Article

Project Profile: Managing Resilient Eastern Forests

Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, Antietam National Battlefield, Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, Bluestone National Scenic River, Booker T Washington National Monument,

Bio tech gazes up into sunlit canopy
Monitoring for invasive species and other indicators of ecological health of Northeastern forests.

NPS

Inflation Reduction Act
Restoration | FY24-29 $4,417,400

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
Federal Lands Contracts | FY23-25 $2,768,900

Additional
This nationwide Inflation Reduction Act project to manage invasive plants includes $529,278 that will be used to work in eastern forests during FY24-26.

Other funding comes from:
NPS Servicewide Combined Call for FY25 | $232,000
NPS Northeast Region FY24-26 | $596,107

Summary The National Park Service (NPS) will improve the ecological health and resilience of eastern forests in 39 parks using an array of management techniques. The NPS has selected forest ecosystems of high ecological and cultural value across multiple parks from Virginia to Maine that are at greatest risk of forest loss due to chronic and interacting stressors. Management tools will include removing non-native invasive plants, managing deer populations, native tree planting, endangered species protection, and studying light gap dynamics, all with a focus on making the forests more resilient to climate change.

Why? Forests perform essential ecosystem services, provide critical food and habitat for both common and federally endangered species such as northern long-eared bats, and contribute to the well-being of local communities. Ecosystem services include storing carbon, preventing floods, and reducing the effects of climate change. Forests also provide social and economic benefits.
Eastern forests recently lost nearly all ash trees, a significant component of these forests, due to the emerald ash borer. The rapid destruction of ash and other tree species impacted by forest pests underscores the urgency of building resilient forests that can withstand future stressors and to respond to the long-term challenges posed by climate change.

What else? Access to green spaces positively impacts a person’s quality of life. This project helps address disruptions to natural forest regeneration that have led to cascading disturbances, now magnified by climate change, that leave forests with diminished capacity for recovery. The best management practices developed through this project will be transferable to other parks and conservation organizations to help them achieve their forest management objectives.
This project addresses a crucial need in eastern national parks to support important forest resources today and ensure they persist for future generations.

This project combines the following component projects:

  • Treat Invasive Plants and Promote Regeneration of Climate-Resilient Tree Species in Eastern Forests
  • Manage Overbrowsing to Promote Climate-Resilient Tree Species Regeneration in Northeastern Forests
  • Control Invasive Species in order to Prevent Catastrophic Forest Loss in Northeastern Parks
  • Forest Health in the National Capital Region
  • Restore Healthy Forest Ecosystems in Appalachia
  • Manage Forest Invasive Species in Appalachia
Showing results 1-5 of 5

  • Managing Resilient Forests. A Regional Initiative

    • Sites: Eastern Rivers and Mountains Inventory & Monitoring Network, Inventory and Monitoring Division, Mid-Atlantic Inventory & Monitoring Network, National Capital Inventory & Monitoring Network, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate,
    Forest health monitoring

    Forests cover tens of thousands of acres in eastern national parks and these critical resources face a range of interacting stressors: over-abundant white-tailed deer populations, invasive plant dominance, novel pests and pathogens, among other threats. The Resilient Forests Initiative will help parks address these issue collectively.

  • Resilient Forests Initiative - Managing Invasive Plants & Pests

    • Sites: Eastern Rivers and Mountains Inventory & Monitoring Network, Inventory and Monitoring Division, Mid-Atlantic Inventory & Monitoring Network, National Capital Inventory & Monitoring Network, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate,
    Forest Regeneration

    Park forests are threatened by invasive plants and pests. Strategically tackling invasive plants to protect park’s highest priority natural resources and planning around forest pests and pathogens are important actions in managing resilient forests.

  • Resilient Forests Initiative - Managing Deer Impacts

    • Sites: Eastern Rivers and Mountains Inventory & Monitoring Network, Inventory and Monitoring Division, Mid-Atlantic Inventory & Monitoring Network, National Capital Inventory & Monitoring Network, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate,
    Deer impacts

    A healthy forest needs to have enough tree seedlings and saplings to regenerate the forest canopy after a disturbance. Analysis of NPS I&M and other long-term datasets makes it clear that many eastern national parks lack adequate tree regeneration due to decades of over browsing by white-tailed deer.

  • Resilient Forests Initiative - Forest Complexity

    • Sites: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, Bluestone National Scenic River,
    Canopy gap

    Much of the forest in the eastern United States is around the same age, regrowing after widespread land clearing that peaked between the 1880's and 1920's. Throughout the twentieth century, forests began to regenerate, eventually spreading onto abandoned agricultural lands.

  • I&M Networks Support Resilient Forest Management

    • Sites: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Acadia National Park, Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, Antietam National Battlefield, Appomattox Court House National Historical Park,
    Forest health monitoring

    NPS Inventory and Monitoring Networks have been tracking forest health in eastern national parks since 2006. This monitoring information can guide resilient forest management and support parks in adapting to changing conditions through the actions described below.

Back to top

Tags

Last updated: January 15, 2025