Letters

Senators, states and conservation groups are urging the Senate to restore funding to programs that help prevent wildfires. The steep funding cuts proposed in a Senate Appropriations Committee draft spending bill would severely hamper agencies' ability to thin and burn forests vulnerable to severe wildfires.

NASF and a coalition of partners recently sent a letter to Congressional leaders on the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee regarding funding for the Hazardous Fuels program under the Wildland Fire Management portion of the USDA Forest Service (USFS) and Department of the Interior (DOI) budgets. The Hazardous Fuels program serves as the primary source of funding [read more]

NASF recently signed on to a letter to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction urging members to reject disproportionate cuts to Farm Bill programs as a part of any deficit reduction plan and consider the combined impact of the Farm Bill and the annual agricultural appropriations process. Mandatory farm bill conservation programs have been [read more]

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision declaring stormwater management systems on forest roads as "point sources" subject to an NPDES permit. NASF supports the Silviculture Regulatory Consistency Act that has been introduced in the U.S. Senate (S 1369) and U.S. House of Representatives (HR 2541), which would amend the Clean Water Act [read more]

NASF joined nearly 50 other wildlife and conservation organzations in a letter to the Vice President and Congressional leaders on the fate in current budget negotiations of federal programs that sustain our nation's natural resources. The letter urged a comprehensive solution that does not cut "the natural resource budget disproportionately to the budget as a [read more]

NASF and a coalition of more than 40 forestry and conservation partners recently sent a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack to applaud the agency's new green building strategy and its efforts to promote wood products as an environmentally preferable building material. The letter urged USDA to play a leadership role within and among the [read more]

NASF and several partners recently urged Senate leaders to avoid duplicative permitting requirements for public health and agricultural applications of pesticides. Entities affected by the new pesitcide general permit will include counties, municipalities, school districts, public utilities, parks, forestry, and farmers. Some states estimate it will cost each small business at least $15,000 per year [read more]

NASF advanced recommendations to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee regarding the strong role forest biomass can play as part of a federal Clean Energy Standard. The letter included recommendations regarding forest biomass supply, sustainability and carbon accounting that were endorsed by resolution at the 2010 NASF annual [read more]

NASF, alongside a diversity of forestry, environmental and conservation groups, recently sent letters to House and Senate appropriators demonstrating broad support for shared FY12 program funding recommendations for Urban and Community Forestry, Forest Inventory and Analysis, Forest Health, State Fire Assistance and the FLAME account within the USDA Forest Service. The letters were sent as [read more]

NASF led a coalition of organizations urging support for priority Forest Service programs and funding levels for the 2011 budget. The letter, sent to members of Interior Appropriations, acknowledged the nation's forest infrastructure as critical in providing numerous public benefits and stressed the importance of programs that assist private forest owners with their efforts to conserve [read more]