SAF Learning
Evaluating the Change and Future of the U.S. Land Base with the RPA Assessment
Includes a Live Web Event on 01/15/2025 at 2:00 PM (EST)
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Webinar information
Human activities and natural processes have significantly altered the land resources of the United States, and these changes are expected to continue influencing most landscapes into the future. This webinar will review results from the Land Resources Chapter of the 2020 RPA Assessment, summarizing recent land use and land cover changes and their effect on landscape patterns including forest fragmentation. Future projections of land use to 2070 will be presented based on RPA scenarios of climatic and socioeconomic change. To highlight the value of the RPA approach, we will hear about how landscape pattern metrics developed for the RPA Assessment have been adopted in European and global assessments and learn how to access and explore RPA projection data.
Is this technical session for you?
This webinar is intended for land managers, policy makers, and researchers—anyone interested in understanding how the U.S. land base has been changing over time and how it is likely to continue to change in the future. Changes in the land base can have significant effects on the resources these lands provide, so anyone with responsibility for evaluating or managing resources would benefit by learning more about ongoing trends and potential futures.
Registration
1. Click REGISTER to the right of the technical session recording title. Be sure to log in with your SAF account username and password.
2. After checking out, this webinar will be available on your MY DASHBOARD page here on ForestEd.
For group registrations or registering someone other than yourself please contact membership@safnet.org or 202-938-3910.
Pricing
This webinar is FREE ($0) for all viewers.
Members and non-members still need to register to gain access to this learning product. To register for a free SAF account, click the 'Log In' button in the top right corner, then click 'Create a new account'.
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Webinar Access
The webinar is scheduled for live viewing on Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 2:00 PM ET. The Zoom Webinar platform will be used for the presentation. Be sure to connect to the webinar using a device approved to access Zoom.
Access this learning product within the Contents tab (to the right of the Overview information).
Webinar duration
This webinar is 1 hour.
Learning objectives
Upon successful completion of viewing this recording, you will be able to:
1. Explain how the U.S. land base has changed over recent decades and the major land use drivers of forest area changes.
2. Describe how the U.S. land base is projected to continue to change in the future—specifically how certain land uses are projected to increase while others decrease.
3. Identify new ways in which land cover metrics can be used in policy or management.
4. Access and explore the 2020 RPA Assessment's land use change projections.
Rubric
Successful completion of this learning product is measured by viewing the entire webinar and completing the evaluation.
Evaluation
Participant feedback is appreciated to help us continually improve ForestEd offerings for future programming. Evaluations must be completed to receive CFEs.
CFEs
Upon successful completion of this learning product, you will earn 1.0 CFEs in Category 1. CFEs will automatically be added to your CFE record located on www.eforester.org by the end of the day (11:59 pm ET).
Certificate
Upon successful completion of the webinar and filling out its evaluation, participants may download and print a certificate verifying completion of this learning product and earning SAF CFEs.
Return to technical session
Once you are registered for the recording, access this technical session recording within your MY DASHBOARD. You can return to download your certificate by accessing the technical session information within the general listing of YOUR DASHBOARD through February 11, 2026. Registrants will be notified if that timeline is extended.
Need Help?
For ForestEd questions, visit FAQs, email ForestEdSupport@safnet.org, or check out the registration quick tips in the Handouts tab. For technical assistance and questions about this technical session recording, email ForestEdSupport@safnet.org.
Refund
This is a non-refundable item. Please view FAQs for additional information.
Kurt Riitters
Research Ecologist
USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station
Kurt Riitters is a member of the Forest Health Monitoring Team within the Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center. He joined the Forest Service in 2000 after 15 years of research in quantitative forest ecology and inventory with Federal Agencies and forest industry. He has contributed to RPA assessments since 2000, focusing on the status and trends of landscape patterns.
Peter Vogt
Research Scientist
European Commission Joint Research Centre
Peter Vogt is a research scientist in the field of remote sensing applications focusing on the field of digital image analysis and program development for the exploitation of remote sensing data. He has worked in a variety of fields including the detection of burnt areas, forest fragmentation analysis, oil spill detection, and desert locust monitoring. He developed software that is employed in European and global forest assessments.
Chris Mihiar
Research Economist
USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station
Chris Mihiar is a Research Economist with the Forest Service’s Center for Economics and Social Science. He specializes in domestic U.S. land use modeling and led the development of the 2020 RPA county-level land use change projections. Recently, he has expanded his research to a global scale by utilizing cloud computing and machine learning algorithms to model the complex interactions between natural and human disturbances, such as climate change impacts and adaptation. His work plays a critical role in informing policy makers, land managers, and the public.
Claire O'Dea (Moderator)
Resources Planning Act Assessment National Program Leader
USDA Forest Service Research & Development
Kathy Broughton (Moderator)
Assessment Program Manager
USDA Forest Service Research & Development
Tony Mazza (Moderator)
Interim Policy & Public Affairs Director
Society of American Foresters
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