Press Releases

The National Association of State Foresters looks forward to working collaboratively with the USDA Forest Service to deliver the new Community Wildfire Defense Grant program. WASHINGTON—The nation's 59 state foresters applaud USDA's announcement today that $1 billion in new funding will be made available over the next five years for critically important wildfire preparedness and [read more]

The National Association of State Foresters and the USDA Forest Service are pleased to announce the 2022 Urban Forest Resilience grant recipients. WASHINGTON—The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) and the USDA Forest Service (Forest Service) are pleased to announce the selection of funded projects for the 2022 State Urban Forest Resilience (SUFR) Grant Initiative. [read more]

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. 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 2022 national Smokey Bear Award [read more]

A movement is afoot in Hawai'i to restore the cultural significance of coconut trees, or "niu," with the planting of food-producing coconut tree groves across O’ahu. WASHINGTON—The National Association of State Foresters is pleased to present the second installment in its “Tree Stories” series, a collection of short films that illustrates the importance of the [read more]

The four co-sponsors 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 the six individuals and organizations chosen to receive 2022 Wildfire Mitigation Awards. This year’s recipients have [read more]

President Biden has signed a fiscal year (FY) 2022 omnibus spending bill into law, averting a government shutdown. The final appropriations package includes modest funding increases for priority forestry programs vital to America's forest sector. WASHINGTON—The National Association of State Foresters was relieved to learn that Congress had come to agreement on a long-awaited FY [read more]

WASHINGTON—The USDA Forest Service, the National Association of State Foresters and the Ad Council are reminding Americans everywhere of important wildfire prevention tips with new PSAs featuring a virtual Artificial Intelligence Smokey Bear assistant. In both digital and radio spots, Smokey’s AI Assistant gives answers to some of the top questions Americans have about outdoor [read more]

The National Association of State Foresters applauds the confirmation of Homer Wilkes as USDA undersecretary overseeing the Forest Service. WASHINGTON—The nation’s 59 state foresters welcome the Senate’s confirmation of Homer Wilkes to the key role of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment (NRE). In his new post, Undersecretary Wilkes [read more]

The latest survey by the National Association of State Foresters finds that state forestry agencies continue to play key roles in protecting and enhancing America’s forested landscapes even in the face of modern challenges, including COVID-19, catastrophic wildfire, and economic uncertainty. WASHINGTON — Among other important findings, the National Association of State Foresters’ newly released [read more]

The National Association of State Foresters is proud to have worked closely with the USDA Forest Service in developing a long-range, first-of-its-kind plan to protect, conserve, and enhance America's forested landscapes most threatened by catastrophic wildfire. WASHINGTON—The nation's state and territorial foresters stand in strong support of the USDA Forest Service’s newly released 10-Year Wildfire [read more]