Forest policy

NASF joins Forest Service, NRCS and NACD in signing MoU at Annual Meeting

smccreary — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:08:25 -0400

On Monday, September 29, the National Association of State Foresters joined the USDA Forest Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) in signing a joint Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that defines future goals and cooperative activities between the four organizations. The MoU was signed at NASF's Annual Meeting in Hyannis, MA, and is intended to strengthen cooperation in the interest of forestry-related conservation assistance delivered to private landowners.

Lawsuit filed over Canadian timber agreement

smccreary — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:37:25 -0400

Environmentalists are filing a lawsuit this week against the federal government for what they say was an illegal and unfair agreement with Canadian leaders to settle a dispute over timber sales. The environmental groups Conservation Northwest and the Center for Biological Diversity are filing their suit in U.S. District Court in Seattle and in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York. The suit is focused on two of the three beneficiaries of the tariff deal -- the U.S.

U.S.-Canada lumber deal under scrutiny

smccreary — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:16:49 -0400

An independent online news magazine out of British Columbia published an article today calling the 2006 U.S.-Canada softwood lumber agreement a "slush fund." Thetyee.ca claims that "much of the $1 billion the Canadian negotiators relinquished to the United States has been used to reward the American lumber industry and other friends of President George Bush's administration."

Newly formed National Alliance of Forest Owners

smccreary — Mon, 19 May 2008 01:00:00 -0400

A nationwide group of private forestland owners announced the formation of the National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) and the appointment of David P. Tenny as its president and chief executive officer.

[From the press release]

Restore Forestry Funds

smccreary — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:38:35 -0400

From The Hartford Courant: Drastic budget cuts proposed by the Bush administration threaten to weaken a successful, nearly century-long partnership between federal and state governments in forest conservation. Forest lands have always been important.

Save our trees – op-ed in the Baltimore Sun

smccreary — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 01:00:00 -0400

Stop the Bush administration from slashing funds that protect Maryland's forests

By Steven W. Koehn

March 27, 2008