Smokey Bear spared from budget axe
Posted on Friday, December 9, 2011A proposed slash to the USDA Forest Service's conservation-education budget was proposed under House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's YouCut program, in which the public can vote each week in favor of various budget-trimming plans. The cut would have eliminated the national wildfire prevention work of Smokey Bear, but was outranked by a rival-budget cutting proposal that would eliminate payments to states that increase the number of food-stamp beneficiaries.
USDA bark beetle report explores future actions, will shape new bill
Posted on Friday, December 2, 2011A new report commissioned by Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) looks at the conditions that led to the West's bark-beetle outbreak and management responses to it, as well as possible future actions, including Udall's bill to mitigate the damage. The report recommends that Congress extend its authority to allow state foresters to assist in beetle management and a stewardship contracting program that allows the agency to sell timber in exchange for forest restoration projects. Both are set to expire in fall 2013.
Forest Resources Association joins lawsuit opposing Labor wage rule
Posted on Monday, August 29, 2011The Forest Resources Association announced that it had joined with other members of the H-2B Workforce Coalition in the decision to bring suit against the U.S. Department of Labor, opposing DOL's implementation of its new guestworker wage rule, scheduled to go into effect on October 1, 2011. FRA argues the rule puts an excessive burden on landowners who will be unable to absorb the costs that wage-increase mandates of up to 163% will place on reforestation.
MORE: Alabama's forestry industry protests new federal rule on migrant workers' wages
NASF and partners advance 2012 Farm Bill recommendations to Ag committee
Posted on Tuesday, July 12, 2011NASF and the members of the Forests in the Farm Bill Coalition recently sent a letter to the leadership of the Senate Agriculture Committee, recommending priorities for the 2012 Farm Bill. According to the coalition, the bill should include a focus on four key areas that will better enable forest conservation on private forests: improving conservation programs for forests; strengthening forestry outreach, education, research, and inventory programs; combating forest‐related invasive species; and improving forest market opportunities.
Ag Committee farm bill audit focuses on conservation programs
Posted on Friday, July 8, 2011In one of a series of Agriculture Committee audits to discuss 2012 Farm Bill issues, House lawmakers yesterday voiced bipartisan support for agricultural conservation programs but also warned of the difficult budget challenges that lie ahead and asked Agriculture Department officials whether conservation programs can be made more efficient. Farm Service Agency acting Administrator Bruce Nelson and Natural Resources Conservation Services Chief Dave White stressed that conservation programs are succeeding and cautioned lawmakers on gutting programs in the next farm bill cycle.
NASF and partners say budget balancing should not come at expense of natural resources
Posted on Tuesday, June 21, 2011NASF joined nearly 50 other wildlife and conservation organzations in a letter to the Vice President and Congressional leaders on the fate in current budget negotiations of federal programs that sustain our nation's natural resources. The letter urged a comprehensive solution that does not cut "the natural resource budget disproportionately to the budget as a whole." Last week, the House passed its fiscal 2012 agriculture appropriations bill that imposes severe reductions to many farm bill conservation programs.
Senate committee considers climate change link to wildfires
Posted on Wednesday, June 15, 2011During a recent Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing on wildfire management policy, USDA Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwel cited research from within the agency linking fires and climate change. "Throughout the country, we're seeing longer fire seasons, and we're seeing snowpacks that, on average, are disappearing a little earlier every spring," as well as devastating droughts, said Tidwell. As a result, fire seasons have lengthened by more than 30 days, on average.
MORE: Senator John Kyl (R-AZ) addressed the committee concerning the ongoing Wallow fire, which is now the largest wildfire in Arizona history. Senator Kyl discussed the negative impact on communities and ecosystems from such large fires, and cited The True Costs of Wildfire in the Western U.S. report from the Western Forestry Leadership Coalition, which estimates that the actual costs of wildland fires can range from 2 to 30 times more than suppression costs.
Farm bill biofuels, conservation programs take hit in approps bill
Posted on Wednesday, May 25, 2011The fiscal 2012 appropriations bill approved yesterday by the House Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee would completely eliminate the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) and would also cut mandatory farm bill conservation spending by more than $1 billion. The bill would slash the Department of Agriculture budget by $2.6 billion relative to fiscal 2011 and $5 billion relative to what the Obama administration requested. The bill puts USDA's funding even below 2008 levels. The bill will now move forward for a full committee markup.
NASF weighs in on Forest Service funding levels before House subcommittee
Posted on Friday, April 15, 2011NASF Vice President John Shannon (AR) was in Washington this week to testify before the House appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. Shannon discussed the association's recommendations for FY2012, which center on appropriations for the USDA Forest Service State and Private Forestry programs. As states face the most challenging fiscal environment since the Great Depression, State Foresters fully appreciate the difficult choices that come with spending decisions.
NASF reaches out to congressional leaders in support of critical Forest Service programs
Posted on Thursday, April 7, 2011NASF, alongside a diversity of forestry, environmental and conservation groups, recently sent letters to House and Senate appropriators demonstrating broad support for shared FY12 program funding recommendations for Urban and Community Forestry, Forest Inventory and Analysis, Forest Health, State Fire Assistance and the FLAME account within the USDA Forest Service. The letters were sent as House and Senate leadership and the White House complete their work on funding the federal government for FY11 and turn their attention towards FY12 appropriations.
