Climate Change, what are we missing? by Pacific Forest Trust

Climate Change: what are we

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Climate Change

p.4 Looking for a KlamathCascade adventure?

What are we Missing?

Yosemite is home to over 1800 species, 141 of them threatened or endangered.

Take flight with PFT supporter Peter Stent. 2

p.12 Love Yosemite? Then you’ll love this news!

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Outdoor recreation is increasing in the KlamathCascade year after year. Hiking is one of the most popular activities, often paired with birdwatching, camping and fishing.

The Sacramento River watershed alone accounts for nearly one-third of California’s total runoff. That’s enough water to cover the entire state of Indiana under a foot of water!

33 million tons: Thats how much carbon California’s forests sequester every year. Thats enough to offset the yearly C02 emissions of over 6.8 million cars

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The original green-tech solution to climate change.

Every acre of forest lost emits 294 tons of CO2—equal to one 638,000mile road trip. When you drink water, remember the spring. –Chinese Proverb

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Co-CEO’s Letter SPRING FORWARD BOARD OF DIRECTORS Andrea E. Tuttle, Ph.D., Chair Timothy B. Pirrung, Vice Chair Don Koch, Secretary O.H. Perry Lloyd, Treasurer Laurie A. Wayburn, Co-founder, Co-CEO & President Constance Best, Co-founder & Co-CEO Linda S. Adams Ken Jennings, Ph.D. Kirk Marckwald Russell Shay Steve Quarles, J.D. Julie Weisman, J.D. Dean Urban, Ph.D. Jerry Franklin Ph.D. STAFF Laurie A. Wayburn, President & Co-CEO Constance Best, Co-CEO Paul Mason, Vice President, Policy and Incentives Kim Kowalski, Director of Communications Megan Wargo, Conservation Director Linda Coffee, Development Manager Gena Smith, Executive Coordinator Hanna Oakes, Development Associate Patrick Doherty, Policy Analyst Alexander Kinn, Communications Coordinator Bill Wilkinson, Senior Forester Ivy Kostick, Stewardship Manager Jolanta Zakrzewski, Senior Accountant The Pacific Forest Trust’s mission is to sustain America’s forests for all their public benefits of wood, water, wildlife and people’s well being, in cooperation with private landowners and communities. ©2013 The Pacific Forest Trust. All rights reserved. Reproduction permitted with attribution. STAY CURRENT WITH PFT’S NEWS: WWW.PACIFICFOREST.ORG/NEWS.HTML

The thrushes are singing their lusty, fluid songs. The wildflowers are pushing up through still-damp and cold soil. Salmon are surging upstream in their amazing return to natal headwaters. Along with them, Pacific Forest Trust springing forward into our next 20 years of innovation and partnerships dedicated to conserving the wood, water, wildlife and wonder that forests bring us. Pacific Forest Trust in an entrepreneurial organization, a brain-child of two people What matters with complementary accomplishments most to you? in the public and private sectors, and You’ve helped to build this a shared vision of the critical need to organization, now help us sustain the forests that sustain us. As a get started on the next big twenty-something when I created Amerthing. ica’s first natural soda, I learned that in a new venture fresh, compelling ideas are Answer our quick and conessential; but nothing is accomplished fidential survey here: without aligning and leveraging the rebit.ly/PFTSurvey2013 sources of many. PFT is effective because of the collaborations of thousands of Your ideas will help PFT forest owners, public agencies, donors, and the forests we co-workers, Board and more. You have conserve grow resilient. made this enterprise your Pacific Forest Trust— and enabled us to create major new incentives for stewardship, protect vast landscapes, and connect more people to the wonders of forests. Our world is experiencing sweeping changes in global climate, politics and economies. The life-giving role of forests is more important than ever – not only for local communities but also for distant cities whose water, shelter and natural inspiration flow from well-managed forests. Everyone depends on forests: whether you are quenching your thirst in San Diego thanks to the pristine waters of forested Mt. Shasta—or you’re traveling from San Francisco to hike the Pacific Crest Trail across conserved private forestland – or your business is reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by purchasing the highest quality offsets from a forest managed to permanently store more carbon, more quickly. Amidst this sweeping change, Pacific Forest Trust is leveraging our work together and imagining what else is possible to make an even greater impact for forests in the next decade. We need your bright minds and entrepreneurial spirit to set our sights on the next ridge—and spark the next big idea for forests and forest economies. So tell us: what’s important to you?

