ORIGIN OF RESOLUTION: Forest Science and Health Committee

ISSUE OF CONCERN: Roundtable for Sustainable Forests Draft Action Strategy

BACKGROUND: NASF 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. The Montreal Process Criteria & Indicators (C&I) supports SFM by enhancing efficiencies for data gathering and consistent national reporting. Certain NASF members have adapted C&I for their state planning, assessment and public outreach activities.

The first National Report on Sustainable Forests was produced in 2003 by the U.S. Forest Service and the second National Report will be released in 2010. Both national reports show important applications of C&I, and demonstrate the value of key forest information gathering programs such as Forest Inventory & Analysis and Forest Health Monitoring. As in its earlier report, the Forest Service will strive to keep this a strictly factual and unbiased presentation of well-documented information. However, the draft 2010 Report does identify a few specific areas in which the time is ripe for decisive action, in both policy and in forest management.

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. The goal of the Action Strategy is to move beyond just examining significant changes in forest conditions between the 2003 and 2010 National Reports, but to facilitate an open national dialogue, among a diversity of interests, to develop priority actions to be taken in the next two years to improve the conservation and sustainable management of the nation's forests. This draft document and its potential implementation will be the focus of discussion at the RSF's national stakeholder meeting in October 14-15, 2009, with that goal in mind.

RESOLUTION:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that National Association of State Foresters:

• Supports the concept of sustainable forest management as a framework to guide the stewardship of the nation's forests;

• Shall actively participate in the RSF process;

• NASF supports, in concept, many of the specific recommended actions within the Sustainable Forests Action Strategy including:

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  • Support National Data Gathering and Reporting Activities;
  • Enact Dedicated Funding Sources for Wildland Fire Suppression;
  • Heighten Awareness of Forest Benefits with a Focused Communication Campaign; and
  • Develop and Support a Portfolio of Pilot Landscape Level Sustainable Forests Projects in All Regions of the Country
• Any final NASF support of specific recommendations of the Action Strategy will consider and respect the property rights of non-federal landowners.

NASF ACTION:
( x ) Approved

DATE OF ACTION:
September 23, 2009