By Emily Bazydlo
At the 2016 NASF Annual Meeting in Savannah, Georgia, State Foresters voted to approve policy resolutions that will help conserve, protect and enhance America’s forests.
NASF Resolution 2016-1: Reforestation, Nursery and Genetic Resources Program focuses on state tree seedling nurseries and the value they bring to America’s forests.
The wheels for this resolution began to turn in the Forest Resource Management Committee of NASF in 2015. State Foresters had concerns not only about whether nurseries were producing enough seedlings to adequately reforest areas in need, but whether these seedlings were genetically suited to their intended purpose.
The conversation led the association to implement a comprehensive survey of state programs. The analysis and results are presented in the National Survey of State Operated Tree Seedling Nurseries and Tree Improvement Programs Report.
The survey came to several conclusions. Our nurseries produce 117,011,000 seedlings and ship over 40,000 orders annually. State Nurseries across the board consider family forest owners to be their most important customers, especially since they tend to order during the current planting season and rely on nurseries who grow seedlings on a speculative basis. In addition, the USDA Forest Service Nursery, Reforestation and Genetic Resources Program (RNGR) represents a key resource for technical training and coordination of cooperative state nursery efforts.
The resolution addresses two important issues. It encourages the US Forest Service to focus RNGR efforts on state forestry needs. And, it calls for a joint NASF/ US Forest Service task force to outline future national reforestation needs and the necessary steps for meeting those needs.
Read the 2016 Reforestation, Nursery, and Genetic Resources Program Resolution or learn more about what State Foresters have accomplished this year in the 2016 Annual Report.