Caring about forests, parks, and trails has led CFPA to work on several special reports and topics, such as forests & climate change, protecting public lands, recreational liability, the economic benefits of outdoor recreation, trees and power, and much more. Learn more below.

Forests & Climate Change

CFPA led two major efforts in 2020 and 2021 to conserve forests as forests for the future as part of the Governor’s Council on Climate Change (GC3). The consensus reports and resources that support their various recommendations follow.

 

GC3 Forests Subgroup Report

CFPA chaired the Forests Subgroup that published its report to the Governor’s Council on Climate Change (GC3) in November, 2020 after receiving over 130 public comments as well as feedback from other GC3 sub-groups and working groups.

View the Forests Sub-Group Final Report to the GC3 HERE

This resource page was set-up for the Forests Sub-Group and the public with links to several important publications on Forests & Climate.

If you have questions or comments about this report, please email CFPA’s Executive Director, Eric Hammerling, who chaired the Forests Sub-Group.

PRFCT Future - Resilient Forests Report

CFPA chaired the Policy on Resilient Forests for Connecticut’s Future (PRFCT Future) Working Group to make recommendations to the CT Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) related to the ongoing and future resiliency of Connecticut’s forests. Working Group members represented a variety of organizations that have a direct interest in public policies that would lead to increased forest resiliency.

PRFCT Future Final Report Accepted by DEEP on 1.11.22

Resources on Forest Resiliency and Climate

Following are some of the key resources used in the GC3 Forests Report and the PRFCT Future Report:

Recent Connecticut reports related to forest resiliency

Links to additional materials for PRFCT Forest Working Group

Other State Examples:

Articles/Publications of Interest

GC3 Forests Subgroup Report Resources

The 2020 GC3 Forests Subgroup Report recommendations are based upon information drawn from the following publications contributed by Subgroup members and others (organized with the most recent information at the top, and the oldest at the bottom):

American-Forests Magazine Tree Equity Issue 2.11.20

Forest-Carbon-Booklet UMass UVM 2020

Importance of Forests in New York Products Bioeconomy Climate SUNY ESF 2020

Carbon and Conservation on MassWidlife Forest Lands 2019

Exemplary Forestry-NEFF overview-Feb2019

NEFF Landowner Communication Resources 2020

Buildings as a Global Carbon Sink Churkina 2020

Forests – Carbon Sequestration Biomass Energy or Both Favero 2020

Forest Management for Carbon Sequestration Climate Adaptation Ontl 2020

Disturbance-based silviculture for habitat diversity Thom 2020

Forest policy and management approaches for CO2 removal vonHedemann 2020

Use of Forest Products to Reduce Carbon Emissions Lippke 2019

Land use and forest management effects on soil carbon MD and eastern US Nave 2019

Proforestation to Mitigate Climate Change Moomaw 2019

Biomass loss and potential value of urban tree waste in US Nowak 2019

Disturbance in Southern NE forests Santoro 2019

Methane production and emissions in forests Covey 2018

Forest Aging Disturbance and the Carbon Cycle Curtis and Gough 2018

Forests in Second State of the Carbon Cycle Report Domke 2018

Tree diversity in eastern national parks Miller 2018

Exposure of Protected and Unprotected Forest to Plant Invasions Riitters 2018

Impact of woolly adelgid and presalvage harvest on carbon Krebs 2017

Soil Carbon feedback to climate system Melillo 2017

Red pine changes in managed and unmanaged conditions Young 2017

Forest protection and forest fire in western US Bradley 2016

Carbon Balance Management by Disturbance Type in US Harris 2016

Forest structure in older forests in national parks Miller 2016

Forest Cover and New England Cottontail Buffum 2015

Carbon storage in old growth forests in mid atlantic McGarvey 2015

GC3 Recommendations for Forests and Carbon Sequestration Silver 2015

Carbon Fossil Fuel and Biodiversity Mitigation with Wood and Forests Oliver 2014

Rate of tree carbon accumulation increases with tree size Stephenson 2014

Birds in managed and wild hemiboreal forests Zlonis 2014

Ecological Integrity in Urban Forests Ordóñez 2012

Assessing ecosystem health Rapport 2012

Forest Mgt for Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change Silviculture D’Amato 2011

Late-Successional Biomass Development in Northern Hardwood-Conifer Forests Keeton 2011

Synthesis of current knowledge on forests and carbon storage McKinley 2011

Forest Health an integrated perspective Teale and Castello 2011

Influence of Land Use and Climate Change on Forest Biomass Thompson 2011

Forest Carbon Storage Ecology Mgt and Policy Fahey 2010

Air Quality Effects of Urban Trees and Parks Nowak 2010

Synthesis of Science on Forests and Carbon Ryan 2010

Forest Carbon Storage in the Northeastern US Nunery and Keeton 2009

Controls on Forest Carbon Storage Past Lessons and Predictions Gough 2008

 What is a healthy forest Warren 2007

Preemptive salvage harvests in NE forests vs doing nothing Foster 2006

Illusion of Preservation Argument for local production of natural resources Berlik Kittredge Foster 2002

Carbon Storage and Sequestration by Urban Trees Nowak and Crane 2001

Tree Species Selection Design and Management to Improve Air Quality Nowak 2000