Inland West, their historical origins, assessments of available management tools, and analyses of the various choices available to policymakers. Its goal is to help people understand the Inland West forests so that public policies can reflect a constructive and realistic framework in which forests can be managed for sustained health. This resource is the product of a scientific workshop where 35 participants, including scientists, resource managers, administrators, and environmentalists, addressed the forest health problem in the Inland West. Synthesis chapters integrate the diverse knowledge and experience which participants brought to the workshop. They identify and link together many of the ecological, social, and administrative conditions which have created the forest health problem in the West. The book is unique in that it reflects a process that fostered the use of academic research, field realities, and industrial knowledge to define an interdisciplinary problem, establish rational policy objectives, and set-up “do-able” management approaches. The following topics are analyzed: Assessing forest ecosystem health in the Inland West Historical and anticipated changes in forest ecosystems in the Inland West Defining and measuring forest health Historical range of variability as a tool for evaluating ecosystem change Administrative barriers to implementing forest health problems Economic and social dimensions of the forest health problem Fire management Ecosystem and landscape management

Southwestern piñon-juniper and juniper woodlands cover large areas of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and adjacent Colorado. Ponderosa pine forests are the most common timberland in the Southwest. All three ecosystems provide a variety of natural resources and economic benefits to the region. There are different perceptions of desired conditions. Public and private land managers have adapted research results and their observations and experiences to manage these ecosystems for multiresource benefits. Ways to mitigate the threat of wildfires is a major management issue for these ecosystems, and the wide-spread piñon mortality related to drought and the bark beetle infestation has heightened concerns among managers and the general public. In addition, the impacts of climate change on these ecosystems are a growing concern. As a step in bringing research and management together to answer some of these questions, workshops concerned with the ecology, management, and restoration of piñon-juniper and ponderosa pine ecosystems were held in St. George, Utah in 2005 and in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2006. The combined proceedings from these two workshops contain papers, extended abstracts, and abstracts based on oral and poster presentations. Some topics included forest and woodland restoration treatments and their impacts on fuels, wildlife, and other ecosystem components, watershed management, insect infestations and drought, wood utilization, landscape changes, basic ecology, and more.