Publications

Greater support for state forestry agencies and their work to sustain, enhance, and protect America's forests is needed now more than ever. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an ailing national economy, and a substantial backlog in federal forest management and rural infrastructure maintenance, the nation's state foresters have put forth a policy platform designed to bolster [read more]

State forestry agencies play a critical role in ensuring that forests—and the water resources they provide—are protected and properly managed. States have been evaluating, testing, and revising their forestry best management practices (BMPs) guidelines since the 1970s, steadily improving the efficacy of these standards for protecting water quality before, during, and after silvicultural activities take [read more]

The latest statistics report on the nation’s state forestry agencies is now available. The State Foresters by the Numbers report relies on NASF biennial survey data to illustrate the key roles state foresters and their agencies play in protecting and enhancing America's forested landscapes. Learn more by viewing or downloading the PDF linked below.

For more than a century, partnerships have been at the heart of state forestry agencies’ work to conserve and protect our nation’s forests. State and private forests make up sixty-six percent – over 520 million acres – of the forested acreage in the United States. State forestry agencies in all 50 states, the District of [read more]

The 2018-2019 NASF Annual Report highlights accomplishments by the nation’s 59 state and territorial foresters and their staffs to advance policy, communications, and operations priorities that help protect and enhance America’s forests and trees.

This document — Guiding Principles: Serious Accident and Near Miss Incident Reviews — was developed to assist states and their constituents in determining the needs and level of review necessary for serious accidents or near miss incidents. This guide is not intended to be "one size fits all." Instead, it details common areas of consideration for [read more]

This Communities At Risk Report provides a national snapshot of wildland fire risk, preparedness, and capacity using the latest USDA Forest Service National Fire Plan Operations and Reporting System data for Fiscal Year 2018. For more information about this report, contact NASF Fire Director Dan Smith at desmith@blm.gov or 208-867-0908.

The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) and the Coalition of Prescribed Fire Councils (CPFC) have released the findings of their 2018 National Prescribed Fire Use Survey. Conducted every three years, these surveys help encourage the appropriate use of prescribed fire as a means to improve forest health and public safety. The 2018 survey found [read more]

The 2017-2018 NASF Annual Report highlights accomplishments by the nation's 59 state and territorial foresters and their staffs to advance policy, communications, and operations priorities that help protect and enhance America's forests and trees.

Guiding Principles: Best Practices for National Guard Resources was developed by regional wildland fire chiefs, managers, and supervisors to assist states and their constituents in the deployment of National Guard resources. This edition was approved by the National Association of State Foresters' Wildland Fire Committee in 2018. The National Guard supports wildland firefighting in various [read more]