Speaker Series

Understanding Climate-Smart Forestry in Practice

September 11 – November 27, 2023

Climate-smart forestry (CSF) has become a buzzword across the forestry sector and beyond. In this webinar series, we hear from practitioners and researchers about how they put climate-smart forestry into practice. We also learn how forests can be managed to enhance their carbon storage capabilities and/or increase their resilience to the impacts of climate. The webinar explores questions including:

  • How can forests be managed to be resistant to fires, storms, pests, and other acute risks that are exacerbated by climate change?

  • What are the tradeoffs between managing forests for climate adaptation, climate mitigation, and other goals for producing goods and services and protecting ecological health?
  • How can CSF help keep communities safe and resilient and provide economic opportunities?
  • How do policies and markets influence CSF and its outcomes?
  • How are public forests being managed in a “climate smart” fashion? Is climate-smart forestry different on public and private land?
  • How can incorporation of Indigenous knowledge and community connections to land improve outcomes for forests in a time of changing climate?

The series primarily focuses on forest management practices in the United States. We dig into both the hype and the practice of the term ‘climate smart forestry’ and hear from a wide range of perspectives and experiences. Speakers include public-sector organizations like the U. S. Forest Service, nonprofits, researchers, and academics from across the country, as well as “on-the-ground” practitioners. 

Series Hosts

The series is jointly hosted by The Forest School at the Yale School of the Environment, the USDA Northeast Climate Hub (link is external), and the USDA Southeast Climate Hub (link is external), and co-sponsored by the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture (link is external).

Series Facilitators

Facilitated by Mark Ashton (link is external) (The Forest School at YSE), Gary Dunning (link is external) (The Forest School at YSE), Lindsey Rustad (link is external) (USDA Northeast Climate Hub), and Steve McNulty (link is external) (USDA Southeast Climate Hub).

YFF Review

The YFF Review publication summarizes the findings and learnings from all of the presentations from this speaker series, and it is free and open to the public.

All Series Events

Date
Speaker
Organization
Theme
Resources
Date
9/11/23
Organization
USDA Forest Service
Resources Download Webinar AssetsWatch Event Video
Date
9/18/23
Speaker Sara Kuebbing
Organization
Yale Applied Science Synthesis Program
Resources Download Webinar AssetsWatch Event Video
Date
9/25/23
Speaker Maria Janowiak
Organization
USDA Northern Forests Climate Hub
Resources Download Webinar AssetsWatch Event Video
Date
10/2/23
Speaker Scott Stephens
Organization
UC Berkeley
Resources Download Webinar AssetsWatch Event Video
Date
10/9/23
Speaker Sam Cook
Organization
NCSU College of Natural Resources
Resources Download Webinar AssetsWatch Event Video
Date
10/23/23
Organization
US Forest Service Southern Research Station
Resources Download Webinar AssetsWatch Event Video
Date
10/30/23
Organization
Natural Areas Conservancy
Resources Download Webinar AssetsWatch Event Video
Date
11/6/23
Speaker Mike Dockry
Organization
University of Minnesota
Resources Download Webinar AssetsWatch Event Video
Date
11/13/23
Speaker Kyle Burdick
Organization
Baskahegan Company
Resources Download Webinar AssetsWatch Event Video
Date
11/27/23
Speaker Andrea Colnes
Organization
New England Forestry Foundation
Resources Download Webinar AssetsWatch Event Video