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NASF
Resolutions
The following resolutions focus on forestry issues and policy
that the NASF Executive Committee
and Washington Office staff use as guidance during the year. The resolutions are
submitted by NASF Regional Organizations, committees and
individual State Foresters and voted on by the membership at
the NASF annual meeting.
(Click
here for NASF
resolutions from previous years)
NASF 2007
Resolutions
Table of Contents
NASF
Resolution No. 2007-1:
Role of climate change
in the severity and size of wildland fires
NASF Resolution No. 2007-2:
Retiring out-of-date
resolutions
NASF Resolution No. 2007-3:
A national policy for
providing standard certification that effectively addresses all pests at
risk for movement on firewood
NASF Resolution No. 2007-4:
A resolution to promote
the goals of the Tree Line USA programs managed and delivered by the
National Arbor Day Foundation
NASF Resolution No. 2007-5:
Recognition of Annual
Meeting sponsors and exhibitors
NASF
Resolution No. 2007-6:
Recognition of the
Texas
Forest Service
NASF Resolution
No. 2007-7:
Endorsing the approach and recommendations of the S&PF
Redesign Board
NASF Resolution No.
2007-1 (PDF)
ORIGIN OF RESOLUTION:
Forest Fire Protection Committee
ISSUE OF CONCERN:
The
role that climate change plays in the severity and size
of wildland fires
is not
explicitly recognized in the “National Fire Plan” and
the Implementation Plan for its
10-Year Strategy.
BACKGROUND:
Under NASF Resolution No. 2005-3,
it was noted that “As a consequence of decades of fuel accumulation in our
nation’s forests and rangelands, coupled with persistent
drought, state and federal fire managers are faced with
larger, more explosive and more costly wildfires than in
any period in history. Catastrophic wildfire is a
growing national issue, demonstrated by the
Florida wildfires in 1998 and 1999 and in many Western
states over the past five years. Between 2000 and 2004,
Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Oregon, Montana,
Washington, Wyoming, California, South Dakota, Nevada,
Utah and Alaska all experienced severe fire seasons that
set new benchmarks in terms of damages, losses and
cost.”
Dry
conditions throughout the United States fueled wildfires
that burned in 2005 and 2006, sparking more discussion
about the causes and management of the fires. From 1998
to 2005, the amount of acreage burned by wildfire
quadrupled. From January through March 2006, drought and
high winds across the southern United States created
prime conditions for grass fires, which burned about a
million acres in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. The
severity of the 2006 fire season continued across much
of the west during the summer months resulting in 97,000
wildfires burning almost 10 million acres in the U.S.
for the calendar year.
Record-setting fires continued in 2007. Between April
and late June, 2007, Georgia experienced the largest
wildfire in its history. The wildfires started in the
Okefenokee Swamp, most of which is located in Georgia.
By mid-May, this fire spread over the Florida border and
became the largest fire in Florida's history as well.
Cumulatively, about 600,000 acres of land were burned.
The fires were reportedly fueled by high winds, and low
humidity along with drought conditions. Many western
states including Montana, Utah, Nevada, and Idaho
continue to experience above normal fire potential
resulting in a number of large fires. Through August 8,
2007 over 59,000 wildfires have burned over 5.5 million
acres. The number of fires and acres burned to date are
already higher than the 10-year average for the entire
calendar year.
The
trend of new benchmark-setting fire seasons in the
United States has continued.
The precise impact of climate change on forest fire is
unknown. However, in April 6, 2007, the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
released its latest assessment of climate change
impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. For North
America, the report states with “very high confidence”
that
“disturbances from pests, diseases, and fire are
projected to have increasing impacts on forests, with an
extended period of high fire risk and large increases in
area burned.” Also, the lack of on-the-ground natural
resource management activities on public lands continues
to increase forest fuel loadings.
In
addition, another study
tied the
increase of large wildfires in the western United States
to rising seasonal temperatures and the earlier arrival
of spring conditions.
