Forests are Part of a Healthy Outdoor Strategy!
Frustrating that not more young people were there, and not enough members of Congress. More people need to hear about the importance of our working family forests and the need for environmental education support and funding!
The Conference was inspiring and encouraging because so many of AFF’s goals were discussed at this high profile meeting (see previous postings)! It marked the kickoff of the Great Outdoors Initiative—a new effort to promote community conservation efforts and reconnect people with the outdoors by re-imagining conservation for decades to come.
Throughout the day, I made several comments to the group that I wanted to share with you. I emphasized that environmental and outdoor education must be a core part of our educational curriculum and not just an add-on. We need the Administration to include it in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. AFF’s Project Learning Tree® network of 500,000 environmental educators knows how vital EE is to preparing our kids for the future. Every student learns outside!
During discussions about protecting wildlife, I said we needed to encourage more coordination between state wildlife action plans and state forest assessments across Dept. of Interior and Dept. of Agriculture. I emphasized the value that this kind of coordination will have on protecting forest land, wildlife and watersheds.
And of course I talked about the importance of preventing further fragmentation of family-owned woodlands. We can do that by encouraging green markets for sustainably harvested wood products, and developing incentive programs such as carbon offsets to help respond to climate change, and provide income to family forest owners.
Federal agencies can help by working with us to help enroll unengaged landowners in efforts to keep forests intact and healthy. We must continue a robust partnership to reach out across the country to protect the millions of acres of forest land held privately.
And appropriate to the day after tax day, I raised the need for estate tax relief. I was pleased to see Representative Mike Thompson at the Conference. Rep. Thompson has sponsored a bill to provide estate tax relief to families with working forests. I also mentioned that the endangered species tax break now available to farmers should be extended to forest owners – which was the original intent.
It was encouraging to see that the Obama Administration is serious about embracing a conservation ethic that has long been a shared value for all Americans. Rightly so, the Administration is also focused on what needs to be done to ensure the next generation of conservation-minded citizens will be there to step up and protect America’s Great Outdoors. And to create jobs in the woods!
I’m sure you have a special story to share about a favorite forest or experience in America’s Great Outdoors, or why your woodlands are important to your family and community. Tell us about it here and we will let the Administration know about the good work you are doing on the ground.
