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US Forest Service  - Office of the Climate Change Advisor

National Roadmap for Responding to Climate Change

The many benefits we receive from forests and grasslands - provisioning services such as water, wood, and wild foods; regulating services such as erosion, flood, and climate control; and cultural services such as outdoor recreation, spiritual renewal, and aesthetic enjoyment - are threatened by climate change.

Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell, in a message to all employees, emphasized that every program and unit in the Forest Service has a role to play in responding to climate change. In fact, the USDA Strategic Plan for 2010-1015 sets a departmental goal to “Ensure our national forests and private working lands are conserved, restored, and made more resilient to climate change, while enhancing our water resources.”

As a measure of this goal, all National Forests are working on strategies to adjust and prepare for new conditions created by changing climates (adaptation), and to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere (mitigation). To guide the Forest Service in achieving this goal, we have developed a Roadmap for Responding to Climate Change. Read more about the Roadmap and our Performance Scorecard.