For
each year studied, the number and total area of major
forest fires closely correlated with average spring and
summer temperatures and with the date on which snowmelt
peaked.
The National Fire Plan was developed in August 2000,
following a landmark wildland fire season, to actively
respond to severe wildland fires and their impact on
communities while ensuring sufficient firefighting
capacity for the future.
A
10-Year Comprehensive Strategy was developed for the
Fire Plan to reflect the views of a broad cross-section
of governmental and nongovernmental stakeholders with
the following primary goals: improve prevention and
suppression, reduce hazardous fuels, restore fire
adapted ecosystem, and promote community assistance.
Climate change potentially affects the first three goals
as it potentially affects the duration and the intensity
of the causes impacting wildfire and hazardous fuel
build-up.
RESOLUTION:
The
NASF recommends the following:
·
The
Wildland Fire Leadership Council should include in its
Implementation Plan for the 10-Year Strategy of the
National Fire Plan, the task of promulgating new
standards for wildland fire management that explicitly
addresses the role of climate change in the severity and
size wildland fires. This should include, but not
limited to, the following:
o
Setting up pathways for information sharing and
coordination of climate change adaptation strategies of
wildland fire agencies and entities.
o
Developing and incorporating what we know about climate
change into long-range wildland fire baseline data and
vegetation modeling. This effort should include
addressing changes in vegetation as a result of climate
change, and the resultant impact on wildland fire
occurrence, severity, and size.
·
The
Wildland Fire Leadership Council’s support for
continuing ongoing monitoring efforts relative to the
relationships of wildfire and climate change.
·
Wildland fire agencies should consider climate change
and variability when developing long-range wildland fire
management plans and strategies including landscape
level fuel reduction treatments. Wildland fire agencies
at all levels should incorporate the likelihood of more
severe fire weather, lengthened wildfire seasons, and
larger-sized fires when planning and allocating budgets
rather than basing budgets on historical fire
experiences.
NASF ACTION:
(X)
Approved
DATE OF ACTION:
September 19, 2007
These findings are in a 2006 study led by
scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the
University of California, San Diego that correlated
rising seasonal temperatures and the earlier arrival of
spring conditions in connection with a dramatic increase
of large wildfires in the western United States.
Looking at a database of 1,166 forest
wildfires from 1970 to 2003 in the western United
States, researchers compared the number and potency of
wildfires to spring and summer temperatures and the
timing of snowmelts. The Scripps study was reported in
the journal, Science, in July 2006.
BACK
TO TOP
NASF Resolution No.
2007-2
ORIGIN OF RESOLUTION:
NASF
Forest
Fire Protection Committee
ISSUE OF CONCERN:
Retiring out-of-date resolutions
BACKGROUND:
The
NASF Forest Fire Protection Committee has reviewed all
resolutions from the years 2000 and 2002 that fall under
the jurisdiction of the Committee. The Committee has
reviewed each of the following resolutions and found
them to be out-of-date or no longer relevant and
recommends they be retired.
·
2000:
Resolution 2000-7 (Relating to the Forest Service
Cohesive Strategy”)
·
2000:
Resolution 2000-8 (Relating to fire use education
and air quality)
·
2000:
Resolution 2000-13 (Relating to National Guard
preparedness)
·
2002:
Resolution 2002-3 (Relating to CIMC)
·
2002:
Resolution 2002-4 (Relating to Firewise Communities
USA)
·
2002:
Resolution 2002-5 (Relating to federal billing
timelines)
·
2002:
Resolution 2002-6 (Relating to national fire
reporting)
·
2002:
Resolution 2002-7 (Relating to Bill Baden’s service
to NASF)
RESOLUTION:
The
NASF membership agrees to retire the resolutions as
identified above.
NASF ACTION:
(X) Approved
DATE OF ACTION:
September 19, 2007
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NASF Resolution No.
