State and Private Forestry

NACD's mission is to serve conservation districts by providing national leadership and a unified voice for natural resource conservation.

The State and Private Forestry (S&PF) division works with a broad range of programs that address the wise use and management of non-federal forested lands, normally in partnership with the state forestry organizations and other partners. It provides technical and financial assistance to landowners and resource managers to help sustain the nation’s forests and protect communities and the environment from wildland fires.

While 73 percent of the nation’s timberland is privately owned, annual funding for the Forest Service State and Private Forestry programs have been declining for the last several years. Close cooperation between the federal government and private forest landowners should be encouraged. NACD supports State and Private Forestry programs of the Forest Service and would like the partnership strengthened and staffed at a level that increases the flow of goods and services from the private non-industrial forest lands.

The State and Private Forestry Programs are administered by the U.S. Forest Service under the Department of Agriculture.

Critical Programs in State and Private Forestry include:
Forest Health Management - direct and implement measures to prevent, retard or suppress unwanted, native and nonnative invasive insects, pathogens and plants affecting trees and forests.
Cooperative Fire Assistance -provides state forestry agencies with assistance in delivering a coordinated wildfire response and in complying with national safety and training standards which allow State and local crews to be deployed on federal fires and other emergency or disaster situations. The program also assists states with hazard assessments, fuels treatment projects and public education efforts
Forest Stewardship - provides technical assistance, through state forestry agency partners, to nonindustrial private forest owners to encourage and enable active long-term forest management.
Forest Legacy Program - supports state efforts to protect environmentally sensitive forest lands through voluntary land acquisition
Urban and Community Forestry - Provide technical and financial assistance to help improve the livability of cities and communities through managing urban forest resources to promote a healthy ecosystem.

NACD supports increased funding for State and Private Forestry in the Fiscal Year 2008 Interior Appropriations Bill.

NACD Request for FY08
$283 Million

President’s Proposal for FY08
$202 Million

House Proposal for FY08
$280.602 Million

Senate Proposal for FY08 (committee)
$273 million