|
NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF STATE FORESTERS
444 North Capitol Street, NW, Suite
540, Washington, DC 20001
March 18, 2005
The Honorable Charles H. Taylor, Chairman
Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
B-308 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
TESTIMONY ON FY 2006
APPROPRIATIONS
Pat McElroy, President of the National Association of State Foresters
Before U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior
INTRODUCTION
The National Association
of State Foresters (NASF) is pleased to provide testimony on the U.S.
Forest Service (USFS) $4.88 billion budget request for Fiscal Year
2006. Representing the directors of state forestry agencies from the
states, eight U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia, our
testimony centers around those program areas most relevant to the long
term forestry operations of our constituents. State and Private
Forestry programs multiply the public benefits of federal funding by
leveraging in-kind contributions through cost-share programs and
matching funds from states. Wildland Fire Management supports essential
State and Private Forestry and federal programs that address wildland
fire.
We commend the
President’s commitment to the Forest Stewardship Program and the Forest
Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program in the USFS budget for FY 2006.
Our recommendations include restoring funding to our top three
priorities (State Fire Assistance, Cooperative Forest Health Management,
and Urban and Community Forestry) and discussing other opportunities for
Congress to further the advancement of sustainable management on both
public and private forestland nationwide.
sTATE AND PRIVATE FORESTRY programs
State Fire Assistance
(SFA)
State Fire Assistance (SFA) provides much-needed financial
and technical assistance to states for wildland fire management. It
helps to ensure preparedness of state and local resources who serve as
the first line of defense for their forests and communities. These fire
fighting resources function as both “first responders” for local
situations and as “ready reserves” for large federally managed
catastrophic fires. Further, SFA is the only program that currently
provides funding for fuel reduction work on non-federal lands. It is
also one of the few programs that helps communities develop Community
Wildfire Protection Plans, which are an important component of the
Healthy Forests Restoration Act.
SFA provides the flexibility to meet different
state needs, which may include firefighting preparedness, firefighter
training, fire suppression, and hazardous fuel reduction, Community
Wildfire Protection Plans, as well as prevention activities. SFA is
funded under both Cooperative Fire Protection (State and Private
Forestry) and Wildland Fire Management in the Forest Service budget.
All SFA funds under Cooperative Fire Protection are used to help states
increase preparedness at the local level through training, coordination,
and providing communications equipment to local firefighters. Funding
under Wildland Fire Management is used for both preparedness and hazard
mitigation. Reducing these funds would seriously hamper the states’
ability to treat hazardous fuels on private lands and to work with
communities to complete Community Wildfire Protection Plans.
NASF recommends continued level funding for State
Fire Assistance at $33 million under Cooperative Fire Protection and $40
million under Wildland Fire Management. Funding these line items at
last year’s level provides continued protection for local communities
from catastrophic wildland fire, many of which originate on federal
lands.
Cooperative Forest Health Management
The Cooperative Forest Health Management program provides
funding assistance to address Forest Health issues on non-federal
forestland. Cooperative Forest Health Management concerns include
prevention, detection, and suppression of damaging insects, diseases,
and plants. Every year, the American public loses billions of dollars
to invasive species, insects, and disease detection and control. The
Cooperative Forest Health Management program assists in the development
and application of new technologies that mitigate these forest health
concerns and reduce public expenses. These funds, from both State and
Private Forestry (S&PF) and Wildland Fire Management, are critical to
the maintenance of healthy sustainable forests. Forest pests know no
land ownership boundaries and often move to and from federal lands.
NASF recommends funding S&PF Cooperative Forest
Health Management at the FY 2005 level of $48 million to provide the
tools needed to address forest health issues across the many non-federal
forest types and ownerships in the United States.
NASF also recommends $10 million to continue level
support for Cooperative Forest Health Management under Wildland Fire
Management to address forest health problems that increase the risk of
catastrophic wildland fire. Cooperative Forest Health Management funds
help states achieve the goals of the Healthy Forests Initiative by
restoring healthy forests across ownership types.
