Forest Plan Implementation
Procedures and Tools
Air and Climate
The Forest Service goal for Tongass air resources, which are to be managed as a part of the Forest ecosystem, is to maintain or improve National Forest air quality by preventing significant deterioration from Forest activities or other sources. In addition to addressing air quality in project assessments, it is important to consider effects of projects on climate change. The 2008 Forest Plan EIS and ROD placed greater emphasis on emerging climate issues and it is important to reference these documents and address these issues in project documents.
Project effects analyses should consider the direct effects on air quality that could result from project implementation, as well as the indirect effects that could result from the use of goods and services derived from or provided by the Forest (see pages 3-16 and 3-17 of the 2008 Final EIS). In addition, project effects on carbon sequestration and short and long-term carbon emissions to the atmosphere should be considered (see page 3-17 of the 2008 Final EIS). Finally, cumulative effects on air quality, carbon sequestration, and climate change should also be considered (see pages 3-17 through 3-20 of the 2008 Final EIS).
The following items and references should be considered in conducting air and climate analyses:
Air
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Forest-wide Air Standards and Guidelines (AIR 1, AIR2, and AIR3).
- Gives direction on managing and monitoring air quality on the Tongass National Forest.
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Dillman, K.L., L.H. Geiser, and G. Brener. 2007. Air Quality Bio-monitoring with Lichens-Tongass National Forest; USDA Forest Service. Petersburg, Alaska.
- On-going forest air quality study on the Tongass National Forest.
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Western Airborne Contaminants Assessment Project:
- The Western Airborne Contaminants Assessment Project (WACAP) was initiated to determine the risk to ecosystems and food webs in western national parks from the long-range transport of airborne contaminants. It was designed and implemented by the National Park Service's Air Resources Division in cooperation with many western national parks, the Environmental Protection Agency, the US Geological Survey, the US Forest Service, Oregon State University, and University of Washington.
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Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environment (IMPROVE):
- Paper on the IMPROVE program, which is a cooperative measurement effort in the United States designed to characterize current visibility and aerosol conditions in scenic areas (primarily National Parks and Forests) and to identify chemical species and emission sources responsible for existing man-made visibility impairment.
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U.S. Forest Service National Lichens & Air Quality Database and Clearinghouse:
- Storehouse of information on air quality monitoring using lichens.
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Alaska's Air Monitoring 2008 Network Plan.
- Information on Juneau air quality and monitoring sites.
Climate
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Forest-wide Air Standards and Guidelines (AIR1)
- Direction to coordinate air climate change inventory, monitoring, and modeling efforts with National Park Service programs, Forest Health Monitoring and Forest Inventory and Analysis programs, and other Forest Service regions.
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Forest-wide Forest Health Standards and Guidelines (HEALTH1 and HEALTH2)
- Direction on managing the forest to maintain healthy stands. The 2008 Forest Plan EIS concludes that maintaining healthy forest stands will benefit carbon sequestration (e.g., trees killed by insects and disease will release carbon as they decompose, adding to green house gases in the atmosphere)
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Forest Plan Monitoring Item 2: Climate Change (Table 6.1)
- Direction to monitor snowpack levels as an indicator that climate change could be affecting the ecosystem.
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Climate Change Resource Center (CCRC):
- A Forest Service reference Web site for resource managers and decision-makers who need information and tools to address climate change in planning and project implementation on lands in the West.
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Kelly, B.P., T. Ainsworth, D.A. Boyce JR., E. Hood, P. Murphy, and J. Powell. 2007. Climate Change: Predicted Impacts on Juneau. Report to Mayor Bruce Botelho and the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly. Scientific Panel on Climate Change, City and Borough of Juneau.
- Scientific information on the likely affects of climate change in the Juneau area.
- Oregon Forest Resources Institute, Oregon State University College of Forest Resources, and Oregon Department of Forestry. 2006. Forests, Carbon, and Climate Change - A Synthesis of Science Findings. Oregon Forest Resources Institute, Portland, Oregon. 182 pages.
- A book presenting a synthesis of the science findings on the relationships between forests, atmospheric carbon, and climate change.
- Leighty, W., S. Hamburg, and J. Caouette. 2006. Effects of Management on Carbon Sequestration in Forest Biomass in Southeast Alaska. Ecosystems 9:1051-1065.
- Research paper on Tongass carbon stocks, carbon flux, effects of future management regimes, and economic value of carbon sequestration.