NASF worked with key partner organizations on a letter advocating for increased USDA Forest Service Forest Stewardship Program funding. The letter draws attention to the frightening level of expiring plans the Forest Stewardship Program will experience in the upcoming years. “Currently, there are over 20 million acres nationwide managed under the Forest Stewardship Program. In [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]
NASF joined six partner organizations in a letter to House and Senate Appropriations Committees advocating for increased FY25 appropriation levels for State Fire Assistance (SFA) and Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) programs. The letter requests $85 million for the SFA program and $25 million for VFA. “SFA is an important federal mechanism for assisting states and [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]
NASF joined the Sustainable Urban Forestry Coalition’s (SUFC) letter in support of appropriations for the Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Program. The letter also highlighted the urgent need for research funding to establish benchmarks that can be used to measure the impacts of these investments. Over 30 organizations also signed the letter. “Our nation’s [read more]
NASF signed onto a coalition letter in support of $30 million in appropriations for the Forest Service’s Wood Innovation Grant Program (WIG). “WIG provides competitive grants to projects that expand wood products and wood energy markets to support forest management and deliver economic and environmental benefits to communities. Projects funded by WIG typically demonstrate, research, [read more]
The National Association of State Foresters joined over 60 other partner organizations in a letter recommending a funding level of no less than $32.2 million in program dollars for the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program in FY25. The letter was sent to the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies in both [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]
The National Association of State Foresters submitted comments in response to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to amend all land management plans for units of the National Forest System to include consistent direction to conserve steward and recruit future old-growth [read more]
