The Sustainable Urban Forests Coalition is pleased to offer recommendations for the 2012 Farm Bill designed to deliver economic, environmental, social, and health benefits through urban trees and green infrastructure.

Urban trees can play a significant role in state air quality plans. State air quality authorities are encouraged to adopt tree planting and urban canopy conservation and management as innovative, voluntary measures for improving air quality. To achieve reductions in ground-level ozone, government agencies, volunteer organizations, and private landowners must make long-term commitments to conserving existing canopy and planting significant numbers of trees in strategic locations.

The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) actively works to promote community tree planting, public-private partnerships, and volunteer tree planting efforts that help stimulate local economies, create jobs, and mobilize community spirit. NASF strongly recommends that Congress reauthorize the SBA National Small Business Tree Planting Program.

The NASF Urban and Community Forestry Committee has reviewed the following resolutions and found them to be out-of-date or no longer relevant.

NASF urges you to invest taxpayer dollars in providing future employment opportunities in forest-based communities as well as infusing capital into the management of our nation's public and private forests. State foresters have the primary responsibility of delivering numerous federal programs administered by the USDA Forest Service State and Private Forestry program (S&PF). Through existing initiatives, state forestry agencies can ensure rapid deployment of federal funds at the local level. Investment in any or all of the following land stewardship activities on non-federal lands (through S&PF) are "shovel-ready" and can provide green jobs over the next two to five years.