2007-3
(PDF)
ORIGIN OF RESOLUTION:
Northeastern Area Association of State Foresters
ISSUE OF CONCERN:
A
national policy for providing standard certification
that effectively addresses all pests at risk for
movement on firewood
BACKGROUND:
Firewood is a host for numerous destructive forest
insects and diseases, including emerald ash borer, Asian
longhorn beetle, gypsy moth, Sirex woodwasp, oak wilt,
beech bark disease, pitch canker, and others. Human
transport of firewood has the capacity to vastly extend
the range and spread of these pests and diseases. Human
transport across state lines has been identified as one
of the most likely reasons for a number of isolated
outbreaks involving many of these pests and diseases.
The
firewood industry is largely unregulated, with little or
no national regulatory guidelines outside of
pest-specific quarantine areas and states. While USDA
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has a
host of regulations that control firewood as a vector
for specific organisms (Asian longhorn beetle, 7 CFR
301.51-2(a); emerald ash borer, 7 CFR 301.53-2(a); oak
wilt, 7 CFR 301.92-2(a)(1); gypsy moth, 7 CFR
319.77-2(g); pine shoot beetle, 7 CFR 301.50-2(a);
European larch canker, 7
CFR 301.91-2(a)), there is no standardized certification process for
firewood that covers all pests and diseases.
This
lack of federal regulation has led many states to seek
or pass their own firewood certification regulations for
specific pests. Most recently,
Pennsylvania
banned the import of out-of-state firewood generally due
to the absence of a federal ban. While APHIS has
instituted a number of local and statewide quarantines
and firewood certifications for specific pests and
diseases, there has not been any move to provide
regulation or certification for firewood in general. In
many cases these state and federal quarantines do not
effectively prevent the spread of infested firewood,
since the quarantines are usually in reaction to an
outbreak or occurrence that has been undiscovered for
several years.
The
combined effect of all of the various pest-specific
quarantines and certifications, whether state or
federal, has resulted in both confusion for the general
firewood-using public and market uncertainty for larger
interstate firewood transporters.
RESOLUTION:
USDA
is encouraged to move expeditiously to provide a
standardized treatment and certification procedure for
the interstate movement of all firewood for the purpose
of controlling the spread of destructive forest pests
and diseases. USDA should work closely with state
forestry agencies, state departments of agriculture, and
other relevant state entities in the development and
coordination of any procedures.
Furthermore, USDA should develop, in cooperation with
NASF and other affected interests, a national
educational and outreach program with a clear national
message that is consistent and uniform across state
lines. The goal of the program is to inform interstate
tourists and travelers that firewood has the potential
to introduce dangerous and damaging plant pests and as
such should not be carried for long distances.
Copies of this resolution will be sent to the Secretary
of Agriculture; Administrator of USDA-APHIS; Chief of
the USDA Forest Service; National Plant Board; Eastern,
Central, Southern, and Western Plant Boards; and The
Nature Conservancy.
NASF ACTION:
(X)
Approved
DATE OF ACTION:
September 19, 2007
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NASF Resolution No.
2007-4
(PDF)
A
Resolution to Promote the Goals of the Tree Line USA
Programs Managed and Delivered by the National Arbor Day
Foundation
PURPOSE:
To recognize the Tree Line USA program’s excellence in
utility vegetation management practices. Under the
administration of the National Arbor Day Foundation (“NADF”),
Tree Line USA helps America’s utilities demonstrate
practices that protect and enhance America’s urban
forests. The program promotes the goals of dependable
local utility services and promotes healthy trees along
the streets and highways of
America.
