Kansas State Forester Jason Hartman Testifies Before Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate Forestry and Natural Resources
WASHINGTON, D.C.—This week, on behalf of the National Association of State Foresters (NASF), Kansas State Forester Jason Hartman joined representatives from the Nature Conservancy, Neiman Enterprises, National Alliance of Forest Owners and the Colorado Forest Restoration Institute to testify on opportunities to advance forest policy in the upcoming Farm Bill.
Hartman delivered expert testimony on Farm Bill forestry provisions and the role state forestry agency professionals play in managing and protecting America’s forests on all lands, public and private. His remarks addressed the need to expedite forest management, forest health protection and wildlife mitigation work across large landscapes.
State Forest Action Plans, Good Neighbor Authority and the Landscape Scale Restoration Program were among the examples cited in NASF testimony. Leveraging partnerships, conveying a sense of urgency for needed action and increasing the pace and scale of forest management were common themes throughout the hearing, in addition to bolstering forest data collection through the Forest Inventory and Analysis Program to better tell our stories. There was also a focus on the carbon and climate benefits of wood products through increased use of forest products such as mass timber.
“NASF is grateful for this opportunity to represent national priorities and appreciates the forestry leadership of Chairman Bennet and Ranking Member Marshall, as well as Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow and Ranking Member John Boozman. Trees are America’s greatest renewable resource and merit a strong forestry title in the Farm Bill,” said Jay Farrell, Executive Director of the National Association of State Foresters.
The full hearing can be viewed at:
https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/hearings/forestry-in-the-farm-bill-the-importance-of-americas-forests