Forests and water are inextricably linked, and people are dependent on forested lands to provide clean, reliable water supplies for drinking and to support local economies. These water supplies are at risk of degradation from a growing population, continued conversion of forests to other land uses, and climate change. Given the variety of threats to surface water, it is important for forest managers to know how much of the drinking water supply originates in forests they manage and what populations and communities are served by that water. The objective of this analysis was to address this need by 1) estimating how much fresh surface water supply in the South originates from NFS lands and State and private forest lands, and 2) estimating how many people and which communities in the South depend on this fresh surface water supply. Of the 6,188 intakes, 3,143 received more than 20 percent of their water from State and private forest lands and served 29.0 million people. These results highlight the importance of southern forests in providing clean and dependable water supplies to downstream communities.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service manages more than 779,000 km2 (193 million acres) of national forests and grasslands (collectively, National Forest System [NFS] lands) that play a significant role in providing clean, fresh water for local ecosystems and economies. This water is sometimes transferred hundreds of kilometers away to also serve big cities through inter-basin transfers (IBTs). The contribution of NFS lands to surface drinking water supplies for public water systems has not been assessed at the national scale while accounting for IBTs. The Forest Service Water Supply Stress Index (WaSSI) model was modified to provide estimates of 2001–2015 mean annual surface water supply and the proportion of mean surface water supply originating on 172 NFS land units and other forested lands at the 12-digit hydrologic unit code scale across the conterminous United States (CONUS) while accounting for water transfer through IBTs. Predictions of the proportion of surface water supply originating on NFS and other forested lands were linked to specific downstream communities and populations, using surface drinking water intake information from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Safe Drinking Water Information System database of public water systems. A new database of 594 IBTs was compiled for this study, ranging from 0.01 million m3 yr-1 to 8,900 million m3 yr-1, for a total transferred volume of 116,894 million m3 yr-1. Overall, NFS lands comprised 9.2 percent of the total CONUS land area but contributed 12.8 percent of the surface water supply. In the West, NFS lands comprised 19.2 percent of the total land area but contributed 46.3 percent of the 478.7 billion m3 yr-1 surface water supply; in the East, NFS lands comprised about 2.8 percent of the total land area and 3.8 percent (66.6 billion m3 yr-1) of the surface water supply. In total across the CONUS, NFS and other forested lands comprised 28.7 percent of the total land area but contributed 46.0 percent of the surface water supply. Approximately 45.8 million people derived >10 percent of their surface drinking water supply from NFS lands, and 22.6 million people received >50 percent of their surface drinking water supply from NFS lands. Approximately 125.5 million people, about 39 percent of the total population in the CONUS in 2017, derived >10 percent of their surface drinking water supply from NFS and other forested lands, with 83.1 million people receiving >50 percent of their surface drinking water supply from NFS and other forested lands. In addition to those populations receiving surface drinking water supply from their local public surface drinking water intakes, 12.6 million people were served by public water systems that purchased surface drinking water supply from other public water systems deriving >10 percent of their surface drinking water supply from NFS lands. This study provides a systematic accounting of NFS and other forested lands for surface drinking water supply. Our results can aid water resource and forest managers in developing integrated watershed management plans at a time when climate change, population growth, and land development threaten water supplies.

This guide showcases the increasing interest in ecosystem services, discusses the motivations for valuations of FES (forest ecosystem services) at the State level, and places this work in the context of economic accounting. Readers may be interested in this report to expand their understanding of approaches used and value forest ecosystem services. However, the intended target audience for this report is State forestry officials charged with requesting, selecting, guiding, and evaluating the results of FES assessments in their states. Foresters, construction officials utilizing forest based products, educators, instructors and students in the fields of environmental science and forestry, environmentalists, and investors in the forest products category may also be interested in this work. Check out our Environment & Nature resources collection here:https://bookstore.gpo.gov/catalog/environment-nature Trees & Forests collection here:https://bookstore.gpo.gov/catalog/environment-nature Water Management collection here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/catalog/water-management

The introductory course in natural resources is broader and more diverse than ever. Today's students need to know how to manage forest, wildlife, watershed, and range resources in a variety of environments and serving the needs of myriad stakeholders. To that end, Chad Dawson has built on the foundation established by him and the late John Hendee to bring Introduction to Forests and Renewable Resources thoroughly up to date. The Ninth Edition has been reorganized to better address content—for example, policy and the differences between managing federal, state, and private land—that applies to all resources. While forests continue to be emphasized, more coverage is provided to other resources and to achieving management goals for multiple resources when considering topics like fire and recreation.

Nature-Based Solutions and Water Security: An Action Agenda for the 21st Century presents an action agenda for natural infrastructure on topics of standards and principles, technical evaluation and design tools, capacity building and innovative finance. Chapters introduce the topic and concepts of natural infrastructure, or nature-based solutions (NBS) and water security, with important background on the urgency of the global water crisis and the role that NBS can, and should play, in addressing this crisis. Sections also present the community of practice’s collective thinking on a prioritized action agenda to guide more rapid progress in mainstreaming NBS. With contributions from global authors, including key individuals and organizations active in developing NBS solutions, users will also find important conclusions and recommendations, thus presenting a collaboratively developed, consensus roadmap to scaling NBS. Covers all issues of water security and natural infrastructures Presents a comprehensive state of synthesis, providing readers with a solid grounding in the field of natural infrastructures and water security Includes a fully workable and intuitive roadmap for action that is presented as a guide to the most important actions for practitioners, research questions for academics, and information on promising careers for students entering the field

Ecological Restoration and Management of Longleaf Pine Forests is a timely synthesis of the current understanding of the natural dynamics and processes in longleaf pine ecosystems. This book beautifully illustrates how incorporation of basic ecosystem knowledge and an understanding of socioeconomic realities shed new light on established paradigms and their application for restoration and management. Unique for its holistic ecological focus, rather than a more traditional silvicultural approach, the book highlights the importance of multi-faceted actions that robustly integrate forest and wildlife conservation at landscape scales, and merge ecological with socioeconomic objectives for effective conservation of the longleaf pine ecosystem.

Anthropogenic and natural disturbances to freshwater quantity and quality are a greater issue for society than ever before. To successfully restore water resources requires understanding the interactions between hydrology, climate, land use, water quality, ecology, and social and economic pressures. This Special Issue of Water includes cutting edge research broadly addressing investigative areas related to experimental study designs and modeling, freshwater pollutants of concern, and human dimensions of water use and management. Results demonstrate the immense, globally transferable value of the experimental watershed approach, the relevance and critical importance of current integrated studies of pollutants of concern, and the imperative to include human sociological and economic processes in water resources investigations. In spite of the latest progress, as demonstrated in this Special Issue, managers remain insufficiently informed to make the best water resource decisions amidst combined influences of land use change, rapid ongoing human population growth, and changing environmental conditions. There is, thus, a persistent need for further advancements in integrated and interdisciplinary research to improve the scientific understanding, management, and future sustainability of water resources.