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Thursday, 2:00pm

Over the last several years, diverse groups at the national, regional and local level have been developing restoration principles as a means of finding common ground to guide sound ecological restoration policy and projects. Conservation groups and forest ecologists with input from community forestry groups developed national forest restoration principles to lay out a vision and specific principles and criteria to restore forest ecosystems.  Similar efforts have been done on a state level in New Mexico and Montana with diverse partners finding agreement around forest restoration that also looks at the economic and social implications of restoration.  Principles are also being created locally by collaborative groups as a guide for implementing restoration projects. Panelists will talk about the development of national, state, and local restoration principles and discuss how principles can be useful in developing restoration policy and projects, as well as their benefits and limits.

Speakers

• Nils Christoffersen, Executive Director, Wallowa Resources
  Development and use of local level principles to guide implementation of local projects
• Marnie Criley, Restoration Coordinator, Wildlands CPR
  Development and use of state level principles to accelerate landscape scale restoration
• Todd Schulke, Forest Policy Analyst, Center for Biological Diversity
  Using principles to guide landscape planning and assessment
• Randi Spivak, Executive Director, American Lands
  Development and use of national principles for affecting restoration policy

Moderator

Anne Martin, National Field Director, American Lands Alliance

Recommended Readings

A Citizen's Call for Ecological Forest Restoration: Forest Restoration Principles and Criteria was developed in 2003 by the American Lands Alliance through a collaborative process. These principles are designed to inform national policy that will support ecologically driven forest restoration.

Ecological Restoration of Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Ecosystems: A Broad Perspective has been used to guide the development of landscape scale restoration in the Southwest United States. A diverse group of scientist and stakeholders developed this paper.

Restoring Montana's National Forest Lands: Guiding Principles and Recommended Implementation is an example of restoration principles developed by a diverse group of stakeholders to support a collective vision of ecologically appropriate, scientifically supported forest restoration.

Stewardship Principles of the Upper Joseph Creek Watershed.  At the beginning of the Upper Joseph Creek Watershed assessment, the Wallowa County Natural Resources advisory committee developed the following principles to guide the collaborative planning process.

For more information about the following links: Todd Schulke, tschulke@biologicaldiversity.org, 575.574.5962, biologicaldiversity.org

Restoration Principles, Strategic Plans, and Landscape Assessments:
Scientific Journals
Allen et al.  Ecological Restoration of Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Ecosystems: A Broad Perspective. Ecological Applications.  The Ecological Society of America.  12.5 (2002)

National Principles and Plans
A Citizen's Call for Ecological Forest Restoration: Forest Restoration Principles and Criteria

Learn more about Enlibra a set of principles for preserving land, air and water

A Collaborative Approach for Reducing Wildland Fire Risks to Communities and the Environment: 10-Year Comprehensive Strategy. Western Governor’s Association, USDI and USDA. 2001. 

A Collaborative Approach for Reducing Wildland Fire Risks to Communities and the Environment: 10-Year Strategy Implementation Plan. USDI and USDA. December 2006.

Statewide Principles and Plans
ARIZONA
Governor’s Forest Health Councils, State of Arizona. June 2007. The Statewide Strategy for Restoring Arizona’s Forests. Aumack, E., T. Sisk, and J. Palumbo, editors. Published by Arizona Public Service, Phoenix, AZ.

Guiding Principles for Forest Ecosystem Restoration and Community Protection. Arizona Forest Health Advisory Council.  September 2003.

Guiding Principles for A New Economy Based on Forest Restoration. Restoration Economy Subcommittee of the Arizona Forest Health Advisory and Oversight Councils.  Draft July 2004.

Preamble of the Guiding Principles for Forest Ecosystem Restoration and Community Protection: Wildlife Habitat. Draft 2008.

Forest Ecosystem Restoration Analysis: Landscape Scale Solutions for Forest Ecosystem Restoration in the American Southwest

NEW MEXICO
New Mexico Forest Restoration Principles. 2006.

Press Release: New Mexico Forest Restoration Principles Announced by Diverse Task Force.  USDA Forest Service, Southwestern Region. Albuquerque. May 17, 2006

The New Mexico Forest and Watershed Plan: An Integrated Collaborative Approach to Ecological Restoration.  The New Mexico Forest and Watershed Health Planning Committee. December, 2004.

