By Deborah Gangloff, executive director

After a period of strategic planning, American Forests recommits itself to a vision of healthy ecosystems for all communities.

In this year of intense forest conservation challenges—devastating fires in southern California and negotiations on significant wildfire legislation—American Forests has recommitted itself to providing leadership in the forest conservation movement of the 21st century. Our mission is to grow a healthier world through a vision of healthy ecosystems for all communities.

Through the work of our programs, media outreach, and information imparted in this magazine, we can work towards this goal. Our Urban Forestry activities communicate the value of natural resources in cities and towns. Our Forest Policy efforts explain and strengthen the links between healthy forests and vital communities. And our Global ReLeaf programs help improve the environment by planting and caring for trees and forests.

We do all this by providing action opportunities, from tree planting to policy advocacy, to enable everyone from decisionmakers to citizen activitists to improve their environment with trees. We identify conservation issues, then develop practical solutions individuals can use.

American Forests will focus on three major issues: better forest policy for healthy ecosystems, preservation of naturally functioning ecosystems, and forest restoration. All are predicated on the belief that forested ecosystems are assets with a tangible value derived from their work in cleaning air and water, cooling the planet, and improving quality of life. Moreover, these ecosystem services' values can be calculated and shared for use in cost/benefit analyses to make informed decisions.

The work we do on our three targeted issues will emphasize the core values we hold—science- and community-based action, education, and public involvement, diversity, credibility, and ethical operations. And they'll reflect our perspective that it is critically important to preserve the ecological values of natural resources:

• California's wildfires and recent passage of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act show the importance of efforts to reduce fuels in forests and create conditions for fire's natural role in ecosystems. We worked to improve the legislation (see Washington Outlook) and the FY 2004 Appropriations Bill, but the challenge, however, is just beginning.
• This legislation presents a significant opportunity to rebuild trust between government agencies and nongovernmental organizations, especially in the community involvement and monitoring phases. American Forests is committed to reducing wildfire risk to communities and resources through collaborative efforts.
• As our cities grow, it is vitally important that we preserve natural functioning ecosystems to mitigate the problems of increased human population. Sprawl's negative effects are symptoms of an ecological problem that requires an ecological solution. Our urban work develops an understanding of urban forests' ecological services and makes available tools to integrate that understanding into decisions on growth and development (see Growing an Audience, page 43)
• We're continuing our commitment to the restoration of forestlands damaged by human or natural causes. American Forests has planted more than 20 million trees in Global ReLeaf ecosystem restoration projects. We'll focus on critical restoration needs. including wildfire damage.

We invite you, our members and supporters, to join us as we provide leadership and innovation in advocating for trees and forests. By developing practical applications for understanding and communicating the economic value of ecological services for local and national decisionmaking, we can work together to grow a healthier world.AF

Deborah Gangloff is American Forests' executive director.[TOP]