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Welcome to the 2020 RPA Assessment Webinar Series

Notice: The 2020 RPA Assessment webinar series will resume in August with the second half of webinars continuing on 8/27, 8/28, 9/3, 9/4, and 9/10. All previous registrations are still valid for these webinars. If you have any questions, please email ForestEdSupport@safnet.org 

SAF and the USDA Forest Service are hosting a webinar series that will review the results of the 2020 Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment. The RPA Assessment is a legislatively mandated, recurring assessment of the past trends, current status, and projected 50-year futures of renewable resources across all forests and rangelands in the United States. For almost 50 years, the RPA Assessment has been used to support policy and land management decision making, and has enabled the U.S. Forest Service and other organizations to incorporate both socioeconomic and climatic change into land management. 

The RPA Assessment summarizes current forest and rangeland conditions and trends on all ownerships; identifies economic, social, and biophysical drivers of change; and projects the availability and condition of renewable resources 50 years into the future. The RPA Assessment provides trends and projections for the U.S. land base, disturbance agents, forest resources including forest carbon, forest product markets, rangeland resources, water resources, wildlife and fish, and outdoor recreation, examining the effects of socioeconomic and climatic change on these resources. The 2020 RPA Assessment, published in July 2023, was the sixth assessment released in response to the Forest and Rangelands Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (Public Law 93–378; 16 U.S.C. 1600, et seq., as amended).

The webinar series consists of eight webinars split into two halves of the year. The first four webinars ran from January 15 through January 24, 2025, from 2-3PM Eastern time. The other four webinars will run from August 27 through September 4, from 2-3PM Eastern time. The ninth webinar is scheduled to be on September 10, 2025, from 1:30-3PM Eastern time. The first eight webinars each focus on a different resource area covered by the 2020 RPA Assessment, while the ninth webinar will offer an expert panel discussion on the value and uses of the RPA Assessment.

If you would like to register for the full webinar series, please click here. Otherwise, you can register for each session individually by clicking on their respective links below.

Please note that you will need to register for a free SAF account in order to participate in these live webinars or view the recordings. Continuing education credits will be offered for each webinar.

January 15: Evaluating the Change and Future of the U.S. Land Base with the RPA Assessment

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This webinar reviews results from the Land Resources Chapter of the 2020 Resources Planning Act Assessment and highlight an example of this information being applied to support policy or management decisions. 

Recording now available through February 11, 2026

FREE - Register to Access

1.0 Category 1 CFE

REGISTER HERE

January 16: Recent and Future Trends in Forest and Rangeland Disturbances from the RPA Assessment

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This webinar reviews results from the Disturbance Chapter of the 2020 Resources Planning Act Assessment and highlight an example of this information being applied to support land management planning. 

Recording now available through February 11, 2026

FREE - Register to Access

1.0 Category 1 CFE

REGISTER HERE

January 23: Recent and Future Trends in Forest Resources from the RPA Assessment

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This webinar reviews results from the Forest Resources Chapter of the 2020 Resources Planning Act Assessment and highlight an example of this information being applied to support policy or management decisions. 

Recording now available through February 11, 2026

FREE - Register to Access

1.0 Category 1 CFE

REGISTER HERE

January 24: Recent and Future Trends in Forest Product Markets from the RPA Assessment

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This webinar reviews results from the Forest Products Chapter of the 2020 Resources Planning Act Assessment and highlight an example of this information being applied to support policy or management decisions. 

Recording now available through February 11, 2026

FREE - Register to Access

1.0 Category 1 CFE

REGISTER HERE

August 27: Recent and Future Trends in Rangeland Resources from the RPA Assessment

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This webinar will review results from the Rangeland Resources Chapter of the 2020 Resources Planning Act Assessment and highlight an example of this information being applied to support policy or management decisions. 

Wednesday, August 27 at 2 pm ET

FREE - Register to Access

1.0 Category 1 CFE

REGISTER HERE

August 28: Recent and Future Trends in Water Resources from the RPA Assessment

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This webinar will review results from the Water Resources Chapter of the 2020 Resources Planning Act Assessment and highlight how The Pew Charitable Trusts are using Assessment products in program development. 

Thursday, August 28 at 2 pm ET

FREE - Register to Access

1.0 Category 1 CFE

REGISTER HERE

September 3: Patterns in Wildlife and Aquatic Biodiversity from the RPA Assessment

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This webinar will review results from the Biodiversity Chapter of the 2020 Resources Planning Act Assessment and highlight an example of this information being applied to support policy or management decisions. 

Wednesday, September 3 at 2 pm ET

FREE - Register to Access

1.0 Category 1 CFE

REGISTER HERE

September 4: Recent and Future Trends in Outdoor Recreation from the RPA Assessment

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This webinar will review results from the Outdoor Recreation and Wilderness Chapter of the 2020 Resources Planning Act Assessment and highlight an example of this information being applied to support policy or management decisions. 

Thursday, September 4 at 2 pm ET

FREE - Register to Access

1.0 Category 1 CFE

REGISTER HERE

September 10: Expert Roundtable Discussion of the Resources Planning Act Assessment

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This webinar is the culmination of the 9-part webinar series focused on the 2020 Resources Planning Act Assessment. This panel discussion includes both federal and non-federal users of the RPA Assessment to explain how this Assessment has been applied in land management and policy decision-making. 

Wednesday, September 10 at 1:30 pm ET
(Date/Time subject to change)

FREE - Register to Access

1.5 Category 1 CFE

REGISTER HERE