CHESAPEAKE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL UNVEILS NATION'S FIRST REPORT ON THE STATE OF CHESAPEAKE FORESTS

NEWS RELEASE
USDA Forest Service
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
11 Campus Boulevard, Suite 200, Newtown Spuare PA 19073
Phone: 610-557-4103; Fax: 610-557-4011;
Web Site:http://www.na.fs.fed.us/

Newtown Square, Pa. – The USDA Forest Service’s Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry and its partners released a ground-breaking report today on the health of the forests within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The State of Chesapeake Forests report is the first of its kind, summarizing more than a decade’s worth of data from public and private sources. It is a result of a collaborative effort of NA and The Conservation Fund. It is being released by the Chesapeake Executive Council, which includes representatives from Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., the Chesapeake Bay Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The report also highlights current forest conditions, forecasts future trends, and outlines key goals and strategies necessary to conserve and restore the forests surrounding America's largest estuary.

In addition to releasing the report, the Chesapeake Executive Council signed a joint directive committing all partners to “developing a collective goal to be adopted by the Executive Council in 2007, for conserving those forest lands in the Bay watershed where conservation to protect water quality is most needed.” The directive was signed by the governors of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, the head of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, and the Administrator of the EPA, representing all federal agencies involved in the project.

“We are quite proud to be a partner in developing this report and helping to ensure forests play their special role in protecting water resources,” said Kathryn Maloney, Director of the USDA Forest Service Northeastern Area. “Private landowners hold nearly 80% of all the forest land in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. These private forests provide enormous public benefits to all area residents. This report quantifies those benefits and outlines strategies for conserving forests and their benefits for the future.”

“With the loss of approximately 750,000 acres – equivalent to 20 Washington D.C.'s – to development within the last 25 years, the forests of the Chesapeake Bay are at a crossroads," said The Conservation Fund's president, Larry Selzer. "The protection of the region's forestland is one of the most important conservation efforts of our time, as it directly impacts the health of the Chesapeake Bay – its water quality, its ability to enhance local economies and its provision of wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation.”

According to the report, the watershed loses 100 acres of forestland every day. If current trends continue, an additional 9.5 million acres of Chesapeake forests will be threatened by conversion to residential development by 2030. These forests filter drinking water for 75% of the watershed's residents-more than 11 million people. At the same time, Chesapeake forests contribute $22 billion annually to local economies.

The report also states that forests do more to protect the Bay's water quality than any other type of land cover, as they act as natural filters and decrease the occurrence of the Bay's two primary pollutants, nitrogen and phosphorus.

The report indicates that Chesapeake forests lack regionally coordinated forestland conservation, restoration and stewardship plans, making them more vulnerable to fragmentation, haphazard development and invasive species, as well as less likely to be well managed.

The number of private forest owners in the Bay watershed has reached 900,000, an increase of 25% within the previous decade. More than 70% of the owners are 55 or older, resulting in what will soon be the largest-ever intergenerational shift in forestland ownership.

To help address these changes, the report calls for a strategic, long-term approach to conservation that identifies and focuses on forests with the highest environmental, economic and social values. It also calls on public and private partners to help preserve the health of the Chesapeake Bay and its residents through a concerted effort to protect Chesapeake forests.

The Chesapeake Bay is one of the nation's most productive and vibrant resources. Its watershed spans nearly 65,000 square miles, and includes six states, the District of Columbia, and millions of acres from Cooperstown, N.Y., and the Pennsylvania Wilds to Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains and the shores of the Delmarva Peninsula. It contains some of the most intact hardwood forestland remaining in the temperate world.

The US Forest Service Northeastern Area serves state forestry agencies and nearly five million private forest landowners in the 20 Northeast and Midwestern states and Washington D.C., providing technical forest management information and financial support.