NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STATE FORESTERS
444 North Capitol Street, NW, Suite 540, Washington, DC 20001
 

TESTIMONY ON FY 2003 APPROPRIATIONS
Larry Kotchman, President of the National Association of State Foresters
Before U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies

INTRODUCTION

The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) is pleased to provide testimony on the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) $4.9 billion budget request for Fiscal Year 2003.  Representing the directors of State Forestry agencies from all fifty states, eight U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia, our testimony centers around those programs of most concern to the long term forestry operations of our constituents: State and Private Forestry (S&PF), Wildland Fire Management, and Research and Development.  The USFS budget for FY 2003 offers opportunities for advancing the sustainable management of public and private forests worldwide, and we believe it can be strengthened.

FIRE MANAGEMENT

The landscape nature of fire calls for cross-boundary management programs grounded in interagency cooperation and stakeholder collaboration.  Cooperative Fire Protection (CFP) and the National Fire Plan (NFP) provide critical support to fire suppression and prevention activities and both need to be funded, with one exception, at the current services level for all involved agencies in the Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior.

Our state experience has shown us that State Fire Assistance (SFA) and Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA), two programs within CFP, form a solid foundation for fire protection on federal, state, and private lands.  State forestry agencies and rural communities rely on the technical and financial backing from SFA for fuel treatment, hazard reduction, fire prevention outreach, and other preparedness and protection activities.  Local volunteer fire departments, often the first to attack wildland-urban interface fires, depend on VFA’s financial support, technical assistance, and firefighting training.  When funded adequately, the two programs expand state and local firefighting capacity to better match and work in concert with the USFS to respond to wildfires, other emergencies, and national disasters.  Current funding levels for SFA and VFA will ensure that communities are prepared to implement the landscape level activities needed for effective fire management.

As a long term, collaborative approach to fire management, the NFP brings communities, governments, and agencies together to accomplish activities that reduce wildfire risk and help burned lands quickly recover.  By working together across all lands, the State Foresters and other stakeholders are providing faster initial attack and reducing fuels.  NASF urges the Subcommittee to continue its support of the NFP through continued financial backing and increased coordination with the states and local communities.

Community and Private Landowner Fire Assistance (C&PLFA) helps establish defensible space around private homes and property and educate homeowners about wildfire prevention.  The program is vital to improving prevention and suppression activities, reducing hazardous fuels, restoring fire adapted ecosystems, and promoting community assistance—the four goals for the NFP 10-year implementation strategy.  NASF recommends fully funding the $35 million C&PLFA program.

FOREST STEWARDSHIP

By encouraging non-industrial private landowners to manage for multiple objectives, forest stewardship management plans help spread the public benefits of environmentally sound forest management.  The Forest Stewardship Program (FSP), which provides the technical expertise for stewardship planning, ensures that management plans are scientifically sound and account for a range of management objectives.  NASF supports the $17.5 million increase in funding for FSP over last year, with the increase targeted for competitive grants as described in the Watershed Forestry Assistance program proposed in current Farm Bill deliberations.  Since forest management is connected to water quality, forest stewardship activities can help support this need.  NASF supports the allocation of $50.5 million for FSP.

The Stewardship Incentive Program (SIP) provides the financial support for landowners to implement stewardship plans.  Studies show that when incentives like SIP are offered, non-industrial private landowners are three times as likely to implement sustainable forestry practices on the ground.  Because the program is administered by state forestry agencies, which often have relationships with many landowners in a community, SIP has the potential to create community-wide environmental benefits.  NASF recommends retaining a more focused SIP program to address emerging outbreaks of invasive species and thereby reduce the impact on hazardous fuels.  We recommend funding SIP at $10.0 million.

NASF also supports the Forest Legacy Program (FLP), which helps to prevent the development of private forestland through conservation easements and land acquisition.  We recommend funding FLP at $70 million.

The International Forestry Program (IFP) is another important program within S&PF.  By supporting international efforts at sustainable natural resource management, the program furthers the sustainable management of forests not only in our country, but worldwide.  NASF recommends funding IFP at $5.3 million.

