The USDA’s From Forests to Faucets project uses GIS to model and map the continental United States land areas most important to surface drinking water, the role forests play in protecting these areas, and the extent to which these forests are threatened by development, insects and disease, and wildland fire. The spatial dataset can be incorporated into broad-scale planning, such as State Forest Action Plans. This project also sets the groundwork for identifying watersheds where a payment for watershed services (PWS) project may be an option for financing conservation and management on forest lands. On a macro scale, the Forests to Faucets data identifies areas that supply surface drinking water, have consumer demand for this water, and are facing significant development threats—all important criteria for successful PWS initiatives. Visit http://www.fs.fed.us/ecosystemservices/FS_Efforts/forests2faucets.shtml Sent From David Schaller of Sustainable Practices
