Our forests today face threats from many directions, ranging from climate change to ever expanding human development. The U.S. Forest Service must address a seemingly endless list of needs with decidedly finite resources. Because of this challenge, For The Forest in collaboration with the USFS created The Future Forests Roundtables. Together, they invited approximately 30 local environmental non-profit organizations for a series of two roundtables held at the Aspen Institute. The idea was that by reaching out to local valley leaders, the USFS would gain a heightened understanding of our community's values, which in turn would help to inform and guide Forest Service priorities. The goal of the roundtables is to help the Forest Service set Roaring Fork Valley priorities for next year and many years into the future.

The topics discussed at the roundtables included watershed quality, wildfire threats, loss of open space, atmospheric carbon reduction strategies such as biomass and biochar, bark beetle infestation, trail erosion and alignment issues, invasive species, recreation enhancements and other general forest restoration issues.

Organizations represented at The Future Forests Roundtables:

10th Mountain Huts
Aspen/ Pitkin Open Space Boards
Aspen Center for Environmental Studies
Aspen Community Foundation
Aspen Global Change Institute
Aspen Historical Society
Aspen Skiing Company
Aspen Valley Land Trust
City of Aspen Parks & Open Space
Colorado Trout Unlimited
CORE
Flux Farm
For The Forest
Heartland Environmental Services
HighLife Unlimited
Independence Pass Foundation
Pitkin County BOCC
Pitkin County Open Space & Trails
Promotional Concepts
Roaring Fork Conservancy
Roaring Fork Mountain Bike Association
Rocky Mountain Institute
The Forest Conservancy
The US Forest Service
Wilderness Workshop