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2011 FPFO: Maintaining the Forest Land Base• Fueled by factors including

development pressures, population growth, …, and changes in the forest products and real estate markets, forestland is being threatened by conversion to non-forest uses.

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Current Board of Forestry Private Forests Policy Objective• Identify current and future risks of

forest fragmentation and the conversion of forests to non-forest use as the primary, overarching challenge to sustainable forestry and keeping working forests working.

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2011 FPFO: Loss of Benefits

• Fragmentation and parcelization of forests, combined with the development of roads and residences, can degrade the green infrastructure of a forested watershed, including clean water, diversity of fish and wildlife species, and the quality of forests habitats

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Forest Mixed Use Agriculture Range Urban

Per

cen

tag

e o

f m

on

ito

red

str

eam

sit

es Excellent(90-100)

Good(85-89)

Fair(80-84)

Poor(60-79)

Very Poor(10-59)

n=6n=10n=17 n=31n=69

Measurements on land in all ownerships in Oregon, by DEQ land use class, 2005

Statewide Water Quality Conditions

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2011 FPFO: Changes Management

• dramatically changes the way the surrounding landscape is managed, limiting the range of traditional forestry practices

• the notion of producing a timber value from the lands … is no longer acceptable to new nearby residents or landowners

Building Density and Pre-commercial Thinning by Private Forest Owners

0

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.1

0 7 14 21 28 35 42 49 56 63 70 77 84 91 98 105

112

119

126

Building Density Per Square Mile

Pro

babi

lity

of P

re-

com

mer

cial

Thi

nnin

g

NIPF

FI

Notes: Based on relationship found by probit regression. Example is a forest stand; basal area=65; site index=70; slope=30.

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2011 FPFO: Affects Communities• When formerly productive timberlands are

converted to non-forest uses, surrounding economies and supporting industries are often affected because forest products-related businesses are no longer viable.

• Harvest taxes are no longer available to support local government services and education.

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2011 FPFO: Fire Protection

• The presence of development in forested areas changes makes wildfire management more difficult - placing homes at risk, making firefighting more complicated, and increasing firefighting costs.

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• Likelihood of human-caused fires increases with dwelling density –Sisters Unit: Compared to sections w/ no

dwellings fires increased: • 1-5 = 2.6 times,• 6-10 = 5 times,• 21-40 = 21 times, • 40+ = 71 times

• Large fires that threaten dwellings are 48.3% more expensive to fight

Wildland Urban Interface:Fire Issues

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Challenges and Opportunities• Most complex and challenging area• Contains all four types of forests: nature,

residential, multiple use, and wood production

• Dominated by family forestland (3% in UGB; 34% in WUI); contains industrial / investment forest (9 % in WUI).

• Highest risk of land use conversion (highest ratio of real estate to timber values)

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Urban and Urban Interface Forests Key Objectives

• Active involvement in local and state land use planning

• Support forest products market and ecosystem service market development

• Assist local governments in compliance with statewide land use goals by providing technical assistance

• Support transferable development rights program• Monitor changes in the public and private

forestland bases and levels of forestland impacted by land use conflicts.

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Urban and Urban Interface Forests Current Efforts

• Constrained by resources• Significant workload

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Stewardship Forestry in UGB and WUI

• Notifications: 1 % in UGB; 31 % in WUI

• Forestland: NIPF: 3% in UGB; 34% in WUIIndustrial: 9 % in WUI

Non-Industrial Private Forest

Industrial Private Forest Total

2007UGB

Notifications 217 9 226Notification Acres 2,913 167 3,080Total Acres 120,269 3,538 123,807

Urban InterfaceNotifications 3,885 1,513 5,398Notification Acres 173,404 96,211 269,616Total Acres 1,575,960 534,419 2,110,379

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Oregon’s Family Forestland• Occupy a unique landscape position, contribute

diversification to forest cover and local economies, and provide political and cultural connections with urban populations

• Are smaller, and their objectives and land uses are varied

• In general, occupies ecologically important, lower elevation settings, often near residential areas

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Family Forestlands

• Diverse objectives, concerns, and plans • Top reasons for ownership include:

– Aesthetics, Family legacy, Privacy, Land investment, Part of home, farm or ranch

• Top concerns include:– High property taxes, Keeping land intact for

heirs, Trespassing or poaching, Fire, Insects or plant diseases

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Family Forestlands Key Objectives:

• Provide one-on-one technical assistance, deliver incentives, support Oregon plan, and administer the Forest Practices Act

• Support certification / management plans for family forestlands and conduct audits

• Develop easement program for protecting working forests