WHEREAS,
the National Association of State Foresters (“NASF”) and
NADF desire to promote the dual goals of dependable
utility service and abundant, healthy trees in America’s
communities;
WHEREAS,
NASF is a membership organization of state agencies of
foresters interested in good forestry practices;
WHEREAS,
NADF develops, administers, and maintains the Tree Line
USA program;
Therefore be it RESOLVED that the National
Association of State Foresters:
ENDEAVORS
to encourage State Forestry Agencies to consider
participating in the Tree Line USA program with the
assistance and support of NADF;
ENDEAVORS
to encourage State Forestry Agencies to provide a staff
contact to NADF that will field local questions
regarding Tree Line USA and manage the distribution of
recognition materials;
ENDEAVORS
to encourage State Foresters to attend their respective
state award ceremonies for Tree Line USA;
ENDEAVORS
to assist the NADF in providing communication to State
Foresters regarding the Tree Line USA program with
participation by the NASF Urban and Community Forestry
Committee;
ENDEAVORS
to encourage State Forestry Agencies to pursue utility
vegetation management education opportunities, such as
including encouraging attendance at the NADF Trees and
Utilities annual national conference or the regional
Utility Arborist Association conferences and seminars;
RECOGNIZES
the comprehensive effort of the Tree Line USA program
and NADF to cultivate dependable local utility services
and promote healthy trees along the streets and highways
of America;
EXPRESSES
its appreciation of that effort; and
ENCOURAGES
its members to consider the values embodied in the Tree
Line USA program.
This
resolution shall take effect immediately upon the
signature of the President of NASF below.
NASF ACTION:
(X)
Approved
DATE OF ACTION:
September 19, 2007
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NASF Resolution No.
2007-5
ORIGIN OF RESOLUTION:
The
members of the National Association of State Foresters
ISSUE OF CONCERN:
Recognition of Annual Meeting Sponsors and Exhibitors
RESOLUTION:
The
National Association of State Foresters Annual Meeting
would not be possible without the strong support of our
sponsors, contributors, and exhibitors. Their
generosity makes possible the enjoyable setting in which
we conduct our business, and their products and services
make valuable contributions to the work of our member
agencies. We heartily thank the following sponsors and
exhibitors for their support:
Platinum Sponsors:
John Deere Construction & Forestry Co.
USDA Forest Service
Western Pilot Services
Gold Sponsors:
Air Tractor, Inc.
American Tree Farm System
G.R. Manufacturing, Inc.
National Wild Turkey
Federation
PHOS-CHEK
Silver Sponsors:
Erickson Air Crane, Inc.
Bronze Sponsors:
FESCO
Lion Apparel
Exhibitors:
ESRI
Forestry Suppliers, Inc.
Laser Technology, Inc.
Massachusetts Dept. of Conservation & Recreation
National Arbor Day Foundation
National Association of State Foresters Foundation
Sanborn
Thermo-Gel
And
all those who donated items for the silent auction
NASF ACTION:
( X )
Approved by acclamation
DATE OF ACTION:
September 19, 2007
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NASF Resolution No.
2007-6
ORIGIN OF RESOLUTION:
Members of the National Association of State Foresters
ISSUE OF CONCERN:
Recognition of the
Texas
Forest Service
BACKGROUND:
Whereas:
The National Association of State Foresters did hold its
85th Annual Meeting in
San Antonio,
Texas;
and
Whereas:
The participants weathered the balmy climate of Texas,
where perspiration and dehydration became a bonding
experience; and
Whereas:
The leadership positions in the Texas Forest Service are
inversely proportional to their height; and
Whereas:
Our host State Forester got to share the stage in his
welcoming comments with someone shorter than himself;
and
Whereas:
The Lone Star State has experienced multiple disasters
since Jim Hull became State Forester in 1996, but none
this week; and
Whereas:
Three State Foresters have been able to appease their
governors for 18 years in order to enjoy San Antonio and
Texas hospitality for a second time; and
Whereas:
Cowboy hats outnumbered baseball caps for the first time
at a NASF meeting; and
Whereas:
The State Foresters have now fully integrated “howdy”
and “y’all” into their vocabulary; and
Whereas:
The
Cowboy Cauldron stirred issues and concerns while
providing the ingredients for powerful medicine to
improve the health and sustainability of the
organization; and
Whereas:
Although State Foresters were corralled into the
greener pastures of Redesign, it has yet to be seen if
they can hold on for more than eight seconds.
