Meaningful, landscape-scale forest restoration doesn’t happen without collaboration across ownership boundaries. It is spurred and strengthened by the support of a determined executive, and underpinned by federal financial support largely conveyed through the USDA Forest Service’s State and Private Forestry (S&PF) mission area.
Investments in S&PF programs and a shared commitment to working across jurisdictions ensure a holistic “all lands, all hands” approach to forest management. From Forest Service technicians to municipal arborists to state field foresters, together we can work across all land ownerships—federal, tribal, state, and private—to mitigate the most pressing threats America’s forests face.
NASF has developed specific recommendations for targeted annual funding levels and policies that would support state forestry agencies’ work at a time when state budgets are still reeling from COVID- 19 response. If adopted, these recommendations would ensure our forests continue to play their all-important role in the environmental, social, and economic health of our nation.
I. Target Federal Funding to Meet Immediate State and Private Forestry Needs – Provide $500 million with maximum spending flexibility for State and Private Forestry (S&PF) work
II. Accelerate the Implementation of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy – Provide leadership and resources to fully implement the effective strategy already in place
III. Support State-based Solutions Driven by Forest Action Plans – Build on historic federal-state partnerships and shared stewardship approaches to achieve national strategic outcomes
IV. Implement Forest-based Climate Solutions – Strengthen roles for the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program, Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessments, and other initiatives
V. Make Organizational Improvements – Ensure federal agencies have continuity of leadership, adequate permanent staff, and the right advisory mechanisms for forests and wildland fire
Click the links below to read NASF’s recommendations to the Biden-Harris administration in full and summarized in a one-pager.