NASF President Jim Karels testifies about critical landowner, forest health, and fire protection assistance. WASHINGTON—Florida State Forester and National Association of State Foresters President Jim Karels today urged a House panel to support NASF recommendations for USDA Forest Service (USFS) program funding levels. Speaking to the House Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, Karels [read more]
Stakeholders welcome new USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis strategic plan. WASHINGTON—A broad coalition of conservation, forest products, natural resources groups, and state agencies welcomes the Agriculture Department’s new strategic plan for the USDA Forest Service’s (USFS) Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program. The Agricultural Act of 2014, also known as the Farm Bill, [read more]
Wildfire Disaster Funding Act of 2015 would end transfers of cash from land management programs to fund wildfire suppression activities. WASHINGTON—Senators Wyden (D-OR) and Crapo (R-ID) have introduced the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act of 2015 (S. 235) with support from a bi-partisan group of their Senate colleagues including Senators Risch (R-ID), Baldwin (D-WI), Gardner (R-CO), [read more]
Twenty-one individuals and organizations honored for superlative fire protection efforts in their communities. WASHINGTON—The Wildfire Mitigation Awards Committee is pleased to announce the 2015 Wildfire Mitigation Award winners. Established in 2014, in response to an overwhelming number of great wildfire mitigation program efforts across the nation, the Wildfire Mitigation Awards are the highest national honor [read more]
WILDFIRE DISASTER FUNDING ACT OF 2015 WOULD END TRANSFERS OF CASH FROM LAND MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS WASHINGTON—United States Representatives Mike Simpson (R-ID) and Kurt Schrader (D-OR) today introduced the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act of 2015 (H.R. 167). The bill would change how the federal government budgets for wildland fire suppression to eliminate the need to transfer funds from [read more]
Members and congressional staff honored for leadership in forest policy. WASHINGTON—The National Association of State Foresters has presented Sen. Ron Wyden, D-O.R., and Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-W.A., with the 2014 Bernard L. Orell Awards for Partnership. The award, presented at the organization’s annual partners reception, is named in memory of former Washington State Forester [read more]
The 2013-14 Annual Report illustrates NASF member accomplishments from the previous year and highlights the theme "Working Forests Work."
WASHINGTON—The National Association of State Foresters applauds yesterday’s decision to fully restore transfers under the Federal Excess Property Program (FEPP) and the Firefighter Property Program (FFP) for wildland firefighting. The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reached an agreement Thursday that will enable transfers to resume without any encumbrance on [read more]
State forestry agencies rely on transferred equipment to effectively and efficiently combat wildfire. WASHINGTON—The National Association of State Foresters welcomes today’s letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel submitted by a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators urging the Department of Defense (DoD) to completely resolve the federal excess property impasse. A recent decision by the U.S. Army’s Tank [read more]
The National Association of State Foresters applauds the Forest Service's designation of areas affected by insects and disease. WASHINGTON—The USDA Forest Service (USFS) has designated landscape-scale insect and disease infestation areas on more than 45 million acres of National Forest System lands. The designations are the first step in implementing badly needed management activities to [read more]
