Vision and Goals

Our Vision And Goals – Looking Forward in the Next 5 Years

1. Background: The Greater Flagstaff Forests Partnership (GFFP) is a viable, respected, community-based organization that supports collaborative efforts and has been a leader in researching and demonstrating approaches to forest ecosystem restoration in the ponderosa pine forests surrounding Flagstaff, Arizona since 1996.GFFP is one of the longest standing forest restoration collaborative organizations in the country and has been recognized as a national model. Various organizations are represented within GFFP including academic; private; and municipal, state and federal agencies.
2. Our Vision: To research and demonstrate the various approaches to forest ecosystem restoration in the ponderosa pine forests, our actions are based on improving the overall sustainability and resiliency of the forests in the greater Flagstaff area. Sustainable and resilient forests are those that have the capacityto recover to pre-disturbance composition, structure, and/or function over time and can be maintained for future generations of forest users. As GFFP works towards future sustainability and resiliency of our forests and communities, our efforts focus on: 1) multi-agency planning and coordinated and complimentaryimplementation of forest restoration projects, 2) monitoring and adaptive management, 3) utilization of woody biomass, and 4) outreach and education.
3. Our Goals:

1. Planning and Implementation.
   Goal:Facilitate the promotion and support of collaborative forest restoration efforts through planning, participation, and implementation of projects within the greater Flagstaff area.
   To obtain goal:

• 1. Participate in forest planning and implementation activities that will affect forest restoration and/or community protection (emphasis on landscape-scale projects affecting community safety and public resourcesg. Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) and the Flagstaff Watershed Protection Project (FWPP)).
  2. Promote ecological restoration concepts in planning and implementation of projects.
  3. Provide leadership, coordination, and financial support for community protection activities.
  4. Work with federal and state land management agencies, county and city governments, public interest and environmental groups, and community members to assist in developing the design and implementation of public and private forest restoration and hazardous fuel reduction projects.
  5. Seek funding opportunities to plan and implement forest restoration projects, regardless of land ownership or jurisdiction (e.g. AZ State Forestry cost-share grants).

Monitoring and adaptive management.
Goal: Promote and support monitoring the key ecological, economic and social impacts and issues associated with forest restoration.Monitoring forest restoration projects is necessary to learn from our actions and take the essential steps to improve upon them if needed. This process not only encourages innovative ideas and actions, but also, initiates science-based testing and analyses of these actions. Monitoring results reveal whether action is necessary for improvement, which feeds in to an adaptive management process.

To obtain goal:

• 1. GFFP actively engages in local monitoring projects, and monitoring that falls within strategic landscape-scale forest restoration projects including the FWPP and the 4FRI projects.
  2. Seek funding opportunities for monitoring forest restoration projects.
  3. Review past treatments conducted in the GFFP boundary by examining current conditions and projected re-entries.

1. Utilization.
   Goal:Promote, assist in developing, and support a sustainable and appropriately scaled wood products industry.
   To obtain goal:

1. Promote research and development to most efficiently utilize woody biomass.
2. Promote appropriately scaled industry to utilize the biomass, create jobs and to offset the high costs of restoration projects.
3. Influence policy to promoteappropriately scaled woody biomass

D.Outreach and education.

Goal:Continue to develop GFFP as a proactive, community-based, forest restoration organization by maintaining a diverse membership, community support and by promoting ecological restoration concepts to the public and to a broad base of agencies and organizations.

To obtain goal:

1. Provide a forum for a variety of diverse individuals to come together to promote ecological restoration concepts, fire risk reduction efforts and associated management activities that will create sustainable healthy forest conditions, while resolving associated issues.
2. Provide public outreach initiatives that support forest restoration efforts that include signage, news releases, advertisements, educational programs, website information, brochures, and workshop/conference presentations.
3. Seek funding opportunities to promote outreach and education to the general public.
4. Complete activities and share information with regional and national networks as a Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network (FACLN) hub.