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Get Out and Play!

Generations of Californians have camped in the region’s five million acres of public lands, made up of six major National Forests. Part of the California Floristic Province, the KC is home to over 600 species, and offers a veritable winged kaleidoscope for bird lovers. With so much to do and see, not many stop to think about how much the good life in the KC depends upon its private working forests. So grab your gear, because we’re about to explore the many ways that working forests help us get out and play.

Room for a view

PURE MOUNTAIN AIR, DEEP GREEN FORESTS, WILDFLOWER-COVERED MEADOWS, FRESH SPRING WATER, AND CRYSTAL CLEAR LAKES AND STREAMS—THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE THINGS WE LOVE ABOUT THE OUTDOORS. IN CALIFORNIA, GETTING OUTSIDE IS BIG BUSINESS— A 46 BILLION-DOLLAR BUSINESS. Millions of us set out year round to hike, bike, climb, ski, fish, swim, raft, camp, hunt, stargaze, and more. In the Klamath-Cascade (KC) region, which crowns the northernmost portion of the sate, recreation-related industries are the third largest employer. Shasta County predicts recreation as the principal economic activity in its 2011-2035 economic forecast. Why is the KC so popular? Whether on water or land, by foot or on wheels, scaling glaciers or stalking prey, there truly is something for everyone in this Mecca of breathtaking natural beauty. Mount Shasta Wilderness and Castle Crags State Parks welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world each year. Lassen National Park, which boasts all four types of volcanoes found in the world, was voted one of the world’s Top-12 destinations by Frommer’s.

We’ve all experienced it: hearts pounding, we reach a peak at last, and the reward is a breathtaking view. Or: driving up highway 89, the center of the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway, eyes are drawn to Mount Shasta’s grandeur. Thanks to private working forests, these scenes are more idyllic than looking upon subdivisions and big box stores. When PFT partners with

The KC’s private forests make the region more fun.

a willing landowner to conserve their forest lands, we balance wild and working. We harmonize landscapes between parks and timberland allowing for more continuous and expansive scenic corridors and the feeling of being surrounded by nature.

The life aquatic Well-tended working forests help keep watersheds pristine and productive. The Sacramento, Trinity, Feather, Klamath, and Pitt Rivers offer varied and spectacular river recreation—including world-class fly-fishing on the McCloud. Many private lands allow river access. Thunderous McCloud Middle Falls, for example, can be seen from the conserved Bascom working forest. Adequate forest cover protects water quality and helps regulate water flows, so kayaking the whitewater is just as satisfying as a quiet day of casting.

A walk (or ride) in the woods The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), one of the country’s most popular through-trails, covers more than 400 miles in the Region, and traverses private working forests (instead of parking lots) along the way. Working forests connect the PCT and hundreds more trails to National Forests and Parks. And to keep boots on the path, PFT’s working forest conservation easements allow non-motorized daytime access to thousands of acres of forest. But some landowners go even further for public safety and enjoyment:

Left to right: A walk on the woods; Mt. Shasta from the Marble Mountain Wilderness Area; According to KC Council member Phil Dietrich “for easy access, great scenery, and good fishing, it’s hard to beat Lake Siskiyou”; Cycling the logging roads near McCloud; Stir your inner Julie Andrew in this meadow while gazing at Lassen Peak; Rich Klug takes in some turkey hunting in the east hills of Redding. Below: Climbing at Castle Crags

