Letters

The National Association of State Foresters sent a letter to Lee Zeldin, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, congratulating him on his confirmation and thanking him for his quick attention to some of the most critical regulatory roadblocks to unlocking sustainable forest management and responding to the nationwide threat posed by catastrophic wildfires. Specifically, the [read more]

In a letter to House and Senate Appropriations Committee leadership, the National Association of State Foresters (NASF) called for the inclusion of critical forestry needs in an upcoming disaster assistance package. NASF outlined several funding and legislative requests, including $1.164 billion for timber block grant funding for private landowners impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. [read more]

The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) collaborated with key partner organizations on a letter urging Congressional leaders to pass bipartisan wildfire prevention and resilience legislation by the end of 2024. The letter highlights the urgent need to shift from reactive to proactive wildfire management, drawing attention to recommendations from the Wildland Fire Mitigation and [read more]

The National Association of State Foresters sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to emphasize the importance of the exceptional events demonstration for prescribed fire and the need for increased use of the process at the EPA regional offices. Prescribed fire is a critical tool for state forestry agencies to reduce hazardous fuel [read more]

NASF worked with key partner organizations on a letter advocating for increased USDA Forest Service Forest Stewardship Program funding. The letter draws attention to the frightening level of expiring plans the Forest Stewardship Program will experience in the upcoming years. “Currently, there are over 20 million acres nationwide managed under the Forest Stewardship Program. 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]

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]

NASF joined a coalition representing a broad set of interests, including companies, state foresters, private landowners, and forestry and conservation groups with concerns about misinformation regarding the use of renewable biomass. The letter urges the Department of the Treasury and Department of Energy to ensure under-utilized woody biomasses are eligible for critical tax incentives in [read more]