State and Private Forestry Collaborative Forest Restoration Program (CRFP).  USDA Forest Service, Southwestern Region

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Nils Christoffersen

Nils D. Christoffersen is the Executive Director of Wallowa Resources, a community-based non-profit in Wallowa County, Oregon. Nils has worked at Wallowa Resources since 1999. Wallowa Resources provides leadership in promoting forest, watershed, and community stewardship.  Field programs balance restoration work with support to value-added manufacturing and marketing.  Education and research activities promote the idea, skills, and practice of stewardship. 

In 2000, Wallowa Resources coordinated a County initiated Watershed Collaboration process designed to bring diverse stakeholders together in a long-term restoration and stewardship program of public and private land.  Local Stewardship Principles were developed as a foundation for this collaboration, which is in its eighth year.

Nils currently serves on the Core Group of the Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition, the National Commission on Science for Sustainable Forestry, the Global Concepts Group of IUCN-The World Conservation Union’s Sustainable Use Specialist Group, and the Governor of Oregon’s Community Incentive Fund Advisory Board.  From 2003-2005, he chaired the Governor of Oregon’s Eastside Forest Advisory Panel.  In 2007, he co-led a four-month external evaluation of the Community Forestry Research Fellowship Program. 

Nils' previous work experience includes over six years in Eastern and Southern Africa on forestry, wildlife and community development issues. He has a B.A. in Economics (Honors) from Williams College, and a M.Sc. in Forestry from Oxford University, UK.

Marnie Criley

Marnie began working with Wildlands CPR in February 2000. Marnie has an MS in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana and a BA in English from the University of Michigan. Marnie has spent the last 12 years working in forest and watershed restoration in the intermountain region. In addition to small-scale, environmentally-sound logging, she has been involved in numerous aquatic restoration projects including some road removal work. Marnie is a published writer and also spent a year working for Hells Canyon Preservation Council in eastern Oregon. Currently she is a member of the National Forest Restoration Collaborative and the Restore Montana network. She also serves on the steering committee of the Montana Forest Restoration Committee and the board of Montana Trout.

Todd Schulke

Todd Schulke is a senior policy advisor for the Center for Biological Diversity. He has been involved forest protection and restoration for 18 years. He sits on the Western Governor’s Forest Health Advisory Committee, Arizona Governor Napolitano’s Forest Health Committee, and the New Mexico Forest & Watershed Health Planning Committee. He is on the board of directors of the Center for Biological Diversity, American Lands Alliance, and New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and Gila WoodNet, a community-based forestry group dedicated to ecologically sound forest restoration prescriptions, implementation techniques, and utilization of restoration by-products. He lives with his wife and 2 young sons on the edge of a fire prone ponderosa pine forest on the Gila National Forest in southwestern New Mexico.

Randi Spivak

Randi Spivak served as board president of American Lands Alliance before becoming Executive Director in 2001. Randi is a long-time forest advocate with extensive experience in national campaigns, advocacy and marketing. American Lands was formed by forest activists to ensure that their voices and issues are raised in Washington DC. American Lands provides national and regional leadership on federal forest policy issues by combining local grassroots experience with a deep understanding of national politics.

During her tenure Randi has been a leader in efforts by American Lands and its allies to protect national forest roadless areas, old growth and limit the severity of legislation to roll back environmental protections by a very anti-environmental majority in Congress. American Lands unified the forest community’s voice around conservation positions that were critical to success, and brought hundreds of forest activists, scientists and other allies back to Washington DC to educate Members of Congress.

Randi was previously Campaign Manager for the extremely successful $319 million Los Angeles County park and open space bond measure, Division Chief for a California State Lands’ Conservancy, member of the executive committee of Earth Communications Office, the communication industry’s environmental advocacy group, and a board member of environmental organizations in California. Previously, Randi was an advertising and marketing executive responsible for several leading national brands.

Anne Martin

Anne Martin joined American Lands in April 1999 and was promoted to National Field Director in May 2000. As the National Field Director for American Lands, Anne coordinates grassroots organizing across the country.  Anne has extensive experience working on conservation issues with a focus on grassroots organizing, public outreach, and campaign development. Prior to American Lands Anne worked as Outreach Coordinator for the Kettle Range Conservation Group in rural eastern Washington. Her previous work has included Forest Watch Coordinator for the Blue Mountain Native Forest Alliance, and office manager and campaign assistant for LightHawk in Seattle. She is also on the board of directors of The Lands Council in Washington State. She has a Bachelors Degree in Environmental Policy and Assessment from Huxley College of Environmental Studies at Western Washington University.