WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rita Hite, president & CEO of the American Forest Foundation, issued this statement following the introduction of the Disaster Reforestation Act (H.R. 262) in the House of Representatives:

“Family forest owners struggle to access the support they need to maintain healthy and productive forests, especially in the presence of natural disasters. And far too often it’s underserved and underrepresented communities who are hit first and worst by extreme weather events. The Disaster Reforestation Act would provide family forest owners with an important financial tool they need to recover from a natural disaster: the ability to deduct their losses. We are especially grateful to Congressman Buddy Carter (R-GA) and Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL) for introducing the bill and serving as champions for family forest owners in dire need of recovery assistance.”

Currently, family forest owners cannot recoup the value of their timber lost in natural disasters, making it that much harder for these owners to reinvest in the recovery of their forest. The Disaster Reforestation Act aims to fix this by amending the tax code to allow forest owners to deduct the market value of their timber destroyed by natural disasters. For more information, visit forestfoundation.org.