Letters

This week, the National Association of State Foresters and more than 125 diverse organizations submitted a letter to congressional leadership in support of a comprehensive wildfire funding solution. Today's fire seasons are on average 78 days longer than in the 1970s and are projected to grow hotter, more unpredictable, and more expensive in the coming [read more]

On Monday, October 4th, U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-MT) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) sent a letter to the Senate and House Leadership of the Energy Bill Conference (Committee Chairmen and Ranking Members) urging them to address wildfire funding and federal forest management reforms.  The letter also supported codifying of the Landscape Scale Restoration program and [read more]

The National Association of State Foresters provided coalition letters in support of fiscal year 2017 appropriations levels for priority USDA Forest Service State and Private Forestry (S&PF) programs.  State and private forests make up more than two thirds of our nation’s forests and provide a host of public benefits including jobs, clean air and water, wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities [read more]

The National Association of State Foresters urges the Senate to pass legislation allowing the USDA Forest Service to sell isolated parcels of land and utilize those funds for acquisition of access and inholdings. HR 1214 passed the House of Representatives and was sent to the Senate for consideration on September 17, 2015. It passed the [read more]

State Foresters joined a broad coalition of forestry partners in urging leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees to retain language included in the House Farm Bill (H.R. 2642) that would codify the EPA’s longstanding Silviculture Rule that looks to state-based Best Management Practices (BMPs) for addressing stormwater runoff associated with forest roads. The [read more]

NASF joined other associations this week in sending a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Scientific Advisory Board on the draft report concerning Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands to Downstream Waters: A Review and Synthesis of the Scientific Evidence. The letter highlights the need for continued cooperation between the states and EPA as the [read more]

NASF joined a host of partners in the forestry community in sending a letter to USDA Forest Service (USFS) Chief Tom Tidwell recognizing the leadership of the USFS in promoting wood as a green building material. The letter seeks a renewed commitment from the Agency to wood as a green building material through a partnership [read more]

Congress took steps last week to restore $600 million to the U.S. Forest Service, which the agency had transferred from other programs to cover the cost of wildfire suppression during this year’s expansive forest fire season. NASF joined partners in a letter this week to encourage the Senate to do the same. This funding, however, [read more]

This week NASF joined a broad coalition of more than 90 organizations in seeking immediate action from Congress to address both the short and long-term impacts of ongoing fire transfers at the USDA Forest Service. As we reported last week, the Forest Service has begun the process of transferring $600 million from non-fire programs within [read more]

NASF joined numerous diverse organizations in a coalition letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy regarding the recent ruling by a U.S. Court of Appeals vacating EPA's Deferral Rule for biogenic carbon emissions under the Tailoring Rule. The letter addressed the uncertainty now faced by biomass and forest products facilities that have begun operations, construction, [read more]