waterloop’s Post

Check out a new paper led by Solomon Dobrowski that explores the growing backlog of reforestation needs driven by increasing high-severity wildfires in the western U.S. and emerging solutions to address it. Some highlights: 📉🔥 Over the past 2 decades, reforestation has fallen 1.5 million hectares behind fire-driven needs, and this gap is projected to grow 2-3x by 2050. 💸🤝 Scaling up reforestation will require significant new investment across the supply chain, public-private partnerships, and innovative approaches to build climate and fire resilience. 🌲🌎 Diversifying economic drivers, leveraging conservation finance, and promoting wildfire-resilient landscapes are essential steps to modernize the reforestation pipeline and enhance ecosystem resilience and climate mitigation goals .   https://lnkd.in/gjaSUuhc

Thorough new paper out on the western US States, incorporating the many cumulative challenges to seed and silvicltural needs ahead. I appreciate the thorough materials and methods, even when assumptions must be made. I think many of us would agree with the concept of strengthening regional seed coordination and planning hubs, using the “target plant concept” to spec more resilient planting stock, and expanding assisted migration trials to learn where we can and can’t push certain provenances any further. There’s plenty to do and enough purposeful work for anyone who likes the great outdoors!

Our paper on reforestation needs and capacity in the western US just published today. This deep dive into the supply and demand side of the reforestation supply chain attempts to address six questions: 1) What is the current backlog of potential reforestation needs driven by high-severity wildfire?; 2) How will increasing wildfire activity through the end of the century affect potential reforestation needs?; 3) What is our capacity to meet current and future reforestation needs?; 4) How can we scale the reforestation supply chain to meet current and future demands?; 5) What approaches to reforestation can promote forest resilience to climate change and wildfire?; and 6) Where are opportunities emerging from recent policy initiatives, innovative public-private partnerships, and natural capital markets for scaling reforestation? This project was a unique collaboration across multiple sectors including private industry (#Mast, #VibrantPlanet), Finance (#BlueForest), NGOs (#TNC), agencies (#USFS), and academia. https://lnkd.in/gUaPF7gb

An important piece of work with very useful data.

How restoring habitat protects people and wildlife - our latest report on nature-based solutions. Nature-based Solutions offer a unique opportunity to simultaneously address heightened climate risks and habitat loss by using a framework that values the benefits that intact ecosystems provide to human society. Our new report highlights the services that Nature-based Solutions can provide, namely, flood mitigation, stormwater management, and carbon sequestration, while discussing successes and challenges associated with their implementation across the Lower Mainland. Authors: Auston Chhor, Jessica Ruggles, and Kristen Walters.

Auston Chhor and I are really excited to see this one out in the world! Nature-based Solutions offer such a valuable and cost-effective approach for adapting to climate change. In cities, vegetation helps reduce the 'urban heat island effect'. Remember the 2021 heat dome that wreaked havoc on BC and cost 619 people their lives? Strikingly, proximity to green space was a key factor predicting the likelihood of fatality: the less greenery people had in their neighbourhoods, the more likely they were to succumb to heat. Our report analyzes Nature-based Solutions in Metro Vancouver and identifies gaps in their implementation and provides recommendations on how to address them. This includes greater training for NbS expertise in city planning departments & among decsion-makers. See below for more info! #climatechange #science #MetroVancouver

Our Chief Science Officer, Matthew Aghai, Bio R&D Specialist, Rebecca Downer, and Carbon Markets and Policy Specialist, Shaw Newman, collaborated with experts from nonprofits, universities, and government agencies to co-author a paper about the reforestation supply chain: “Mind the Gap—Reforestation needs vs. reforestation capacity in the western United States.” This paper discusses how forests in the western U.S. are being destroyed by wildfire, drought, and disease, and explores solutions for strengthening our climate resilience, ecosystem services, and local economies. This paper addresses key questions such as: 🌲 What is the current backlog of reforestation needs due to severe wildfires? 🌲 How will more wildfires impact future reforestation needs? 🌲 What is our capacity to meet reforestation needs now and in the future? 🌲 How can we scale the reforestation supply chain to meet demand? 🌲 What reforestation methods promote forest resilience to climate change and wildfires? 🌲 Where are the opportunities from recent policies, public-private partnerships, and natural capital markets? Read the full research paper: https://lnkd.in/g_fwBP-q #reforestation #wildfires #forestrestoration #forestresilience

