Statement from AFF President and CEO Tom Martin

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 12, 2018)—  The American Forest Foundation (AFF) a leading conservation organization that helps America’s family forest owners care for their land, today expressed strong support for the 2018 Farm Bill conference report, which includes new tools and support for stewardship of family forest lands. 

“Family forest owners want to do right by their land to improve wildlife habitat, protect clean drinking water, and increase sustainable wood supplies that benefit all Americans. One of the biggest obstacles preventing these family landowners from active stewardship is the cost of forest management,” said Tom Martin, President and CEO of AFF. “The Farm Bill has become even more critical as our forest challenges — wildfire, drought, insects, as well as the rising costs of forest management — continue to grow. We are pleased to see that many programs and provisions that support rural landowners and markets for their forest products, have been included. With the passage of this bill, Congress will make an important step towards supporting healthier forests and stronger rural economies.” The final conference report includes a number of provisions important to family forest owners including: 

• strong funding for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).

• continued funding for the Healthy Forests Reserve Program (HFRP).

• support for markets for wood residuals and innovative wood products by reauthorizing and expanding the Community Wood Energy Program (CWEP) and including the Timber Innovation Act (TIA).

• a Landscape Scale Restoration program that will support active stewardship on the ground in key landscapes and provides $20M in funding.

• support for cross-boundary projects to address wildfire risks.

More than 21 million families and individuals own and care for the largest portion of U.S. forests, a total of 270 million acres. 

Contact: Caryn Stein, cstein@forestfoundation.org, 202-751-2447

About the American Forest Foundation

The American Forest Foundation (AFF), a forest conservation organization, works on the ground with families, partners and elected officials to promote stewardship and protect our nation’s forest heritage. A commitment to the next generation unites our nationwide network of forest owners working to keep our forests healthy and producing the clean water, wildlife habitat and sustainable wood supplies that all Americans count on from forests.