A group of nine Western Senators are ringing the alarm about a 2012 proposal to cut support from two wildland fire prevention programs, the Hazardous Fuels and State Fire Assistance programs. These critical programs provide funding for work that makes people and forests safer, through thinning and controlled burn projects on National Forest System and state and private forest lands.

NASF elected a new slate of officers to its governing Executive Committee and agreed on several national policy positions at the association's 89th Annual Meeting last week in Baltimore, Maryland. Policy positions passed by resolution include goals for enhancing the U.S. share of global wood production, enhancing collaborative landscape-scale forest management, and use of Forest Action Plans in budget allocation decisions for Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act programs.

The Ad Council, along with the USDA Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters (NASF), launched a new series of public service advertisements (PSAs) featuring Smokey Bear designed to provide critical information to Americans about wildfire prevention. The PSAs are being distributed prior to the July 4th holiday, a time when many people go camping, have outdoor BBQs and light fireworks.