2020 Resources Planning Act Assessment released
The newly released 2020 Resources Planning Act Assessment highlights threats to the health of forests, rangelands over the next 50 years.
The Resources Planning Act Assessment, published every decade with mid-decade updates, provides a snapshot of current U.S. forest and rangeland conditions and trends across all ownerships, identifies drivers of change, and projects conditions 50 years into the future. Specifically, the RPA projects the effects of climate and socioeconomic changes on forests, rangelands, urban forests, forest products, carbon, wildlife and fish, biodiversity, outdoor recreation, and water.
The RPA can be used to inform policies, management decisions and research efforts from federal to regional, state and local scales. This includes National Forest Management Plans, State Forest and Wildlife Action Plans and more.
A range of related resources accompany the release of the 2020 Resources Planning Act Assessment and are designed to make the report even more accessible and useable to land and resource managers nationwide. These include:
2020 Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment website — includes supporting publications, data and recordings from a SCIENCEx webinar series highlighting each of the resources examined within the 2020 RPA:
Forest Resources and Disturbance
Forest Products and Water Resources
Land Resources and Outdoor Recreation
Rangeland Resources and Biodiversity
RPA Data Quick Reference Guides – these guides summarize the data available from each resource area covered within the 2020 RPA Assessment, including both current and recent past and future projection data.
The RPA Land Management Planning Data Catalog — a user-friendly catalog that links RPA Assessment data with specific USDA Forest Service Planning Rule directives, making it easier for National Forest planners to locate and use resource trend and projection information.
RPA Background Information — more about the history and enabling legislation, regions covered, and prior assessments developed in support of the Resources Planning Act.
RPA Experience Builder — coming soon! An interactive site to explore how our natural resources can be affected by each future scenario examined by RPA, and to consider how you can affect the outcome.
