High Country News has brought to
the fore a critical environmental quandary: Should we protect
species by any means necessary in the face of climate change or let
nature take its course (HCN,
2/04/08)? There is another element of our response to
climate change that deserves greater emphasis: management of
working landscapes. A “let nature take its course” approach may be
appropriate for parks and preserves, but most forests and
rangelands are already driven by a management goal. Natural
resource management goals can be adjusted to accommodate increased
resistance and adaptation to climate change. Managed lands must be
part of our response to climate change because they cover a much
great area than parks or preserves ever will.
About 74
million acres of America’s forest land is protected as a park or
wilderness area, but there are about 512 million acres of working
timberland. On these timberlands, changes in management choices can
increase wildlife habitat or the health of native species, which in
turn can add to the resilience and adaptation of our forests to an
altered climate. Forest managers regularly plant trees after
harvest, so planting species that may be better adapted to a new
climate does not require a philosophical shift. Some working
forests can even increase carbon sequestration by extending
rotations, employing low impact logging practices, or other
relatively small changes. In Western forests, burning logging
residue and material removed in fuel reduction efforts to generate
heat and/or electricity can help reduce fossil fuel consumption.
The preservation of unique ecosystems and charismatic
species as climate changes is daunting. Management of working
landscapes is a crucial tool to help us confront that challenge.
Alexander Evans
Forest Guild, Research
Director
Santa Fe, New Mexico
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Working landscapes are the key.
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