Mission:
To raise awareness of the threats facing the forests of the southern United States and lay the foundation for increasing the acreage that is conserved or managed in a sustainable manner.

Background:
A project of the World Resources Institute, an environmental think tank, the SFF site was launched in March in conjunction with the report Southern Forests for the Future (88 pages, PDF). Sponsored by Toyota, the site is designed to help people visualize the trends and drivers of change that affect forests in the South. In addition to increasing awareness of the forests and the value they provide as well as the threats they face, the project seeks to identify options that align economic incentives with forest stewardship and test and roll out the most promising ideas.

Outstanding Web Features:
The Southern Forests Web site offers time-series satellite maps dating back thirty years that reveal trends and changes in Southern forests and allow visitors to overlay environmental data on current and historical images to give a clearer picture of what is happening. Other datasets, which can be viewed and shared on the social publishing site Scribd, include forest cover gain and loss from 1992-2001, forest ownership, protected area boundaries, forest composition, climate change impacts, a pest and pathogen risk map, and real-time wildfire data. Visitors to the site can also view datasets via Google Earth, watch videos about the project, and learn more about the history of Southern forests.