Appalachian Assessments
In recent years, a number of important status assessments of the use and sustainability of natural resources have taken place either within the Appalachians and surrounding regions, or at a national level with implications for the Appalachian region. These large-scale assessments have usually been undertaken by federal agencies or nonprofit organizations. Some have dealt broadly with natural resource use. Others have focused on particular subjects such as the economics of resource use, the sustainability of water supplies from forests, or the implications of stressors such as climate change.
Here, we provide brief summaries of the goals and findings of each assessment, and links to the reports in their entirety.
Assessment Summaries
- EPA's Report on the Environment
- Central Appalachians Forest Ecosystem Vulnerability Assessment and Synthesis: A Report from the Central Appalachians Climate Change Response Framework Project
- Central Hardwoods Ecosystem Vulnerability Assessment and Synthesis: A Report from the Central Hardwoods Climate Change Response Framework Project
- Forest Resources of the United States, 2012: a technical document supporting the Forest Service 2015 update of the RPA Assessment
- Future of America's Forest and Rangelands: Forest Service 2010 Resources Planning Act Assessment
- National Report on Sustainable Forests
- Outlook for Appalachian-Cumberland Forests: a subregional report from the Southern Forest Futures Project
- Southern Appalachian Assessment
- Southern Appalachian Vitality Index
- The Southern Forest Futures Project
- Southern Forests for the Future
- State Forest Action Plans
- State-Level Forest Assessment Reports
- Western North Carolina Vitality Index
