The U.S. Forest Service in cooperation with the Southern Group of State Foresters has begun a two-year project that will forecast the future of forests on public and private lands.
A public workshop will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 29 at the Sheraton Convention Center, 103 France Street, for community members to learn more about the project and express their thoughts on what should be considered in the study.
The Southern Forest Futures project will seek key forces that are likely to impact southern forests over the next 50 years.
It will describe what conditions will mean for a wide variety of forest resources, uses, services and values.
"Sustaining forests in the South over the long term requires the public, policy markers and forest managers to anticipate change, what is likely to drive it and the potential consequences," said John Greis, who is a co-leader of the Southern Forest Futures project with Dave Wear.
"That is the intent of this project," he added.
The workshop will be conducted by teams of Forest Service scientists from around the south utilizing information from a variety of sources, to include the Southern Forest Resource Assessment, and other issues identified by the public.Bogalusa Daily News
