Conclusions (Chapter 13)

Abstract

This report provides a foundation for climate change response on the Arapaho- Roosevelt and Pike-San Isabel National Forests located along the Front Range and mountainous regions of Colorado. The preceding chapters outline the best available scientific information on the impacts of climate change on the Arapaho-Roosevelt and Pike-San Isabel National Forests. This vulnerability assessment supports national forest managers in meeting expectations to consider climate change in their work, including land management planning guided by the 2012 Planning Rule for implementing the National Forest Management Act (36 CFR 219) and environmental analysis and decision making under the National Environmental Policy Act (42 USC § 4321). The importance of considering climate change in national forest management is highlighted in a series of recent Federal government-wide, department, and agency-specific policies, including Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad (Executive Order No. 14,008, 2021), updated National Environmental Policy Act guidance from the Council on Environmental Quality, the USDA Secretary’s Memorandum on Climate Resilience and Carbon Stewardship of America’s National Forests and Grasslands (USDA 2022), and the Forest Service’s Climate Adaptation Plan (USDA FS 2022).

Parent Publication

• Colorado Front Range climate change vulnerability assessment for National Forests

Citation

Timberlake, Thomas; Shorrock, Donna; Jaworski, Delilah. 2024. Conclusions (Chapter 13). In: Hanberry, Brice B., ed. Colorado Front Range climate change vulnerability assessment for National Forests. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-438. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 455-462.