Blog
Coming up: Senate to vote on global warming legislation
Posted on Friday, May 30, 2008The Senate is expected to vote next week on the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act, which aims to reduce total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by up to 66 percent by 2050. NASF is reviewing the bill and plans to submit comments to Congressional leaders on how the legislation applies to the nation's forested ecosystems.
Some say Farm Bill falls short for forestry
Posted on Friday, May 30, 2008From the Baker City Herald in Oregon: The 2008 Farm Bill includes new programs and funding for private forests, but woodland owners and forest managers in Baker County and across the state deem the dollars a "drip in the bucket" considering the scope of the nation's forest health crisis.
SFI Standard Review Begins in June 2008
Posted on Wednesday, May 28, 2008The 2010-2014 SFI Standard development process will begin in June 2008 with a 60-day open comment period on the current 2005-2009 SFI Standard. For details on the full review process, visit
Commentary: Farm Bill puts new focus on forest
Posted on Wednesday, May 28, 2008George Gay, executive director of the Northern Forest Alliance, discusses how forestry-related provisions in the new Farm Bill will benefit communities and businesses in the state of Vermont.
Personnel Update: new State Foresters
Posted on Wednesday, May 28, 2008A number of changes have occurred in the State Forester family -- read about new faces in Connecticut, Michigan, Texas, and Kansas...
Boxer releases amendment to Climate Security Act
Posted on Friday, May 23, 2008Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) released a “global warming substitute amendment” to the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act (S. 2191) that will be the subject of debate during the first week of June. It includes a provision that provides $300 billion through 2050 to support agriculture and forestry programs that cut emissions but don’t qualify to be used as offsets.
GA poised as biomass research leader
Posted on Friday, May 23, 2008From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "The state of Georgia is a virtual Saudi Arabia of biomass...with its abundant and varied biomass coupled with scientists and engineers deeply engaged in research and its application for bioenergy, [Georgia] is responsibly and quickly moving to a biofueled future."
New report on designing carbon offset policies
Posted on Thursday, May 22, 2008The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University recently released a new report designed to inform federal policy related to carbon offset markets. Titled "Designing Offsets Policy for the U.S.", the report can be accessed online at http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/products.html.
Congress overrides veto of Farm Bill, despite error
Posted on Thursday, May 22, 2008UPDATE: The complete bill was approved in the House on Thursday by 306 to 110. The Senate quickly followed suit, 82 to 13. The votes in both chambers were far more than enough to defeat the veto that President Bush cast on Wednesday.
White House says farm bill "veto will be soon"
Posted on Wednesday, May 21, 2008President George W. Bush will soon veto the $289 billion U.S. farm bill, a White House spokesman said Wednesday. Leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture committees say they have the votes for an override, which could be completed this week. Congress formally delivered the bill to the White House on Tuesday.
Farm Bill Update
Posted on Tuesday, May 20, 2008On Thursday, May 15, the Senate gave final congressional approval to the Farm Bill, voting 81-15 to approve the bill. This followed overwhelming approval in the House, where it passed 318-106. Although President Bush has promised to veto the Farm Bill, it passed both the House and Senate by veto-proof margins. To override a Presidential veto both chambers of Congress need to call a new vote and pass the bill by a two-thirds majority.
Advancing boreal forest could further heat the already warming climate
Posted on Tuesday, May 20, 2008Conifer for ests encroaching on Arctic tundra threaten to further accelerate warming in the far North. Ecologists and climatologists are concerned because the emerging for est data suggest that the albedo, or reflectivity, of large regions across the Arctic could change. Most sunlight hitting snow and ice bounces back into space.
Introducing the new NASF website!
Posted on Monday, May 19, 2008The National Association of State Foresters is pleased to present the new and improved NASF website (www.stateforesters.org)! Our site has received a long-overdue redesign, with a new navigational structure, search features and an issue-focused design. We hope the new site will be a dynamic reference tool for our members, partners, the media, and the general public. Visit often for updated content, news and features!
Newly formed National Alliance of Forest Owners
Posted on Monday, May 19, 2008A nationwide group of private forestland owners today announced the formation of the National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) and the appointment of David P. Tenny as its president and chief executive officer. NAFO was incorporated on April 10, 2008 as a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. with a charter membership representing over 28 million acres of private forestland located throughout the United States.