The Mt. Shasta Trail Association is partnering with Roseburg Forest Products (and representative Arne Hultgren) to build a yet-to-be-funded mountain bike trail several miles long on Roseburg property. It’s envisioned as a “big drop” ride that connects Dunsmuir and the trail systems outside of Mt. Shasta. “What really matters”, professes KC Council member, photographer, and

of them stewards of these lands—are seeing the changes with every new season. But working forest conservation easements help people and wildlife adapt to climate change by creating vital connections between landscapes. The added bonus? More spectacular views, longer trails, better fishing and a whole lot more fun. So go ahead, explore the KC. The more fun you have outdoors, the more you’ll love the five million acres of private forests in the Klamath-Cascade that help make it possible.

©CREATIVE COMMONS

avid recreationalist Mike Hupp, “is the willingness of Roseburg Forest Products to partner with the Trail Association on this project. It’s partnerships that make this stuff work in an era of austerity”.

Pretty is as pretty does Spectacular beauty and endless outdoor playgrounds are also the reason private forests in the KC are under real threat of conversion by residential and associated development. Conversion threatens our fish and wildlife and their habitats, our forests, our water, and even people. Loss of private forests can mean loss of life and property due to wildfires, not to mention decreased production of timberland and a slowed economy. And perhaps most insidious are the consequences of climate change. Athletes, outdoorsmen, hunters, and fisherman—most © MATT BELL

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“ To see what is in front of

one’s nose needs a constant struggle.” —George Orwell

ALI WADE

In our fast-paced world, the solutions to climate change that receive the most attention—and the most funding— are technology driven. California’s governor wants to invest billions of dollars towards programs like high-speed rail, solar expansion and geo-engineering. But in the process, we may be losing sight of some of the simplest, most-efficient, proven, and most-obvious CO2 reducing technology around: Forests. Just as forests balance the carbon they take in with the oxygen they give out, we need to find the right balance of climate investments to effectively reduce greenhouse gases. CO2 pollution in our atmosphere has many sources, from forest loss to fossil fuel burning. Forest loss and degradation is in fact our second largest source of CO2 emissions, contributing over a third of all emissions. California is no exception, having lost almost 40% of its forests to cities, agriculture, roads and sprawl. Forests are Nature’s carbon banks, depositing CO2 from the air into the carbon in trees and soils that hold it safe for millennia. And, like other banks, the longer the deposit is held, the greater the wealth accumulated. It is simple, effective, and strangely overlooked. California stands out in its leadership to address the root causes of climate change, both through regulating emissions and through making serious investments in reforming how we manage our “CO2 diet”. We know we need to emit less and sequester more. But virtually all of the state’s focus has been on technological solutions to climate change, planning significant, systemic investments in new forms of transportation and energy—even recognizing these will take decades to implement. Paradoxically, we’ve overlooked developing similar strategies to deploy the simple, powerful tools our forests offer.

of tons of CO2 have been emitted from the massive liquidation of California’s old growth forests from the 1800s through the 1960s and their subsequent conversion to other uses. With the “cycling” time of carbon in the thousands of years, those emissions are still in the atmosphere. But forests are unique among the major emissions sectors. Unlike power generation or transportation, forests can “repay” their own carbon debt through reabsorbing those CO2 emissions, if we make the right investments.

Stumps like the one shown below were common as far as they eye could see in early California. By 1853, nine sawmills were at work in Eureka, and large-scale logging was soon underway. The once immense stands of redwoods began to disappear by the close of the 19th century, and by the 1960s, logging had consumed nearly 90 percent of all the original redwoods.

Reducing CO2 with AB32 California has a unique challenge presented by the fee revenues from the pollution allowance auctions under AB32. We must use that revenue to develop and implement strategies that reduce net CO2 levels. We need an investment strategy for forests if we are ever to reach our goals under AB32. Even if we magically stopped all emissions from fossil fuels today, we could not reach that goal without making changes in how we manage our forests. Billions COURTESY: SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, HUMBOLDT UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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Making working forests work for climate change There are three things we must do to enable forests to work for us, rather than against us, in climate change. We need to: Reduce forest loss by conserving our existing forest land base; Restore these forests to more natural levels of carbon stocks and sequestration; Reforest former forests where possible, such as along riparian areas in many of our agricultural fields. These three “Rs” form the foundation of climate friendly forestry.

