The National Association of State Foresters applauds the House Agriculture Committee for its work to develop and introduce a robust 2018 Farm Bill with Forestry Title provisions that would help ensure the long-term health and sustainability of all America’s forests and trees.
“More than 60 percent of the forests in the United States are state or privately owned; and on these lands, more than 90 percent of the country’s wood supply is produced, providing over $200 billion in products and supporting nearly one million jobs annually,” said George Geissler, NASF president and Oklahoma State Forester. “The forestry programs and policies included in the 2018 Farm Bill will support and enhance the health and productivity of these state and private forests, helping to sustain economic prosperity and protect environmental quality across the country.” Specifically, the 2018 Farm Bill would codify the Landscape Scale Restoration Program.
Forest threats—such as catastrophic wildfire, invasive insects, and disease—know no boundaries. That is why landscape-scale, cross-boundary forest management projects are so critical to protecting the nation’s forests and the communities that depend on them. The Landscape Scale Restoration (LSR) Program—which was created to enhance outcomes delivered through the USDA Forest Service’s cooperative forestry programs—gives the federal government and states the ability to implement crucial, cross-boundary forest management projects in the most cost-effective and coordinated way: guided by statewide Forest Action Plans.
Completed in 2010 and reviewed in 2015, each state and territory’s Forest Action Plan provides information for prioritizing forest management on regional and national scales. LSR projects dedicate support to only the top national priorities identified in these comprehensive plans.
Read more on this from the National Association Of State Foresters at https://www.stateforesters.org/newly-introduced-farm-bill-holds-promise-nations-forests#sthash.rvRVY6f5.dpbs.