Issues
State Forestry Agencies Identify Priority Lands and Issues Across America
Posted on Monday, June 21, 2010The fifty-nine members of the National Association of State Foresters (NASF) have completed the first-ever comprehensive suite of Statewide Forest Resource Assessments and Strategies as part of a national effort towards protecting and sustaining healthy forests. The assessments provide an analysis of forest conditions and trends in the state and identify priority rural and urban forest areas and issues. The strategies provide long-term plans for addressing needs identified in the assessments through state agency initiatives, partner engagement and federal investments. Individually and as a whole, the Statewide Forest Resource Assessments and Strategies represent an invaluable asset to the nation for forest conservation decision making.
FY2009 State and Private Forestry Annual Report: All Lands, All Hands (March 2010)
Posted on Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Achieving an "all lands" vision of the nation's forests requires "all hands," and the FY2009 S&PF Annual Report provides a look at the wide variety of projects, programs, and people that help accomplish the three national forestry priorities -- Conserve Working Forest Landscapes, Protect Forests From Threats and Enhance Public Benefits from Trees and Forests. The report also offers state perspectives on how their agencies approached the development of the soon-to-be-released Statewide Forest Resource Assessments and Strategies.
NASF Letter: Comments on BCAP Proposed Rule (April 9, 2010)
Posted on Friday, April 9, 2010NASF is pleased to provide the following comments to the Farm Service Agency regarding the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) as contained in the Federal Register on February 8, 2010 (Vol. 75, No. 25, Page 6264).
NASF Letter: USDBC - green building and forest certification standards (Mar. 12, 2010)
Posted on Friday, March 12, 2010NASF members support both forest certification and green building. LEED can and should grow the practice of green building by more fully recognizing the environmental benefits of wood as a material, and by expanding options for wood sourced from certified forests.
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.
Sustainable Forestry
Posted on Friday, November 6, 2009
The proper management of our forests is a critical national priority. Sustainable forest management ensures that the three primary needs of our society - environmental, social and economic -- are balanced and working together, thus creating a forest resource that is sustainable. An all-lands vision for sustainable forests must recognize the value of all forests and trees - rural and urban, public and private - in all states and U.S. territories. A Stewardship Handbook for Family Forest Owners (October 2009)
Posted on Monday, October 5, 2009
Stewardship is the pursuit of a forest owner’s personal goals within a set of stewardship principles. Taken together, your goals with these principles, serve the overall and long-term health and vigor of your forest or woodlot.
This document is an update of the 2005 publication. A limited supply of hard copies is available -- contact NASF to request hard copies.
NASF Resolution No. 2009-6: Forest Inventory & Analysis (FIA) Program Funding and Priorities
Posted on Wednesday, September 23, 2009A current and accurate forest inventory is a threshold requirement if we are to conserve and restore all of America's forests. The inventory must address the rapidly emerging issues of climate change, carbon, biomass, and land use change. But portions of the nation's forests are not being inventoried, funding is inadequate to implement FIA as currently designed, and FIA needs to be enhanced to provide data relevant to current and emerging issues.
NASF Resolution No. 2009-1: Building Support for Sustainable Forests
Posted on Wednesday, September 23, 2009NASF is a founding member and participant in the Roundtable on Sustainable Forests (RSF), which is an open and inclusive process committed to the goal of sustainable forest management (SFM) on public and private lands in the United States. In response to the challenges and opportunities faced by our nation's forests, the RSF, with NASF staff participation, has drafted a Sustainable Forests Action Strategy.
State and Private Forestry Efforts Conserve, Protect and Enhance Forests Across the U.S.
Posted on Friday, March 27, 2009
A new publication jointly published by NASF and the Forest Service - the Redesign Report Card - provides a summary of the first wave of projects in a new multi-stage process that effectively and proactively invests federal, state, local and private resources in a way that makes a meaningful impact on the ground. Guided by the principle "Focus + Priority = Outcome," Redesign leveraged nearly $23 million in matching funding from state agencies and partner organizations in 2008 to augment $19.5 million in federal funding.