Beyond the far-west railroad tracks in Newark, nearly 30 acres of Baylands called ‘Newark Area 4’ waits to be developed. Newark’s city council will soon be deciding whether to approve the Final Environmental Impact Report for a proposed housing development on the site called ‘Mowry Village’ and Save The Bay is urging a ‘No’ Vote. The Council’s approval of this document would mark the final public decision necessary to move forward with developing the parcel. Area 4 offers a rare opportunity for Newark to build its resilience to flooding if the property is conserved and restored to wetlands rather than developed. Restoring wetlands in the Bay Area provides cost-effective flood protection for nearby communities because wetlands absorb tidal energy and serve as natural buffers from flooding for nearby existing development. If Newark instead chooses to develop the part of Area 4 where the Mowry Village project is proposed, the City will be embarking on maladaptation because it will be adding to the problems and costs of climate change by putting more development in harm’s way. Sign the petition to let Newark City Council you oppose Mowry Village development and support restoring Newark Baylands for climate resilience:

...'The #first-of-its-#kind #plan — part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s #California #Climate Commitment #geared toward #helping the #state reach #carbonneutrality by 2045 — #includes #81targets that will help harness the power of millions of #acres across the Golden State. “We’re setting aggressive and ambitious new targets to use California’s #lands to fight the #climatecrisis,” Newsom said in a statement. “This #scale of #action is #unprecedented, and yet another example of California punching above its weight. From #restoring and #conserving lands to #greening our #urban #spaces and #treating more acres to #prevent #wildfires, we’re #protecting #nature and #allowing it to #work for our #communities.” To get there, the state seeks to conduct 1.5 million acres of #wildfirerisk #reduction #activity per year by 2030; 2 million acres per year by 2038, and 2.5 million acres per year by 2045, most of which will be applied to #forests, #shrublands, #chaparral and #grasslands, which together comprise about 67% of the state. (By comparison, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) completed about 105,000 acres of #fueltreatment, including 36,000 acres of #prescribed #burns during the 2023 fiscal year, according to agency #data. The U.S. Forest Service- Tahoe National Forest completed about 312,000 acres of combined treatment and burns). The plan also calls for 11.9 million acres of #forestland to be managed for biodiversity protection, carbon storage and water supply protection by 2045, and 2.7 million acres of shrublands and chaparral to be #managed for #carbonstorage, #resilience and #habitat #connectivity, among other efforts. “We’ve had a really strong #environmentalconservation #movement in California, and we’re clearly strong on #climateaction, but we haven’t #integrated nature into our #climateagenda,” said Wade Crowfoot, California’s natural #resources secretary. “And so this is really the next #tangible step to do that.” #intergenerational #intercultural #intersectoral #education #placebased #bioregional #treaty #partnership #onehealth #naturefirst #resilientcommunities #regenerative #wellbeing #sdgs #naturalheritage #culturalheritage #safe #cool #H20 #airshed #watershed #food #soil #landuse #medicine #NbD #publichealth #inclusive #planning #adaptable #accessible #biodiverse #qli #healthcare #preventative #investment #AQ https://lnkd.in/gtq7wDsR

Sometimes an article is published at the right time in the right way, and I found this article led by Solomon Dobrowski and Matthew Aghai to be just that! They specifically outlined how an estimated 2.4 million ha of potential reforestation need (outside of national parks and wilderness areas) has been created by high-severity wildfires from 1984-2021. A key message that resonates with me was the mismatch of post-fire seedling needs in the Rockies vs. the post-fire capacity (seedling production) in the Northwest. We need to figure out how to grow more seedlings in the right places! Another well-written and impactful section in this article revolved around conservation finance and the development of Forest Resilience Bonds (Blue Forest, Phil Saksa) to fund reforestation projects within the first few years after a wildfire. These avenues of finance will make our efforts more sustainable and enhance seedling survivorship while improving water quality and energy efficiency. I'm proud to be part of an organization that plays a role in the reforestation movement that uses proper science and management practices outlined in this article! American Forests https://lnkd.in/eV7te6mu