Between now and 2050, the population of the United States likely will grow by 120 million people according to the middle-series projections published by the U.S. Census Bureau. In many ways, knowing where and how future urban growth will occur may be more important than simply knowing how many more people will seek to live in or near the nation's metropolitan areas. To the degree that future spatial development patterns mirror those of the recent past, most of the increase in the U.S.

The Big Sur area is one of the most ecologically diverse regions in California. Although the forests of Big Sur are protected by numerous preserves, state parks, county parks and the Los Padres National Forest, they are still threatened by exotic species, climate change and alterations of key ecosystem processes such as a fire. At this time, one of the most significant threats is the invasive pathogen Phytophthora ramorum, the causal agent of the forest disease sudden oak death.