Comments

In official comments  to the Environmental Protection Agency today, the National Association of State Foresters made recommendations on proposed changes to the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFA). Among the association's comments was a critique of the RFS's treatment of biomass: "EPA has done little to spur growth in forest biomass industries through such RFS policy signals. [read more]

Today the National Association of State Foresters submitted officials comments  to the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis (HSCCC) regarding  forest climate solutions. "NASF ascribes to the view that benefitting from the economic value of forests does not threaten environmental and social values as much as it is key to supporting the delivery of [read more]

On April 15, 2019, the National Association of State Foresters submitted comments on the Environmental Protection Agency's revised definition of waters of the United States, commonly referred to as WOTUS. In its comments, NASF made clear that one size does not fit all when it comes to water quality policy and regulation. Each state's approach [read more]

In comments submitted to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service last week, NASF detailed its concerns regarding the federal deregulation of the emerald ash borer (EAB) and its recommendations for addressing those concerns. In cooperation with federal agencies, state forestry agencies have been at the forefront of EAB monitoring, early detection, delimiting, and outreach since [read more]

NASF has submitted official comments regarding three proposed rule changes under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Informing the association's comments is language from its 2015 position statement entitled "Improving the Effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act." Click the link below to access these comments.

By Greg Pilchak  The National Association of State Foresters submitted a letter commenting on the Senate Committee on Agriculture’s bill, the Emergency Wildfire and Forest Management Act of 2016. NASF commends the Committee’s leadership and initiative in trying to find a solution to the wildfire funding challenges faced by the USDA Forest Service and the [read more]

The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) submitted comments this week in response to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) revisions to the proposed rule for those who want to file petitions for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) (81 Fed. Reg. 23448). Learn more about the revisions at https://federalregister.gov/a/2016-09200.  In July 2015, NASF submitted [read more]

Today the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers released a final rule defining waters of the United States (WOTUS), which sets the bounds of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act. In November, NASF provided comment to the agencies on the proposed rule and Arkansas State Forester Joe Fox testified before the [read more]

Last week, NASF submitted comments to US Fish and Wildlife regarding the potential listing of northern long‐eared bat as an endangered species. The letter outlined concerns about regulations that may be imposed on forestland owners that will have little to no effect on the cause of the bat's diminishing numbers due to  the fungus‐caused disease, [read more]

NASF provided comments this week regarding the Standard used by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc.® (SFI®). They launched the process of revising their current standard to develop the SFI® 2015-2019 Standard in June.  SFI®  reached out to more than 10,000 stakeholders for input. In the comments, NASF spoke highly of the current SFI Standard and [read more]