News

The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) submitted comments in response to the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service request for public input to support the preparation of proposed regulations intended to implement the Greenhouse Gas Technical Assistance Provider and Third-Party Verifier Program. The purpose of the Program is to facilitate farmer, rancher, and [read more]

The National Association of State Foresters submitted on May 10th, 2024, written testimony to the House Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies concerning FY 2025 USDA Forest Service Appropriations. "State foresters deliver technical and financial assistance, along with forest health, water, and wildfire protection for more than two-thirds of the nation’s 751 million acres [read more]

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Association of State Foresters applauds three major funding announcements by USDA this week: Forest Legacy Program, Wood Innovations Grants and Community Wildfire Defense Grants. Taken together, these federal investments will accelerate much needed work to enhance forest management, protection and conservation across the nation. The announcement reflected a sum of $478 million in [read more]

NASF joined six partner organizations in a letter to House and Senate Appropriations Committees advocating for increased FY25 appropriation levels for State Fire Assistance (SFA) and Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) programs. The letter requests $85 million for the SFA program and $25 million for VFA. “SFA is an important federal mechanism for assisting states and [read more]

WASHINGTON—The partners behind the wildfire prevention legend Smokey Bear and his public service advertisement campaign—the longest running in United States history—are pleased to announce the 2024 national Smokey Bear Award awardees. The Smokey Bear Awards are reserved for individuals, teams, and organizations that provide outstanding service with significant and sustained program impact in the wildfire prevention arena. [read more]

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Northwest Wildland Fire Protection Agreement (Northwest Compact) is welcoming Hawaii as its newest member, rendering the compact 11 agencies strong. Eight wildfire compacts operate across North America, allowing the U.S. and Canadian provinces the ability to share information, technology, personnel and other essential resources across borders. Compacts are a critical foundation for effective [read more]

NASF joined the Sustainable Urban Forestry Coalition’s (SUFC) letter in support of appropriations for the Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Program. The letter also highlighted the urgent need for research funding to establish benchmarks that can be used to measure the impacts of these investments. Over 30 organizations also signed the letter. “Our nation’s [read more]

NASF signed onto a coalition letter in support of $30 million in appropriations for the Forest Service’s Wood Innovation Grant Program (WIG). “WIG provides competitive grants to projects that expand wood products and wood energy markets to support forest management and deliver economic and environmental benefits to communities. Projects funded by WIG typically demonstrate, research, [read more]

The National Association of State Foresters joined over 60 other partner organizations in a letter recommending a funding level of no less than $32.2 million in program dollars for the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program in FY25. The letter was sent to the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies in both [read more]

The four cosponsors of the national Wildfire Mitigation Awards have named the individuals and organizations chosen to receive honors this year in recognition of their exemplary commitment to community wildfire risk reduction. WASHINGTON—The Wildfire Mitigation Awards committee has named a recipient of the Wildfire Mitigation Legacy Award in addition to two organizations chosen to receive [read more]