RESOLUTION:
Now therefore be it resolved that: the Texas Forest
Service staff, who were as warm and comforting as the
denim shirts they wore, provided us with a Texas-size
welcome, catered to our every need and anticipated all
contingencies. Be it further resolved that: the members
of the National Association of State Foresters wish to
show our appreciation to State Forester Jim Hull and the
staff of the Texas Forest Service and offer a warm Thank
You for their efforts to ensure a productive, enjoyable
and memorable Annual Meeting.
NASF ACTION:
( X )
Approved by acclamation
DATE OF ACTION:
September 19, 2007
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NASF Resolution No. 2007-7
(PDF)
ORIGIN OF RESOLUTION:
NASF Executive Committee
ISSUE OF CONCERN:
Endorsing the Approach and Recommendations of the S&PF
Redesign Board
BACKGROUND:
Forests and the public benefits they provide are threatened
at a scale and pace that are much larger and faster-moving
that our current State and Private Forestry (S&PF) programs
and delivery model are able to address. At the same time,
the U.S. Forest Service has been repeatedly asked by
Congress and other key leaders to increase the
competitiveness of its S&PF programs, to focus and
prioritize resources on issues and landscapes of national
importance and, ultimately, to validate the relevance of
continued federal investment.
In March 2006, the Deputy Chief for S&PF and the President
of the National Association of State Foresters (NASF) began
exploring whether or not it made sense to “reinvent” state
and private forestry in order to better address current
on-the-ground challenges as well as to demonstrate to
Congress and others that an investment in state and private
forestry is of value and importance to the American people.
In May 2006, the NASF Executive Committee gave its support
to the development of a new S&PF approach that would
consider changes in program delivery, staffing and
organization, and funding allocation. This decision
recognized that the current S&PF programs are neither
sustainable nor designed in a manner that provides the
assurance desired by decision-makers that the investments
made will maximize net public benefit. The Executive
Committee’s decision also affirmed that a redesigned S&PF
program could provide the desired high level of return on
public investment.
Presentations regarding this new effort were made at all
three regional state forestry meetings held from May to July
2006. During the summer of 2006, state and federal staff
worked to quantify both the threats to, and public benefits
from, forests as a way to strengthen the case for change.
All NASF members were polled regarding the threats and
benefits related to forests in their jurisdictions as well
as their recommendations on what should be done. This
information was used to develop and refine a presentation on
redesigning state and private forestry at the 2006 NASF
Annual Meeting in
Alaska.
The formal
Redesigning State and Private Forestry effort began in
earnest with the convening of an interagency Redesign Board
in November 2006. Board members were chosen to represent
both USFS and state forestry interests from all regions of
the country and a variety of organizational types and
responsibilities. At its first meeting, the Board
established a purpose statement, nine guiding principles and
five components of change as a framework for the new
Redesign approach.
From November 2006 to the present, the Redesign Board has
worked diligently, and in consultation with colleagues,
partners and stakeholders, to design a new approach to state
and private forestry. The purpose of this new approach is
to “shape and influence forest land use on a scale and in a
way that optimizes public benefits from trees and forests
for current and future generations.”
At the core of this new approach are the objectives of
focus, priority and outcome. This means that S&PF programs
and resources will be:
·
Focused
on
addressing issues of national importance and on sustaining a
diverse range of public benefits from trees and forests.
·
Prioritized
by using the best available technology and information to
assess forest conditions and trends and to identify the best
opportunities for investment toward meaningful change.
·
Designed
to achieve significant outcomes by emphasizing
collaboration, innovative partnerships, and work at
appropriate scales and by improving our ability to assess
and demonstrate our impact on the ground.
The key
components of the redesigned S&PF being proposed by the
Redesign Board are:
·
National Themes
– A concise set of national themes will focus the investment
of federal S&PF resources on issues, challenges and
opportunities that are of national importance and which, if
addressed, will lead to significant progress in providing
diverse and sustainable public benefits from trees and
forests.
