Climate Solutions University:
Forest and Water Planning 101

Comprehensive training develops your knowledge and a clear process to create your own community climate plan.

Group coaching provides professional advice about your specific community challenges.

You'll Learn:

• How to create a Forest and Water Climate plan, a 4-step concise and efficient planning process.
• Why forests are the MOST cost effective strategy for protecting water and carbon sequestration.
• How to build the case for planning, even in this recession!
• Key policies you need to include in your plan.
• How to engage the right people to ensure your success.
• Resources such as case studies, sample policies, watershed protection methods.
• Bonuses: documentary film: Landowners Guide to Sustainable Forestry: Maximizing profits while protecting water quality; PowerPoint Presentation you can use in your community: Climate Resilient Communities: Forest and Water Strategies...all excellent education tools.

Benefits to you:

• Save time and money.
• Get up and running quickly.
• Personalized attention and coaching gets your specific questions resolved.
• Experience the synergy of communities helping each other develop the most effective plans possible.
• Access to experts who've spent their careers on the ground making these changes.
• Be able to leverage expected federal funding.

• 20-25% of our current CO2 levels come from burning of forests and deforestation, second only to the burning of fossil fuels in raising CO2 levels.
• Preservation and restoration of forests can sequester and store 20% of our CO2 levels.
• Forest lands provide 2/3rds of all fresh water in the U.S. while also preventing floods and droughts, thus mitigating serious impacts of climate change.
• In the US, roughly 1 million acres of forests are flattened every year to make way for homes and other development in the 1990s. A net total 26 million acres of forest will be lost to development by 2050.
• But conservation of forests is largely being left out of current climate solutions.
• Mostly, only urban areas are creating climate plans.
• Rural areas, where forest/source water are, generally, are BEHIND in creating climate plans.

Session 1: Getting Started with Water and Forest Climate Planning

• Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
• Time: 3:00 - 4:30 PM EST
• Where to begin with forest and water climate planning and with our program.
• A complete overview of the process of developing an effective plan.

Session 2: How to build the case for forest and water climate planning.

• Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2009
• Time: 3:00 - 4:30 PM EST
• The cost of doing nothing.
• Assessing your local conditions.
• Building your local message.
• Finding your champion.
• Getting the right people onboard.

Session 3: The most effective policies to implement.

• Date: Tuesday, October 27, 2009
• Time: 3:00 - 4:30 PM EST
• Overview of the essential policies.
• Case Studies: Title 12 Land Use Code 2008 revisions.
• Watershed overlay land use solutions.
• Comprehensive plan revisions.

Session 4: Your most pressing local questions.

• Wednesday, Nov 4, 2009
• Time: 3:00 - 4:30 PM EST
• Wrap up session where we answer the challenges you've met in the last month.
• We help you plan the next steps.

Toby Thaler, JD, has over thirty years experience in forestry and related natural resource management issues in the Northwest. He has worked for a broad range of clients-Tribes, public interest groups, local governments-to promote sustainable resource management policies, including forest practices and forest land conservation, shoreline and water resource management.

William Paddock is a sustainability expert who works with local government and business clients on the implementation of sustainable practices and strategies. William is the Cookeville, TN, Project Director helping that region create a forest water climate action plan. William holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Alabama and a MBA in Sustainability from the Institute for Sustainable Practice at Lipscomb University.

Nancy Gilliam, PhD., has helped over 5,000 landowners implement sustainable forestry practices. She initiated the Virginia General Assembly's study of forest health. Nancy founded the Model Forest Policy Program in 2000 due to proliferation of chip mills in the south and lack of forest policy. She has worked with state and local government officials in VA, TN, ID, and WA guiding model forest policy development and education.

Todd Crossett, MA, has over fifteen years experience in government relations, strategic planning, facilitation, organizational development, project management and advocacy for sustainable practices. Todd served for two years as County Commissioner introducing groundbreaking water protective land use codes in conservative North Idaho.

Gwen Griffith, DVM, MS, followed her veterinary career with 15 years experience in ecosystem health. She serves as program director in sustainable building and low impact development, bringing the watershed perspective to the work of climate change mitigation and adaptation. She takes the continuum of care approach from land use planning to smart growth to green building to low impact landscaping to efficient site management. She provides in-depth education on the energy, water, climate connection with an emphasis on water efficiency and source water protection.

Bonner County, Idaho now has over 1,000 miles of streams and lake shores protected with forested buffers, setbacks, and conservation sub-division ordinances that conserve vegetation and water.

Cookeville, Tennessee has a comprehensive planning process with local climate data that enables leaders to make solid forest and water protection ordinances.

"The Model Forest Policy Program staff was asked to review the city's current comprehensive plan and then make any recommendations concerning additions or changes that were needed in order to conform to the issues the city would be facing in the coming years. From my perspective as Planning Commission Chairman, their review and recommendations they furnished were simply superb. Their incisive and detailed examination which resulted in a comprehensive written report with appropriate recommendations for inclusion to the city's plan will enhance our overall effort to ensure the aesthetics of the natural beauty of this area.

"In conclusion, I would highly recommend any city or other agency which is seeking to pursue these issues engage these individuals for the assistance. They fully understand the complexities of problems associated with forest, water and climate and how the various policies can be implemented for governmental institutions to modify and change their existing directives and policies. From my perspective, it has been a pleasure working with them for the past year and I would be most happy to speak with anyone who would desire any additional comments concerning this memorandum."

James A. Stafne
Cookeveille, TN

Model counties, such as Baltimore County, Maryland, are showing the way with a master plan that reduces deforestation activities, continues forest replanting and restoration programs.

FEE: $150 for 6 hours of instruction plus bonus materials. The course is being partially underwritten by a grant and is in a beta test phase. You participation will help finalize the design and allows this discounted fee. Registration includes our documentary film, normally $25. The size of the group will be limited so we can provide as much individual attention as possible.