America's beloved wildfire prevention icon rings in birthday alongside fans and celebrities. WASHINGTON—Smokey Bear, the face of the longest-running PSA campaign in United States history, turns 75 today, continuing his legacy of bringing awareness to unwanted, human-caused fires in America. Smokey Bear’s wildfire prevention campaign has had a dramatic impact since its introduction in 1944. [read more]
#ProtectYours from wildfire with these resources provided by the International Association of Fire Chiefs, Intertribal Timber Council, National Association of Counties, National Association of State Foresters, and National League of Cities. WASHINGTON—It doesn’t matter what time of year it is, there are always communities preparing for, actively mitigating, fighting, or recovering from wildfire. The 2019 [read more]
WASHINGTON—The nation’s 59 state and territorial foresters look forward to continuing their important work in support of America’s forests with John Phipps, the newly named deputy chief of the USDA Forest Service’s State and Private Forestry programs. “State and Private Forestry programs support state Forest Action Plans, bolster wildfire protection and forest pest management efforts, [read more]
WASHINGTON—The nation's 59 state and territorial foresters fully support the USDA Forest Service's proposal to modernize its compliance processes associated with National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) reviews. "For several years now, state foresters have called on the Forest Service to streamline their NEPA review processes," said Lisa Allen, NASF president and Missouri state forester. "NEPA [read more]
WASHINGTON—The National Association of State Foresters is calling on Congress to introduce and pass legislation that will allow resource sharing among states and Canadian provinces for the express purpose of fighting wildfires. "To better protect Americans from wildfire, our states need Congress to enact federal legislation to address liability concerns for Forest Fire Compact resource [read more]
Yesterday (June 13) Alaska State Forester Chris Maisch testified before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. In his oral and written testimony (linked below), Maisch relayed the following statistics and key points: State contributions to wildland fire prevention, mitigation, and suppression State forestry agencies contribute tremendously in resources and personnel to wildland fire [read more]
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]
In this letter to House and Senate Appropriations Committee leadership, the nation's state and territorial foresters articulate their FY 2020 funding level recommendations for priority federal programs.
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.
NASF, the National Volunteer Fire Council, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, and the Congressional Fire Services Institute have sent letters to appropriations leadership in the House of Representatives and the Senate about two critically important wildfire protection programs: State Fire Assistance (SFA) and Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA). SFA and VFA, programs housed within the [read more]