·
National Assessment
–
The
national assessment will be a geospatial decision support
system that is used to characterize forest conditions,
trends and opportunities across the nation and to inform,
along with the themes, national level priorities for
investment of S&PF funding and resources.
·
State Assessments & Response Plans
– Each state and territory will work collaboratively with
key partners and stakeholders to develop a comprehensive
state forest resource assessment that identifies forest
conditions on all ownerships, delineates high priority
forest landscapes and outlines strategies for addressing
critical issues and opportunities. Once this assessment is
complete, the state or territory will develop an annual
response plan through which they identify how they propose
to invest federal resources (both competitive and
non-competitive) to address priority issues consistent with
the National Themes.
·
Competitive Allocation
–
Beginning in FY 2008, an increasing percentage of S&PF
funding will be allocated through a competitive process.
The process will be informed by national guidance and
implemented by joint USFS / state forestry teams in each of
the three state forestry geographic regions. The
competition will begin with 15% of the net available S&PF
allocation. The Board proposes that the percentage of
competitive funds be increased incrementally over the next
five years, up to a total of 65%. Increases in competitive
funding will be reviewed and determined annually.
·
Demonstrating & Communicating Results
– A three-tiered Annual Report Card will be cooperatively
developed by NASF and S&PF personnel in order to better
demonstrate and communicate how state and private forestry
efforts contribute to public benefits for the American
people. The Report Card will
include:
1) visual demonstrations of progress (maps, charts, etc.);
2) a discreet set of performance indicators; and 3) use of
success stories to personalize local accomplishments. The
accountability framework established for this report card
will eventually be used to streamline and/or eliminate
redundant reporting requirements.
·
Staffing and Organization
– A Staffing and Organization work group has taken initial
steps to develop a framework for assessing changes in
organization and staffing that might be needed to support
the Redesign objectives. Emphasis will be on addressing the
opportunities and needs identified in state assessments and
response plans through a cooperative assessment of state and
federal capacity. The analysis of federal capacity will be
focused on those areas which enhance the capacity of
multiple states to deliver desired outcomes.
·
Integration of Federal Programs
– As part of the Redesign approach, efforts will be focused
on identifying and pursuing opportunities to integrate the
delivery of complementary federal programs, such as those
delivered by the Natural Resource Conservation Service,
toward mutually beneficial goals and outcomes.
Members of the Redesign Board have presented the above
components of change at the spring 2007 state forestry
regional meetings and have widely circulated these concepts
for comment by both internal and external partners. All
comments received were used to inform the discussions of the
Redesign Board.
The Board expects to finalize the development and monitor
implementation of these concepts in the coming months. The
initial year of Redesign implementation should be considered
a learning opportunity for all involved. Once all of the
initial concepts are fully formed, the Board will transition
its responsibilities to a new interagency leadership team
that will take on the long-term monitoring and
implementation of the Redesign approach.
RESOLUTION:
In recognition of the current status of S&PF programs and
the desire of the USFS to modify its approach to
facilitating the delivery of desired outcomes, the
membership of the National Association of State Foresters
resolves to:
·
Offer thanks to USFS S&PF Deputy Area for engaging NASF
up-front in the process to strengthen S&PF and for
recognizing the fundamental role played by the states in
achieving the outcomes desired from a federal investment in
the public benefits derived from our non-federal forests.
·
Offer thanks to the participants in the Redesign Board for
the tremendous time and effort they have put into developing
a new approach for state and private forestry.
·
Endorse the approach taken by the Redesign Board along with
the components of change that they have recommended.
·
Commit to working with the USFS, state forestry colleagues
and other partners to effectively implement the initial
phase of the Redesign approach.
·
Commit to continuing development of the components of
change, monitoring implementation of the Redesign approach,
facilitating annual review and implement changes as needed,
working to encourage progress in sustaining forests in all
States, Territories and the District of Columbia.
NASF
ACTION:
(X)
Approved
DATE
OF ACTION:
September
19, 2007
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