Letters

In a letter to the director of the National Economic Council and a senior advisor to the president on Wednesday, the National Association of State Foresters and dozens of other forestry associations requested that H-2B non-immigrant laborers (who perform essential forestry-related work) be excluded from any presidential proclamations or orders restricting immigrant or non-immigrant labor [read more]

In a letter to House and Senate leadership yesterday, the National Association of State Foresters joined with dozens of diverse organizations, businesses, professional societies, state agencies, and tribal nations to request that the bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (HR 3742) be included in a future economic recovery package. The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act will put [read more]

Next week, members of the Senate will meet for a cloture vote on S. 3422, the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), and are set to begin debate on the bill Monday evening. NASF and other members of the Forest Climate Working Group have already sent a letter in support of the GAOA. GAOA would permanently [read more]

On Wednesday, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure released a $500-billion, five-year surface transportation bill, called the Invest in America Act. If passed, this legislation would substantially increase (by 40%) mandatory funding for USDA Forest Service road maintenance from the current level of $19 million annually to $50 million annually. The legislation would also [read more]

In early April, the National Association of State Foresters sent a letter to Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski recommending an increase in funding to two specific federal programs to ensure wildland firefighters have critical access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and COVID-19 tests. Recommendation 2: Provide emergency supplemental funding for the State Fire Assistance (SFA) program [read more]

On April 3, the National Association of State Foresters penned a letter to Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska thanking her for recognizing the affects of the COVID-19 pandemic on wildland fire management and urging Secretaries Sonny Perdue and David Bernhardt to  adopt an aggressive initial attack strategy for the 2020 wildfire season. Read NASF's letter [read more]

With a letter sent on April 2, NASF was among several dozen organizations that urged congressional appropriations leadership to protect farm bill conservation program FY21 mandatory funding and provide robust discretionary funding and support for USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service field staff. The full text of the letter is linked below.

On March 23, the  Forest-Climate Working Group, of which the National Association of State Foresters  is a member, submitted a letter  to the  Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies recommending investments in sound science, forest product innovation, and resources for private forest landowners. The full text of the letter is linked below.

On February 5, the National Association of State Foresters sent a letter to the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station expressing its support for updating Agricultural Handbook 731: The Forest Landowner’s Guide to the Federal Income Tax. NASF is comprised of the heads of forestry agencies in all 50 states, U.S. territories, and the District [read more]

On January 17, 2020, the National Association of State Foresters sent a letter to Congressman Jared Huffman of California thanking him for introducing HR 5311 “The Forestry Renewal Act of 2019," which would renew the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Committee's (NUCFAC) charter. NASF President and South Dakota State Forester Greg Josten writes: "The [read more]