ORIGIN OF RESOLUTION: Forest Science & Health Committee; Southern Group of State Foresters

ISSUE OF CONCERN: Maintain maximum relevance and utility of the FIA program

BACKGROUND: A current and accurate forest inventory is a threshold requirement if we are to conserve and restore all of America's forests. The inventory must address the rapidly emerging issues of climate change, carbon, biomass, and land use change. But portions of the nation's forests are not being inventoried, funding is inadequate to implement FIA as currently designed, and FIA needs to be enhanced to provide data relevant to current and emerging issues.

WHEREAS, the National Association of State Foresters enthusiastically supports the conservation and restoration of all of America's forests; and

WHEREAS, the National Association of State Foresters deems a nationwide forest inventory a threshold requirement of forest conservation and restoration and recognizes the important federal role in FIA.

WHEREAS, the National Association of State Foresters is a key partner with the U.S. Forest Service in conducting the vital work of FIA; and

RESOLUTION:

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Association of State Foresters:

A. encourages the U.S. Forest Service to support and vigorously seek funding for fully implementing the base FIA program nationwide;

B. encourages the U.S. Forest Service to support and vigorously seek funding to enhance FIA to address the rapidly emerging issues of climate change, carbon, land use changes, water resources, biomass, and bio-energy;

C. suggests that the enhanced FIA include the following priorities:

1. Use of remote imagery to track harvest intensity, land-use change, and land cover change. This could be done in conjunction with the U.S. Forest Service Remote Sensing Application Center and aligned state and federal institutions; 
2. Increase the analytical ability within FIA and within cooperating State Forestry Agencies;
3. Increased measurement of forest floor woody and non-woody forest components, including soils;
4. Expand the capacity of timely forecasts for forest products markets, land use change, and future forest conditions; 
5. Intensify plot distribution on experimental forests as a set of baseline plots for climate change monitoring and modeling to address forest management and adaptation needs; and
6. Evaluate the impact of timely forest resource information and communication.

D. requests of the U.S. Forest Service Chief FIA cost estimates to implement basic FIA nationwide and the FIA enhancements nationwide by region.

E. instructs its Executive Director to forward copies of this Resolution to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and to the Chief of the U.S. Forest Service.

NASF ACTION:
( x ) Approved

DATE OF ACTION:
September 23, 2009