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

 

April 8, 2005

TESTIMONY ON FY 2006 APPROPRIATIONS

Pat McElroy, President of the National Association of State Foresters
Before U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies

INTRODUCTION

The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) is pleased to provide testimony on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 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 Deputy Areas most relevant to the long-term forestry operations of our constituents:  Research, Education, and Economics, as well as Natural Resources and Environment.  We believe the USDA budget for FY 2006, which offers opportunities for advancing the sustainable management of private forestland nationwide, can be strengthened through our recommendations. 

USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) Programs

Cooperative forestry research (mcIntire – Stennis) Program
The Cooperative Forestry Research (McIntire–Stennis) Program (CFRP) is a crucial part of the foundation that underlies academic and scientific understanding of the nation’s forest resources. McIntire-Stennis CFRP was originally enacted in order to provide universities with formula funds for the explicit purpose of research in the field of forestry, which was not provided for in similar research funding programs. For more than forty years, CFRP has equipped both private and land-grant universities with the ability to produce invaluable research concerning forest productivity, environmental quality, and technologies for monitoring and extending the natural resource base. The program also provides rigorous scientific education and training for university students – the future managers of the nation’s forest resources.

Universities, supported by base funds from the federal government, have consistently supplied science-based forestry research not affiliated with any particular resource use or interest group. Without sufficient base funds from the federal government, society will lose the benefits wrought by this productive partnership.

The Administration’s proposed FY 2006 budget reduces funding for the McIntire-Stennis CFRP to half the amount enacted in FY 2005 and aims to eliminate the program formula funds in FY 2007. The Administration plans to redirect the funds toward both the National Research Initiative competitive grants program (NRI), and the new State Agriculture Experiment Station competitive grants program (SAES), which would provide competitive grants exclusively to land-grant universities. Although the amount of funding would theoretically be maintained, the proposed change in the funding mechanism would drastically alter the way that the funds would ultimately be used. Neither NRI nor SAES support specific forestry research efforts. The combination of the proposed elimination of McIntire-Stennis formula funds and the shift in the program funding mechanism would significantly reduce universities’ ability to conduct necessary and credible forest resource research.

NASF recommends full restoration of program funding for the Cooperative Forestry Research (McIntire-Stennis) Program to $22 million. The proposed increase in CFRP will help the program continue to serve as the cornerstone of forest research in universities, providing knowledge central to sound management from environmental, economic, and social perspectives.

The National research initiative competitive grants program (nri)
The National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program (NRI) advances fundamental scientific agriculture and forestry research. Two of the notable NRI forestry funding opportunities available in 2005 are Bio-based Products research grants and Bioenergy Production research grants. While grants such as these have great potential to contribute to forest resource research efforts, only 6 percent of NRI funds were allocated to forestry research proposals in FY 2005.

NASF supports continued funding for NRI, and encourages the President to increasing the proportion of spending dedicated to forest research to a minimum of 10%. However, NASF strongly disapproves of the proposed shift of McIntire-Stennis funds to NRI, thereby ending the forestry focus of the McIntire-Stennis program.

The Renewable Resources Extension Act (rrea)
The Renewable Resources Extension Act (RREA) facilitates the transfer of needed forestry information and technology to non-industrial private forest landowners, as well as loggers and small businesses involved with forest resource management.

Extension’s education programs aid private landowners in understanding their management options and responsibilities, and encourage them to take advantage of other technical and financial assistance programs.

NASF recommends funding RREA at $4.1 million for FY 2006, in order to sustain the program’s ability to address critical extension and stewardship needs. 

Farm Bill Conservation Programs

NASF believes that the conservation programs enacted in the 2002 Farm Bill are integral for protecting water quality, erodible soils, wildlife habitat, and wetlands associated with agricultural and forestry operations.  Trees and forestry practices are often the best solution to many of the conservation challenges arising from these operations.  

NASF recommends funding for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) at the FY 2005 level of $1.2 billion, full funding for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), $85 million for the Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program (WHIP), targeting of 321,000 acres under the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), and $150 million for the Emergency Watershed Program (EWP).  NASF supports the President’s FY 2006 funding proposal of $274 million for the Conservation Security Program (CSP).  NASF recommends that the Subcommittee encourage the Secretary of Agriculture and the NRCS to expand the emphasis on forestry practices in EQIP and the other Farm Bill Conservation Programs.    

These programs are important for landowners with both forest and agricultural land, as well as farmers who wish to plant trees for conservation purposes on their agricultural lands.  Nearly two thirds of the land in the United States is forested, the majority of which is privately owned.  Investing federal funds in conservation practices on private forest lands produces benefits for all, not simply landowners.  These benefits include abundant clean water for drinking and recreation, improved wildlife habitat, open space, viable rural economies, and many other tangible and intangible public benefits. 

CONCLUSION

The National Association of State Foresters seeks the Subcommittee’s support for a USDA FY 2006 budget that will make sure the public’s conservation needs – provided by private landowners – are met.  Thank you for the opportunity to provide our testimony.

Sincerely,

/s/ Pat McElroy

Pat McElroy
President