Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C.–State Foresters applaud the recent enactment of the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act, which contains sweeping measures to improve public land management and outdoor recreation nationwide. The Act’s explicit expansion of the Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) will accelerate critical forest management work across boundaries on national, state, tribal and county lands. [read more]

WASHINGTON, D.C.– President Biden signed a stopgap spending bill to keep federal agencies functioning through March 14, 2025. The measure includes more than $100 billion in aid to Americans struggling to recover from natural disasters, citing hurricanes “Helene and Milton and [the] Hawaii wildfires” among examples of late. The announcement and resulting funds will have a significant [read more]

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The USDA Forest Service has announced nearly $210 million in funding made available per the Forest Landowner Support initiative through the Inflation Reduction Act. For State Foresters, this is a welcome and much needed incentive to support private landowners’ efforts in sustainable forest management. State forestry agencies provide technical assistance to more than 200,000 landowners [read more]

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Association of State Foresters applauds three major funding announcements by USDA this week: Forest Legacy Program, Wood Innovations Grants and Community Wildfire Defense Grants. Taken together, these federal investments will accelerate much needed work to enhance forest management, protection and conservation across the nation. The announcement reflected a sum of $478 million in [read more]

WASHINGTON—The partners behind the wildfire prevention legend Smokey Bear and his public service advertisement campaign—the longest running in United States history—are pleased to announce the 2024 national Smokey Bear Award awardees. The Smokey Bear Awards are reserved for individuals, teams, and organizations that provide outstanding service with significant and sustained program impact in the wildfire prevention arena. [read more]

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Northwest Wildland Fire Protection Agreement (Northwest Compact) is welcoming Hawaii as its newest member, rendering the compact 11 agencies strong. Eight wildfire compacts operate across North America, allowing the U.S. and Canadian provinces the ability to share information, technology, personnel and other essential resources across borders. Compacts are a critical foundation for effective [read more]

The four cosponsors of the national Wildfire Mitigation Awards have named the individuals and organizations chosen to receive honors this year in recognition of their exemplary commitment to community wildfire risk reduction. WASHINGTON—The Wildfire Mitigation Awards committee has named a recipient of the Wildfire Mitigation Legacy Award in addition to two organizations chosen to receive [read more]

WASHINGTON, D.C.—On July 31, 2023, State Foresters lauded Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s announcement that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Forest Service is accepting applications for this year’s edition of the $1 billion Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) program. Launched in July of 2022, the newly established program has already demonstrated itself as a distinct asset in [read more]

WASHINGTON, D.C.—On July 12, 2023, Oklahoma State Forester Mark Goeller shared his expertise on enhancing wildfire prediction and response coordination before the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. As Canadian wildfires dominate discussion, wildfires, their rampant devastation and impact on air quality are gripping the attention of communities around the world. Goeller pointed to Oklahoma’s collaboration with the [read more]

WASHINGTON, D.C.—On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a remarkable investment to conserve some of the nation's most economically and ecologically significant forestlands to the tune of $188 million. Provided through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, these funds will support 34 conservation projects over more than 245,000 acres of the nation's [read more]