Issues
Statewide Forest Resource Assessments and Strategies
Posted on Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The 2008 Farm Bill set into motion landmark changes in the way trees and forests will be managed, conserved, used and enjoyed today and for future generations. At the foundation is the requirement for each state to complete a Statewide Forest Resource Assessment and Strategy. The Assessments provide an analysis of forest conditions and trends in the state and delineate priority rural and urban forest landscape areas. The Resource Strategies provide long-term plans for investing state, federal, and other resources to where it can most effectively stimulate or leverage desired action and engage multiple partners.Creating Jobs in the Forestry Sector
Posted on Tuesday, February 9, 2010
NASF urges Congress to help restore jobs and create new ones by reinvesting in our nation's public and private forests through "shovel-ready" activities on non-federal lands.
Biomass Energy
Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010
NASF views forests as a strategic national resource of vital importance to meeting the nation's economic, environmental, and energy needs. The Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) and other federal energy initiatives must fully include a broad renewable biomass definition - such as the one included in the 2008 Farm Bill - if national renewable energy goals are to be met.
State Foresters Praise Interior Bill that Sets up FLAME Fund
Posted on Monday, September 28, 2009On Sept. 24, Senate leaders unanimously approved the creation of a separate source of funding for federal agencies to suppress large-scale wildfires via an amendment to the Interior Appropriations bill. The Federal Land Assistance Management and Enhancement Fund ("FLAME" fund) is designed to alleviate funding problems caused by emergency wildland fire costs and is supported by NASF and more than 100 other industry, environmental, outdoor recreation, and forestry organizations.
KY State Forester MacSwords on the FLAME Act and fire suppression funding (July 21, 2009)
Posted on Tuesday, July 21, 2009I am proud to be representing the Partner Caucus on Fire Suppression Funding Solutions - a unique and diverse group of organizations dedicated to finding a new mechanism for funding emergency fire suppression activities for the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the Interior land management agencies. We have developed two recommendations towards a solution. The first recommendation is to create a partitioned wildfire suppression account to fund emergency fires. Our second recommendation is to replace the 10-year rolling average with a more predictive and statistical modeling approach.
NASF Letter: Boxer - Clean Water Restoration Act language (June 12, 2009)
Posted on Friday, June 12, 2009Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on the most recent compromise language for the Clean Water Restoration Act (S. 787). The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) and our members share your commitment to protecting water quality and appreciate your efforts to clarify Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act) jurisdictional issues through the Clean Water Restoration Act (S.787) and the current compromise language.
Coalition Letter: Peterson/Lucas/Rahall/Doc Hastings - adaptation funding on state and private forest lands (June 23, 2009)
Posted on Tuesday, June 9, 2009Climate change threatens the nation's 750 million acres of forests-the same forests that provide clean air and water, carbon sequestration, renewable energy and numerous other ecosystem services at little cost to the public. Changes in precipitation, temperature, fire patterns, increased CO2 concentrations, pest outbreaks and other influences associated with climate change have the potential to transform forest ecosystems by altering their composition and shifting their distribution.1 In some cases, forest migration rates may not match the rate at which the climate is changing leaving open the possibility of losing important forest types and forest biodiversity.
Coalition Letter: Waxman/Barton/Markey/Upton - American Clean Energy and Security Act (May 18, 2009)
Posted on Monday, May 18, 2009We write today to explain why we believe that a robust domestic offsets program must be a central element of any such policy, and why further adjustments to the draft legislation would help achieve this end. To avoid excessive administrative complexity and cost, the emissions cap in any cap-and-trade program can only cover large sources of emissions. Within the uncapped sectors of the U.S. economy, however, there are cost-effective opportunities to reduce, destroy, avoid, and sequester greenhouse gas emissions. These opportunities can take the form of offset projects. We urge you to ensure that federal climate legislation takes full advantage of the tangible benefits offsets can offer for farmers, ranchers, forest landowners, American consumers, local ecosystems, and the global climate.
Coalition Letter: forest biomass in the renewable electricity standard (May 6, 2009)
Posted on Wednesday, May 6, 2009Letter to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee leadership: As Congress considers energy and climate change legislation, we urge you to appropriately include renewable forest biomass as an energy source to meet a renewable electricity standard (RES) should one be adopted. Forest biomass is plentiful, carbon-neutral and essential to meet the RES standard, particularly in areas of the country that are not able to produce energy from other renewable sources, like wind and solar.
Coalition Letter: forest biomass in the renewable electricity standard (May 6, 2009)
Posted on Wednesday, May 6, 2009Letter to House Energy and Commerce Committee leadership: As Congress considers energy and climate change legislation, we urge you to appropriately include renewable forest biomass as an energy source to meet a renewable electricity standard (RES) should one be adopted. Forest biomass is plentiful, carbon-neutral and essential to meet the RES standard, particularly in areas of the country that are not able to produce energy from other renewable sources, like wind and solar.