ECONOMIC ACTION PROGRAM (EAP)

EAP provides critical support for forest-based rural development.  As highlighted in the west, landscapes dominated by public ownership are often overloaded with fuels and many rural communities are facing economic transitions.  The financial and technical assistance provided by EAP can help develop industries that reduce wildfire risk, restore fire prone ecosystems, and enhance social well-being.  The opportunities provided by EAP to market underutilized, specialty, and non-traditional forest products while working directly with local communities offers a chance to simultaneously revitalize rural economies and solve some of our forest management issues across the entire country.  NASF is working with the USFS to strengthen the program by building on the idea that forests and communities can both benefit from rural development.  The President’s initiative in the 2003 budget for small diameter wood utilization can help achieve EAP goals.  NASF recommends funding EAP under Cooperative Forestry at $32.0 million and under the NFP at $12.5 million.

FOREST INVESTORY AND ANALYSIS (FIA)

NASF has long supported FIA, an invaluable inventory of all the nation’s forests.  Regular forest inventories help decision makers and foresters adapt management plans to changing forest conditions, which is especially useful when managing forest fuels.  Administered under Research and Development (R&D), FIA is involved with surveys of non-industrial private forest owners, assessments of forest health conditions, and other data useful for landscape level management, benefiting all Deputy areas.  NASF urges the Subcommittee to maintain the federal responsibility to fund baseline forest inventories and other long term research.

We commend the President for making FIA a top research priority this year but are concerned that funding it entirely through R&D will impact other important research.  To meet the goal of fully implementing FIA in order to maintain base funding and support annualized inventories for each state, we recommend spreading the necessary funding increase of $14.2 million over two years.  To accomplish this goal, FIA will require $58.7 million in FY 2003, shared by R&D ($37.6 million), S&PF ($14.9 million), and the National Forest System ($6.2 million).

URBAN AND COMMUNITY FORESTRY (UCF)

The UCF program helps sustain and enhance tree cover in metropolitan areas through education, technical assistance, and grants that promote trees and other vegetation as integral components of cityscapes.  With about 80% of the nation’s population living in urban areas, this is an S&PF program that truly reaches most citizens where they live, work, and play.  The increased coordination of S&PF programs across the country from city centers through the urban-wildland interface to rural areas is exemplified by UCF.  Federal UCF monies are leveraged through state forestry agencies with private sector involvement and initiatives.  UCF includes a competitive grants program, another way that the funds are used to effectively reach a variety of organizations and entities to enhance urban forestry in America.  NASF encourages the Subcommittee to fund UCF at $37.4 million to ensure the continued success of the program.

FOREST HEALTH MANAGEMENT (FHM)

The FHM program area helps to detect, control, and prevent the spread of forest pests and diseases.  Through its three program areas—Federal Lands, Cooperative Lands, and the proposed Emerging Pest and Pathogen initiative—FHM provides a broad and effective approach to managing invasive species that threaten the health of forested ecosystems.  NASF encourages the Subcommittee to provide $83.6 million for these programs in order to provide for the long term sustainability and health of our nation’s public and private forests.

CONCLUSION

NASF seeks the Subcommittee’s support for a Forest Service FY 2003 budget that will make sure the needs of state and private forestry, as well as those of federal lands, are met.  Collaboration among stakeholders across the landscape—federal, state, and local government agencies, private industry, and non-profit organizations—is necessary to manage for the wide range of forest resources and values found on all lands.  The agency has programs that can provide these links, and 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.  Thank you for the opportunity to provide our testimony.
 

NASF BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS

^{* C&PLFA was originally funded $35 million under Wildland Fire Management (WFM) Operations in FY ‘01.  In FY ‘02, $15 million was provided under WFM Operations for activities that cross the National Forest System boundaries.  In FY ‘03, C&PLFA is authorized under the 2002 Farm Bill for $35 million.  It would be funded through S&PF Cooperative Fire Protection.}