Trees and forests built America and are essential for the nation’s growth and success. State forestry agencies are poised to support the new presidential administration. The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) is pleased to provide the Donald Trump Administration and Congress with recommendations for capitalizing on the benefits of trees and forests.
- Trees and forests are America’s fundamental infrastructure, offering real solutions to America’s challenges. Learn how.
- Professional forest and wildland fire management maximizes economic, environmental, and social benefits. Read more.
- State Foresters and state-based solutions produce results for America. Find out more.
Take Action Recommendations for the Trump Administration and Congress:
- Increase landowner assistance on private forestland, active forest management on federal forestland, and reforestation on all forestland.
- Increase investment in State & Private Forestry, State Fire Assistance, and federal forest management programs and initiatives to enhance public benefits and minimize wildland fire costs and risks.
- Recognize state Forest Action Plans as the go-to documents for forest management and conservation decision-making; and use Forest Action Plans as primary source documents for federal agency forest planning, annual project planning, and rulemaking.
- Support passage of Landscape Scale Restoration legislation that provides state forestry agencies with the flexibility to target federal funding based on Forest Action Plans.
- Support passage of wildland fire funding fix legislation to stop fire borrowing, while reducing or capping federal agency funding for fire suppression which currently continues to grow at the expense of other program budgets.
- Enhance states’ ability to carry out forest management activities across all boundaries by expanding management options, such as those provided for in the Good Neighbor Authority.
- Promote the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program as the credible data source for calculating carbon benefits and addressing sustainable forestry questions.
- Encourage development of new technologies and markets for wood, such as in mass timber buildings and wood-based biomass energy.
- Ensure federal policies related to green building and forest certification recognize all major programs operating in the United States.
- Elevate forest invasive species as a national priority and promote collaboration between U.S. Department of Agriculture agencies to develop a unified strategic plan.
- Ensure forest owners have favorable tax policies, robust markets for wood products, and support from forest management professionals to keep forests productive and healthy.
Learn more in the presidential transition platform from the National Association of State Foresters.