Reduce: Conserving our forestland base and letting it work for us to combat climate change is the foundation of any effective climate strategy. On average over the past several decades, California emitted about 5.5 million tons a year of emissions from forest loss—all the small developments across the state aggregated together add up to a lot. Reducing forest loss to sprawling development could reduce emissions by millions of tons of CO2 annually—and add to future sequestration as well.

Restore: Today, CalFIRE estimates that the state has over five billion tons of CO2 sequestered just in the live trees of its forests. That may seem like a lot, but California’s forests now hold a tenth to half of the carbon stocks that they naturally can hold, and did hold, just 150 years ago. Our forests are actually quite young in the natural scheme of things. Carbon stocks increase with forest age. Changing forest management to increase the average age of these forests by just 10-20 years would lead to increases of tens of millions of tons of additional

carbon being stored. But leaving forests to grow longer takes time, and time is money. It won’t happen by itself.

Reforest: Finally, there are a few hundred thousand acres of former forest in California that need reforestation, as well as many cities that could use more trees. Reforestation could yield hundreds of thousands tons of CO2 reductions. (And, trees in cities greatly reduce energy usage for cooling, which is an additional benefit.)

Ideas into action How might this actually play out? Let’s take the example of the 10 million acre region that constitutes California’s primary watershed—the Klamath-Cascade (KC) Region. This forest area is some of the most productive in the world. Trees here grow fast, live long and get large when they have time. The KC provides 80-85% of the water for the San Francisco Bay, over 60% of the water to both the federal and state water projects, and drinking water for 25 million residents. And, the region has perhaps the most critical wildlife adaptation corridors for California. But over half of the area is privately owned, and forestry is no longer the competitive use of land that it was decades ago. These forests must earn their keep for private landowners if they are to remain so. Many of these owners would like to stay in forestry, but need help in paying the carrying costs of their land, and in managing it for increased climate benefit. Working forest conservation easements (WFCEs), which cost a fraction of the full cost of the land, provide an elegant mechanism for doing this. There is a ready pipeline of these projects, covering hundreds of thousands of acres in the region.

In a pilot demonstration of this approach, a 9400 acre conserved, well-managed forest on the McCloud River, an additional 143 tons of CO2 were stored per acre in just 40 years. (See illustration at right) This one example is highly expandable. Currently, PFT has an agreement with the Hancock Timber Resources Group to conserve under a WFCE about 23,000 acres (or 28 square miles) in the same area of McCloud. Implementing these measures across the Klamath-Cascade landscape might cost up to $3 billion, and yield well in excess of 22 million tons of CO2 by 2020. It would also safeguard our water, wildlife and rural wealth. How does this compare to benefits from other sectors? The Scoping Plan for AB 32 estimates energy efficiency measures would cost $3.4 billion and mitigate 16.7 MTCO2e by 2020. Setting our sights on the goals we need to reach by 2020 and 2050 helps us see that forests are a natural part of the portfolio of essential, strategic investments we must make to address climate change effectively. Sound like a simple solution? It can be, if we let ourselves see it. Conserving Working Forests for Climate? Don’t forget these fringe benefits: Not only do the Klamath-Cascade’s working forests have tremendous capacity to help balance the C02 equation, they provide pathways for animals between fragmented landscapes, myriad recreation opportunities, lumber and wood products, and water for 25 million Californians.

