Forest Retention Index for the South at year 2050

Forest Retention Index classes for the southeastern United States at 2040 were processed using the Forest Retention Decision Tree and rendered on a 30-meter by 30-meter grid. The Forest Retention Index is used only for current forestland, identified using National Land Cover Database 2011. Many datasets were used as inputs for the Forest Retention Decision Tree, and they can be grouped into five broad categories: Protected, Tier 1 Priority, Tier 2 Priority, Threats to Forest Retention, and Socio-Economic Value of Forests. Protected datasets include Protected Areas Database-United States, National Conservation Easement Database, state-maintained databases, and private datasets volunteered by conservation partners. Tier 1 Priority datasets include USFS and USFWS acquisition boundaries around existing protected lands, primarily national forests and refuges; properties submitted for Land, Water, and Conservation Fund monies; USFS Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program; parcels identified for longleaf restoration by The Nature Conservancy; Florida Forever Board of Trustees properties; and properties submitted for Florida's Rustic and Family Land Protection Program. Tier 2 Priority datasets include priority areas identified in State Forest Action Plans, State Wildlife Action Plans, forest legacy areas, Southeastern Conservation and Adaptation Strategy blueprint version 2, The Nature Conservancy's Resilient and Connected Landscapes, Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture's Conservation Delivery Networks, target regions of longleaf local implementation teams, Gulf Coast Joint Venture priorities for migratory landbirds, and Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation Vision 2014. Threats to forest retention include sea level rise (1-foot rise in sea level by 2100, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and associated coastal change (Tidal Saline Wetland Migration from Enwright et al. 2015, and Transition Areas from South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative), urbanization (SLEUTH from Belyea and Terrando), and energy development in the Southern Appalachians (from Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative with The Nature Conservancy. Socio-economic value of forests datasets included timberlands (Forest Inventory and Analysis' Timber Products Output) and importance of forests to surface drinking water (Forests to Faucets). For full dataset details and citations, please see the Final Report.