Juniper Group Program Night

Social 6:30, Program 7:00
An informative program about environmental issues, every third Wednesday of the month.

People, Forests and Change, Lessons from the Pacific Northwest

Coniferous forests of the North Pacific coast of North America have an air of permanence where they remain intact, yet recent and future changes threaten their ecological integrity and human sustainability.  These threats are echoed in forests and other ecosystems worldwide.

Forests collectively house most of Earth’s terrestrial biodiversity and supply vast quantities of ecosystem services.  We owe much of our economic prosperity to the vast forested landscapes that cover the earth.  Today’s forest management decisions will shape tomorrow’s ecosystems, and new approaches are needed to withstand emerging challenges from climate and related changes.  The weighty question before us is how to foster a relationship between people and forests—the human-forest ecosystem—that honors the forest ecosystem while sustaining human communities.

The program presenter, Dede Olson, Ph.D., is a Research Ecologist on the Aquatic Ecology and Management Team of the Land & Watershed Management Research program, PNW Research Station, US Forest Service, and editor of the book People, Forests, and Change: Lessons from the Pacific Northwest.