The Eastern Decision Support
Consortium
Forests provide numerous
benefits, ranging from settings for recreation opportunities through wood
products to habitat for a wide range of plants and animals. In the eastern United States,
nearly 90% of the forests that provide these
benefits are privately owned. Demands upon these forests, including the
National Forests, are intensifying. Sustainable stewardship of these benefits
requires private forest owners and public land managers to assimilate and
mobilize vast amounts of information, and requires scientists to find ways to
communicate research results to literally millions of landowners. Because
of recent advances in computer technology and the graphic arts, computer
simulation and visualization have the potential to become powerful tools for forestry
analysis, education, and communication. The ultimate products from
improved use of these technologies - Decision
Support Tools (DST) - are improved management of forests and better
conditions on the land.
The mission of the
Eastern Decision Support Consortium is to increase the ability of these tools
to reach their potential to improve the health of eastern forests by:
- Providing a single
point of contact where users can match software to their needs and receive
technical support;
- Organizing and
networking training and outreach for all the software, ranging from
training extension foresters to developing curricula for K-12 teachers to
use the software to increase environmental literacy;
- Ensuring the
ongoing maintenance of the software to accommodate changes in operating
systems and other technologies;
- Improving the
software by creating an integrated and synergistic environment for future
development;
- Improving the
focus of the science on which these tools are based by providing a central
source of user needs and feedback
- Enhancing delivery
of Conservation Education programs to K-12 audiences and private
forestland owners.