Coalition Letter: Support for USDA Forest Service-Forest Inventory and Analysis Program Appropriations (March 29, 2011)

The undersigned organizations collectively believe in the importance of up-to- date inventory and analysis on forests in the United States. The USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program provides critical information that enables sound policy and forest management decisions. We fully recognize the difficult decisions that come with addressing reductions to the Federal budget and ask your support to fund FIA at no less than FY10 levels (i.e. $72 million) to truly provide an accurate, up-to-date inventory of America's forests.

The FIA Program is the nation's oldest forest census that has provided fundamental information about forests and has informed forest policies for over 75 years. The program collects data on everything from forest species composition, to forest growth rates, to forest health data. FIA data serves as the basis for determining trends in forest ownership, assessing wildlife habitat, wildfire, insect, and disease risks, predicting spread of invasive species, determining locations for forest products facilities, and for identifying and responding to priorities identified in the State Forest Resource Assessments and Strategies.

The Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-85) mandated the USDA Forest Service to partner with the states and non-governmental interests to implement a nationally consistent, annual inventory program in all states, ensuring timely availability of data and developing state level reports every five years. The funding reductions proposed in the President's FY12 Budget Request will disrupt the inventory cycle length and otherwise turn back the clock on FIA's information delivery. The President proposes these reductions at a time when the program is called on to also address contemporary issues such as estimating sustainable forest biomass supplies for domestic energy production, carbon sequestration rates and determining the timber supply available to support local mills and local jobs.

We urge Congress to support the FIA program in FY12 at no less than $72 million to meet the original goals of the program and provide policy makers, forest managers, private investors, and others with the most up to date information to enable sound decisions regarding the nation's forests.

Regards,

Alabama Forestry Association
American Forest Foundation
American Forest and Paper Association
American Forest Resource Council
American Forests
Applegate Partnership & Watershed Council
Association of Consulting Foresters
CarbonVerde
Conservation Forestry
Engineered Wood Association
Environmental Defense Fund
Environmental and Energy Study Institute
Forest Resources Association
Game Creek Forest Restoration, LLC
Hardwood Federation
Hardwood Plywood and Veneer Association
Kentucky Forest Industries Association
Louisiana Forestry Association
Lyme Timber Company
Maine Audubon
Maine Forest Products Council
Maine Forest Service, Department of Conservation
Montana Logging Association
Missouri Forest Products Association
National Alliance of Forest Owners
National Association of Conservation Districts
National Association of State Foresters
National Association of Forest Service Retirees
National Association of University Forest Resources Programs
National Network of Forest Practitioners
National Wildlife Federation
National Woodland Owners Association
Natural Resources Council of Maine
New Forests
Northeastern Loggers' Association
Ohio Forestry Association
Oregon Women in Timber
Plum Creek
Ruffed Grouse Society
Siuslaw Institute
Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine
Society of American Foresters
Southern Forest Research Partnership
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
The Wilderness Society
Virginia Forest Products Association
Wisconsin Paper Council
Woody Biomass Utilization Partnership