Redesigning State & Private Forestry

James E. Hubbard
Deputy Chief for State & Private Forestry, U.S. Forest Service

Thursday, July 12, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Montpelier Room, 6 th Floor, Madison Building, Library of Congress
1 st & C Streets SE, entrance diagonal from Capitol South Metro Station exit

NCSAF Luncheon Presentation on USFS State & Private Forestry Re-design

Jim Hubbard, U.S. Forest Service Deputy Chief for State & Private Forestry, gave a luncheon presentation on July 12 on the efforts underway to re-design agency State & Private Forestry (S&PF) programs. The Forest Service and National Association of State Foresters (NASF) have assembled an S&PF Redesign Board to review current trends affecting trees and forests and to consider the most effective roles for state and federal government in sustaining forest benefits. The purpose of a new approach to S&PF is to shape and influence forest land use on a scale and in a way that optimizes public benefits from trees and forests for both current and future generations. Jim stated that the members of the Redesign Board have taken on their organizations’ unified commitment to sustaining a diverse range of public benefits from forests. The Board has developed a corresponding strategy, including guiding principles and components of change. The Board is sharing this strategy with S&PF partners, stakeholders, and employees, in the hopes of stimulating dialogue and encouraging feedback.

The S&PF re-design has identified three National Themes with associated actions and strategies for S&PF programs:

Conserve working forested landscapes

Actions: Reduce the rate of conversion of forested landscapes and inform decisions about which landscapes should be conserved as working forests.

Strategies: Promote markets for forest products and environmental services; implement tax policies, easements and other planning tools; promote social and economic incentives of forests.

Protect forests from harm

Actions: Reduce threats to forest health and productivity, including uncharacteristic wildfire, insects and disease, and invasive species.

Strategies: Restore fire-adapted forests; monitor, assess, and treat forest insect and disease pathogens; eradicate or control invasive species through prevention, early detection, and rapid response.

Enhance benefits from trees and forests

Actions: Enhance public benefits associated with forests, such as clean air and water, fish and wildlife habitat, open space, recreation, renewable supplies, economic attributes, and climate change mitigation; reduce the risks to communities from uncharacteristic wildfire.

Strategies: Encourage urban forestry, support watershed planning, enhance community fire protection capabilities, and link environmental health with community well-being.

A National Assessment will identify forest conditions, trends, and opportunities across ownerships. Key elements of the assessment will include wildfire risk, insect and disease impacts, and threats of conversion. This geospatial, interactive tool will help identify priority landscapes and demonstrate progress. The National Assessment will eventually include a partner-accessible Web-based database. State Forest Resource Assessments will define forest benefits and services, comprehensively assess threats and opportunities, and delineate critical forest resource landscapes. State Response Plans will describe how a state proposes to invest competitive federal dollars, in combination with other available resources, to address the S&PF National Themes along with key issues identified in their own state assessments.

Jim explained that national and state assessments and state response plans will be used to introduce Competitive Allocation of S&PF program funding to the States beginning in FY 2008. Initially, 15 percent of program funds will be allocated competitively, ramping up 10 percent per year over the next 5 years, for a final competitive target allocation of 65% by 2013.

“Accountability for making meaningful progress toward the National Themes will be a key component of the S&PF Redesign,” emphasized Jim. New emphasis will be placed on improving our collective ability to demonstrate and communicate accomplishments. As an example, an annual S&PF Report Card will be produced to roll up visual, quantifiable, and anecdotal demonstrations of progress and success.

S&PF will seek to better integrate our programs with other complementary Federal programs in order to better meet the needs of non-Federal landowners and other S&PF customers.

Jim stated that additional information on S&PF Redesign can be obtained from Paige Lewis, Redesign Project Lead at 303-489-6534 (paige.lewis@colostate.edu).