State and Private Forestry Efforts Conserve, Protect and Enhance Forests Across the U.S.
Posted on Friday, March 27, 2009
A new publication jointly published by NASF and the Forest Service - the Redesign Report Card - provides a summary of the first wave of projects in a new multi-stage process that effectively and proactively invests federal, state, local and private resources in a way that makes a meaningful impact on the ground. Guided by the principle "Focus + Priority = Outcome," Redesign leveraged nearly $23 million in matching funding from state agencies and partner organizations in 2008 to augment $19.5 million in federal funding.House passes FLAME Act
Posted on Thursday, March 26, 2009H.R. 1404, the Federal Land Assistance, Management and Enhancement Act, or FLAME Act, passed 412 to 3 in the House of Representatives Thursday. The legislation sets up a partitioned account for funding emergency wildfire suppression activities and aims to relieve much of the strain these catastrophic fires have had on the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the Interior's constrained budgets. NASF commends Congress for its demonstration of support and commitment to this critical issue.
State Foresters Praise Wildfire Suppression Funding Legislation
Posted on Wednesday, March 11, 2009On March 10, House and Senate leaders introduced the Federal Land Assistance, Management and Enhancement Act (FLAME Act), bipartisan legislation designed to alleviate funding problems caused by emergency wildland fire costs. NASF applauds these Congressional leaders for working to solve one of the nation's most pressing forest conservation problems.
Diverse coalition asks Congress to include private forests in climate policy
Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2009
The Forest Climate Working Group has released a consensus platform for including private forest lands in national climate legislation. NASF is one of 30 members in the diverse coalition representing the forest products industry, conservation and wildlife groups, foresters, private forest owners, academics, and carbon finance groups. The group's recommendations advocate helping forest owners by rewarding them for management practices that capture and store carbon and thereby offset industrial carbon emissions. Click above for more...State Foresters Call for Green Job Creation by Investing in the Nation's Forests
Posted on Tuesday, February 10, 2009
One of the surest ways Congress can maintain and create green jobs that improve the health of the nation's forests and support communities is to broaden investment in the full range of existing state forestry programs. Today, the Senate passed its version of the economic stimulus package which partially recognizes the potential to create green jobs in forestry. The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) believes it fails to deliver the broad authorities needed to make the greatest number of jobs available in rural and urban economies where they are needed most.House releases economic stimulus bill with $550M for state fire assistance; NASF offers green jobs ideas
Posted on Friday, January 16, 2009The House Appropriations Committee has released its version of the economic stimulus package(the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009), which contains $850 million for "hazardous fuels removal and other efforts to prevent wildfires on public lands." $550M will go towards state and private lands, $300M for federal lands. [Read the bill summary, or full text.] On December 23, NASF sent House and Senate leaders its recommendations on how the economic stimulus package can invest in our nation's public and private forests and create thousands of "shovel-ready" green jobs over the next two to five years.
