Forests for Watersheds and Wildlife – F₂W₂

Creating a Conservation Legacy

Did you know?

Two-thirds of our freshwater supply originates in forests.

Over 90 percent of the nation’s threatened and endangered species have habitat on non-federal forests.

Forests for Watersheds and Wildlife is the conservation initiative of the American Forest Foundation (AFF) in partnership with ATFS and its membership of 83,000 private forest landowners. Reaching this audience, who own almost 60 percent of U.S. forestland, with experience and knowledge in protecting wildlife habitat, water quality, sustainable forestry, soil conservation and providing needed forest products is the heart of Forests for Watersheds and Wildlife (F₂W₂).

Providing woodland owners with the necessary tools to manage their lands for both ecological and economic gains is essential to sustaining environmental benefits for us all. Family forest owners hold over 262 million acres, 79 million acres more than the federal government. Within the next three decades, the USDA Forest Service predicts that 44 million acres of forestland and the important ecological services they provide, such as clean water and wildlife habitat, will be lost to development. Our challenge is to help ensure that the remaining family woodlands continue to provide the environmental and economic benefits important to all Americans.

Forests are vital to watershed health and wildlife needs. Two-thirds of our country's freshwater supply originates in forests. Protecting the water running through this land, and the wildlife living on it, is critical to meeting our nation's conservation goals.

The F₂W₂ conservation approach is pro-active, adaptable and cost effective. Our goals are met through two projects, Shared Streams and Forested Flyways. These conservation projects generate wildlife habitat improvement on private forestland and leverage the conservation impact through demonstration field days.

We manage these projects at the national level, but they are defined, developed and implemented at the local level. Wildlife experts, professional foresters, other conservation organizations and government agencies support our projects. Through these conservation and demonstration projects, we act as a peer-to-peer mentor to motivate landowners to replicate stewardship efforts and to initiate their own conservation projects.

Our partners play a critical role as field day speakers, provide wildlife management recommendations and introduce available cost share and technical assistance programs to landowners.

Our Conservation Purpose

One of the most challenging natural resource issues today is the continued fragmentation of forests and watersheds. Through sustainable forest and conservation management strategies forestland owners can generate the income they need to invest in wildlife habitat improvements, watershed protection strategies, recreation opportunities and to keep the land forested and in the family.

The decision by forest owners to manage – or not to manage – their forestland today will determine the wildlife, recreation opportunities, water quality and lifestyle we'll enjoy tomorrow. Studies suggest that every year for the next 10 years a Connecticut-sized piece of land (approximately three million acres) will break down from larger forests into smaller forests of less than 100 acres. Fragmentation like this complicates planning. Where 50 landowners might have "owned" a watershed twenty years ago, today 110 might share control. In 10 years, it might be 160. More decision makers, with more of them living away from the property - makes it difficult to conserve wildlife habitat, protect watershed quality, and sustain forest health.

Slowing fragmentation and improving forest and watershed health relies on forest owners generating enough necessary income from their land to pay taxes, reinvest in conservation activities, state Best Management Practices, and resist the financial pressures of urban sprawl. Our Forests for Watersheds and Wildlife programs Shared Streams and Forested Flyways directly improve wildlife habitat on private forest land while assisting forest owners in developing strategies to increase their efforts in stewardship and keep their land forested.

For more information about opportunities to improve wildlife habitat, watersheds and forest management contact Drue DeBerry, American Forest Foundation, at 1-888-889-4466 or Email: ddeberry@forestfoundation.org.