Urban and Community Forestry
The Urban and Community Forestry program provides technical
and financial assistance to promote the
stewardship of urban and community trees and forest resources.
The program leverages existing local efforts that help urban areas and
rural communities manage, maintain, and improve their tree cover and
green spaces. Such efforts emphasize the vital connection between human
and natural environments, and create
social and aesthetic benefits.
NASF is working with the Forest Service to develop
a new allocation formula to distribute funding among the states and
territories. This new formula will more closely align state funding
allocation with program goals and objectives.
NASF recommends funding the Urban and Community
Forestry program at the FY 2005 level of $32 million to enhance the
quality of life for communities in urban and rural areas.
Forest Stewardship Program
The Forest Stewardship Program continues to serve as the
primary program for promoting sustainable forest management on family
forest lands. From 1991 to 2002, the Forest Stewardship program turned
out more than 217,000 Stewardship Plans covering more than 25 million
acres. These management plans help landowners to sustainably manage
their forestland for the benefit of all. NASF encourages efforts to
better target the delivery of the Forest Stewardship Program in order to
focus on priority resources concerns. NASF supports the President’s
proposed funding of $37.1 million in FY 2006 for the Forest Stewardship
Program.
Forest Inventory and Analysis
(FIA)
The Forest Inventory and Analysis program provides crucial
forest information to policy makers and land managers, enabling them to
make informed forestry-related decisions. FIA data provides users with
relevant information on the condition, extent, use, and health of
forests across ownership. Increasing funding for this program will
enable this important work to continue, while improving the quality of
information being provided. NASF supports the President’s
recommendation of providing $73.3 million for full funding of the FIA
program. We recommend the funding increase be used to establish a full
inventory cycle in each state, and to ensure timely annual reporting.
Together with a well-funded research program, FIA will continue to
provide essential inventory data for addressing long-term forest
management needs.
Economic Action Program
(EAP)
The Economic Action Program is the only federal assistance
program that targets forest-based economic development. With our
current forest health threats across the country, EAP helps find local
solutions to forest health problems while fostering economic
sustainability in communities. State Foresters will continue to work
with the Forest Service and rural communities to help them deliver a
focused and results oriented forest-based economic development program.
OTHER FEDERAL PROGRAMS
Federal
Wildland fire management
NASF recommends continued funding of federal wildland fire
management at the 10-year average. Funding is integral to rapid
suppression of small fires before they grow into large and costly
fires. The increasing costs of wildfires – due mainly to drought, fuel
accumulation, and the rapid expansion of the wildland-urban interface –
makes adequate suppression funding critical. We support continued
funding for preparedness, fire operations, and hazardous fuels treatment
on federal land, including the $15 million provided under State and
Private Forestry Appropriations that may be used on non-Federal land to
protect communities at risk from adjacent USFS lands where hazard
reduction activities are planned.
DOI
conservation grant programs
NASF supports the Department of the Interior conservation
grant programs for private landowners to manage their land for a variety
of public benefits. Continued funding will ensure these programs remain
viable.
CONCLUSION
NASF seeks the Subcommittee’s support for a Forest
Service FY 2006 budget that will ensure the continued delivery of a
broad range of public benefits from privately owned forest lands.
Collaboration among stakeholders across the landscape – federal, state,
and local government agencies, private landowners, industry, and
non-profit organizations – is necessary to manage for the wide range of
forest resources found on all ownerships and the values derived from
those lands. Cooperative Forestry, State and
Private Forestry (S&PF), and Wildland Fire Management provide
these links. The federal share leverages private dollars and provides
an important catalyst for collaboration in order to take the work far
beyond the usual boundaries of federal land management.
We realize that the Subcommittee will be faced with
some difficult funding decisions this year and will have to make
sacrifices and tradeoffs to some programs. NASF encourages you to keep
our priorities in mind when making these decisions.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide our
testimony.
Sincerely,
/s/ Pat McElroy
Pat McElroy
President |
