Last week the Maryland General Assembly passed HB 706, more commonly referred to as the Forest Preservation Act of 2013. State Forester Steve Koehn was integral facilitating the process that provided the General Assembly with the background and information to support the passage of the Forest Preservation Act of 2013. The bill recognizes that the [read more]
This week the Supreme Court reversed the May 2011 ruling in NEDC v. Brown that would require a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for stormwater discharges from logging roads. While the favorable ruling upholds the policy to address stormwater runoff through state-based BMPs, federal, state, county, tribal and private forest owners nationwide remain [read more]
In December, NASF hosted a signing ceremony for the Chesapeake Bay Forest Restoration Strategy. Present at the signing ceremony were State Foresters Steve Koehn (MD), Monica Lear (DC), and Carl Garrison (VA), along with U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell and Chesapeake Bay Program Director Nick DiPasquale. The Strategy was established to help the Chesapeake [read more]
This week the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on whether to switch gears on more than 30 years of regulating the muddy water running off logging roads into rivers. To add to an already complex situation, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a new regulation last Friday clarifying a provision of the Clean Water Act. The [read more]
State Foresters met with Butch Blazer, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, this week to discuss priorities established by NASF for the next term of the Obama Administration. The priorities include: I. Commit to Protecting the Nation’s Forests, Rangelands and Communities from Wildland Fire II. Support Efforts to Improve Markets for Forest [read more]
U.S. Supreme court justices will review a 2011 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that overturned 35 years of EPA Clean Water Act regulation of the logging industry on December 3. The high court will decide between two theories of regulation: (1) the law tells states (as the EPA insists) to regulate runoff from logging [read more]
This afternoon,NASF joined the Society of American Foresters, Association of Consulting Foresters, and many scientists in the academic community in filing a Brandeis Brief with the United States Supreme Court. The brief provides facts to inform the Court as it prepares to review a May 2011 decision in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals determining [read more]
NASF will receive a $40,000 grant from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®), awarded under their Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program. The grant will promote continuous improvement in water quality protection and assess how well best management practices are protecting water resources in the United States. “Thanks to SFI, as well as support from the [read more]
The NASF Fire Committee, chaired by Florida State Forester Jim Karels, has released the 2012 National Prescribed Fire Use Survey Report produced in collaboration with the Coalition of Prescribed Fire Councils. When applied appropriately in fire-dependent ecosystems, prescribed fire maintains forest health and function, provides habitat for wildlife populations, enhances soil and water conservation, and [read more]
A group of twenty-six state Attorneys General joined forest owners and industry groups in filing briefs asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling that rainwater runoff from forest roads used for timber harvest is a "point source" of water pollution under the Clean Water Act.