CA study suggests fire-free forests store less carbon
Posted on Friday, May 16, 2008Quenching forest fires leads to more carbon in the air, says new research carried out in Californian forests. The discovery suggests that forests spared from fire may release more of the greenhouse gas into the air than they absorb. The results of the study will be published in Geophysical Research Letters.
Great Plains Tree and Forest Invasives Initiative survey work underway
Posted on Friday, May 16, 2008Through the Great Plains Tree and Forest Invasives Initiative, state forestry agencies in Nebraska, Kansas, North Dakota and South Dakota are working together to prepare for the arrival of invasive species in the Great Plains. The agencies are assessing the region's tree resources, determining and addressing the potential impacts of invasives to those resources, creating public awareness of invasive species and promoting species diversity.
Auburn University researchers explore state forests' biomass potential
Posted on Friday, May 16, 2008 Alabama is estimated to have woody biomass equivalent to 2.5 billion barrels of crude oil, Auburn says. Counting just the residue from commercial logging and other activities, the state produces about 4 million dry tons a year, which equals about 10 percent of the nation's annual gasoline usage.
Congress sends farm bill to White House
Posted on Thursday, May 15, 2008The Senate sent a $289 billion farm bill to the White House on Thursday, defying President George W. Bush to veto it. The Senate's 81-15 vote follows the overwhelming approval given to it in the House yesterday, where lawmakers passed it 318-106.
Forest Service announces new Director of Forest Management
Posted on Thursday, May 15, 2008Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell announced the appointment of Tom Peterson as the Director of Forest Management. This position is responsible for guiding activities to maintain and improve the health, diversity and productivity of the National Forest system.
Florida fires fueled by growth, development
Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008Experts said the fires reported in Brevard County that have burned roughly 10,000 acres — or more than 15 square miles — have found ample fuel because the state has not been able to hold controlled burns near development to cut back vegetation.
Study measures value of state forests' intangible benefits
Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008A $70,000 peer-reviewed study by researchers from the Univeristy of Maryland aims to better inform the MD Department of Natural Resources in its decisions about logging and other uses of forested state land by finding a dollar value of many forest benefits including recreation and carbon sequestration.
NOAA chief urges creating National Climate Service
Posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2008Conrad C. Lautenbacher, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the federal agency in charge of weather research and forecasting, said the creation of a new National Climate Service within his agency could combine data from the research and analysis work done by several agencies, as well as coordinate climate information for the government.
Beetle-ravaged forests prompt campground closures in Rockies
Posted on Tuesday, May 6, 2008Campers will face closed campgrounds in Colorado and Wyoming this summer; the U.S. Forest Service closures are due to concern that trees killed by the bark beetles could topple onto unsuspecting visitors.
Number of mid-Atlantic forest owners increasing due to parcelization
Posted on Tuesday, May 6, 2008Officials in PA, MD and VA report that the number of private citizens owning forestland in the Chesapeake region has reached an all-time high, with millions now holding title to relatively small tracts of forest, often less than 10 acres of land.
Arbor Day Foundation seeks Reforestation Program Manager
Posted on Monday, May 5, 2008The Arbor Day Foundation seeks a driven, detail-oriented individual to serve as a Reforestation Program Manager from our Lincoln, Nebraska, location.
Restoration of a tropical rain forest successful on small-scale
Posted on Friday, May 2, 2008When researchers planted worn-out cattle pastures in Costa Rica with a sampling of local trees in the early 1990s, native species of plants began to move in and flourish, raising the hope that destroyed rain forests could one day be replaced.
Wildfire officials brace for a scorching summer
Posted on Friday, May 2, 2008Wildfire season is a year-round reality in the United States, and now, with more than 1 million acres burned by wildfires already this year - more than double the amount burned by this time in 2007 - fire officials are preparing for a devastating summer.
Tapping into energy potential of municipal, agricultural and forest waste
Posted on Friday, May 2, 2008Lignol Energy Corp. will start feeding sawdust and wood chips into a new $15-million demonstration plant in British Columbia this summer. The company also has $30 million from the U.S. Energy Department to build an $88-million cellulosic ethanol plant in Colorado.
Charcoal in burned forests ineffective carbon store
Posted on Friday, May 2, 2008Results of a 10-year experiment published in the journal Science shows that trees turned to charcoal may release mo
NASF educates Congressional partners on wildfire suppression funding
Posted on Friday, May 2, 2008Eight State Foresters made 36 visits to Congressional offices in the House and Senate this week, educating members of Congress on the impacts of runaway fire suppression costs on both public and private lands.
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