CALIFORNIA CLIMATE 2013 POLICY AT-A-GLANCE: FOREST EDITION PFT is working with policy-makers and stakeholders to reduce greenhouse gas emissions & provide sustainable, renewable, low carbon energy through forests, and in the process help to implement the following laws and policies: AB 32: This landmark legislation passed in 2006 set programs in motion to reduce California’s greenhouse gas emissions to a thirty-year low (1990 levels by 2020, and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050). The revenues generated by the auction of pollution allowances under AB32 (each allowance equals one ton of CO2 emitted) must be invested in actions that reduce greenhouse gases—like forest conservation and restoration. Auction revenues are projected to yield over 50 billion dollars by 2020. SB 1122 promotes electrical generation from small-scale facilities that use renewable biomass feedstocks. For the first time, this includes waste residues from sustainable forest management. (See ForestLife Spring 2012) Under this program, California utilities will be required to purchase electricity from qualifying facilities that begin operations on or after June 1, 2013. The Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) will generate millions for investment in renewable energy research, development, and the demonstration of cuttingedge technologies. In the forest sector, this includes planning and analysis of sustainability as part of implementation. The Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) program requires electricity providers to increase their use of renewable energy (including forest biomass) to 33% of total procurement by 2020.

MANAGING WORKING FOREST TO OPTIMIZE CLIMATE BENEFITS Carbon stores at time of timber harvest to optimize climate benefits.

VOLUME

Such projects safeguard the forest base, provide for restoration and reforestation, and yield a new source of sustainable, renewable energy. Climate investments here would bring immediate, cost-effective and significant CO2 reductions, with increasing benefits over time.

Revenue from carbon market buys time to allow trees to grow older and store more carbon. Carbon stores at time of “business as usual” timber harvest dictated by current market forces. TIME Generalized forest carbon stores over time for U.S. forests

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Consider the Source

WITH GLACIERS DISAPPEARING AND SNOWPACK DECREASING, THE OLD ADAGE “WHISKEY’S FOR DRINKIN’, WATER’S FOR FIGHTIN’” IS HOLDING TRUE AS FACTIONS SQUARE OFF OVER INVESTING IN THE STATE’S WATER RESOURCES. From the Governor’s contentious proposal to spend billions to build two 35-mile tunnels to route water from the Sacramento river around the delta to points south, to the expected rewrite of the proposed $11 billion water bond, Sacramento is gearing up for another fight about water policy and investments. When talking about meeting California’s water needs for the coming generation, many people immediately focus on our built infrastructure: dams, levees and tunnels for storing and moving water. While there is certainly need to repair and replace portions of our water supply’s built infrastructure, it is equally important that we invest in the essential natural infrastructure that is the source of most of the state’s water: the forested watersheds of Northern California. Ensuring that our key watersheds are conserved and well managed is the cornerstone to long-term, cost-effective water security. Forested watersheds act as natural sponges, collecting water and snowpack and metering it out over the course of the year. Forests offer cost-effective alternatives to expensive solutions like desalinization—which some studies have estimated could reach $2,500 an acre-foot—and boast significant fringe benefits in sequestering carbon and providing economic drivers for rural communities. Unfortunately, our forested watersheds are facing myriad threats from ongoing fragmentation and conversion pressures

With 75% of the state’s water originating in the north, and 80% of the demand in the south, green solutions for water are more important than ever. Protecting these sources remains key in protecting water long-term. Pictured: Mossbrae Falls.

as landowners respond to financial forces and develop homes and vineyards in former forestlands. Climate change itself, on top of a history of fire-suppression and intensive management which have led to unnaturally dense forest conditions, also threaten these watersheds’ health and function. Beyond these threats to individual watersheds, much of California’s snowpack is decreasing as the world warms, with the effects most pronounced in the southern Sierra. Indeed, California’s Department of Water Resources projects that the timing of snowmelt runoff will shift much earlier so that rivers and streams run dry much earlier in the year. Fortunately these effects will be less extreme in the northern part of the state, which is one reason why PFT is focused on landscape-scale conservation in the Klamath-Cascade region. In fact, Mount Shasta is the only place in California where the glaciers are actually increasing in size, due to its location and increased precipitation on the 14,000’ mountain. The Klamath-Cascade is the source of the Sacramento and Feather Rivers, the two primary sources for California’s entire water system. Repairing our dams, canals and levees, increasing irrigation efficiencies and reusing groundwater are all necessary steps to help ensure delivery of water to meet California’s need. But if we don’t safeguard that water’s source, we won’t have the water to deliver…or fight about! We need to invest today to prevent conversion and ensure they are managed for resilient forest conditions. Protecting key watersheds with working forest conservation easements is perhaps the most costeffective way to guarantee forests for the future.

