Changing the Status of the Economic Action Committee

SITUATION: The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) has worked in partnership with the USDA Forest Service for more than a decade to implement forest-based economic assistance projects in rural communities. An ad-hoc NASF Rural Development Committee was created in the 1980's to provide national oversight and input for these activities.

Over the past two decades, the Forest Service has expanded their community assistance programs through a variety of legislative authorities, most recently the 1990 National Forest-Dependent Communities Economic Diversification Act, which provided specific authority for the Economic Action Programs. This new direction included aid to help diversify forest-dependent rural communities to achieve economic, social, and environmental well-being for rural America.

In 1998, the Economic Action Committee surveyed the NASF membership and found that, while many State Foresters are interested in forest-based rural community assistance, they have become disconnected from some of the Forest Service economic assistance programs that are not focused on traditional, forestry-based issues. This has been due to limited funding available to State Foresters to facilitate their involvement in programs, lack of understanding of the goals and objectives of the many different economic assistance programs, and their need to attend to pressing forest health and forest industry issues.

In an attempt to remedy this problem, the Economic Action Committee developed a proposal for a revitalized community-based program known as "Forest Based Economic Assistance" program, or FBEA. The Committee felt that this title and carefully targeted program, which combines economic development, technology transfer, marketing, and demonstration projects, would effectively capture the State Foresters' intent and goals for rural community assistance through forestry and complement a national strategy for economic action programs overall.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT: The National Association of State Foresters approves the Economic Action Committee's proposal for the formation of a Forest-Based Economic Action Program and recommends that the committee work with the USDA Forest Service to implement this proposal.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT: The NASF Economic Action Committee be given standing committee status within the NASF committee structure.

Action: Approved

Date: October 8, 1998

Note: This resolution adopts a position statement, "Review of the USFS Economic Action Program Components", which will be published separately.