Giving takes Flight LENDING PFT A BIRDS-EYE VIEW OF THE KLAMATH-CASCADE. By Peter Stent Aldo Leopold, the great Conservation-Ethicist of the 20th century, wrote: “At what point will governmental conservation, like the mastodon, become handicapped by its own dimensions? The answer, if there is any, seems to be in a land ethic, or some other force which assigns more obligation to the private landowner”. Leopold’s words from his 1949 “Land Ethic” ring even more truly today. PFT’s Klamath-Cascade (KC) project is an undertaking of mammoth proportion. Its scale, scope and interconnectedness are unprecedented in the West, requiring the commitment and cooperation of the public sector and the numerous private landowners. This project is not just about trees and forests. It is about all the natural resources found in these forest lands including the soils, waters and all forms of wildlife. The immense scale of the KC (about 10 million acres) makes it next to impossible and impractical for agency folks, private landowners, other NGOs and philanthropists to adequately experience this vast region by doing ground tours alone. It would literally take weeks of touring to really grasp the scale and scope. Even then the real interconnectedness of all the parts would be hard to imagine. When Laurie first told me about the KC Project, I immediately offered the services of my plane because I thought that the “birds-eye” view was the only way for interested parties to truly grasp the immensity of PFT’s undertaking. All the maps, photos, drawings, discussion groups and multiple ground tours, do not efficiently or effectively portray the landscape scale nature of the project. PFT is engaging both the public and private sector in a cooperative venture that will provide lasting benefits in perpetuity. I am happy to contribute in a “birds” way to make this project a success.

PFT is grateful to Mr. Stent and his unique gift of helping others see our work from a new perspective. Photos (courtesy P. Stent) from top to bottom: Peter Stent with pilot Alberto Rossi; Forest before restoration: A forest owner himself, Peter has restored streams, wetlands and forests guided by Leopoldian principles and using the best science and research available. Bottom: The same forest, after bush and dead-fall removal.

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G R O W

R E S I L I E N T

THE PRESIDIO

1001-A O’Reilly Avenue San Francisco, CA 94129 www.pacificforest.org

Adding 1,575 Acres to Yosemite National Park Gains Momentum SENATOR FEINSTEIN, SENATOR BOXER, AND REPRESENTATIVE COSTA WORK TO RECLAIM JOHN MUIR’S ORIGINAL VISION. John Muir had it right when he envisioned a Yosemite that encompassed the majestic cliffs of Ransome Ranch, the wet meadows of the Sparling property, and the headwaters of Indian and Zip creeks. But due to commercial interests at the time, these lands were removed from the Park’s original boundary, leaving the proverbial “hole in the donut” between protected landscapes. Now, nearly 100 years later, Congress is poised to complete Muir’s vision, protecting Yosemite’s vulnerable western border from costly development, and ensuring a beloved national treasure for all generations of Americans. S. 781 introduced by Sen. Feinstein (DCa.) Sen. Boxer and HR1677 introduced by Rep Costa (D-Ca), if enacted, can make this historic addition to Yosemite National Park a reality. Home to Great gray owls, Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep and 1,800 other plant and animal species, the

Yosemite Boundary Line Adjustment (BLA) will secure an important wildlife corridor, connecting the park to the adjacent Sierra National Forest. If you want to see Muir’s Yosemite completed in time for the Park’s 100th

anniversary—a Yosemite protected against fire, a Yosemite with habitats for all its inhabitants—now is the time to be heard. Offer your voice of support to your Senators, or tweet us: @PacificForest.