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 Programs are administered by the State and Private Forestry branch of the U.S. Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture. Funding for the agency is found in the Interior appropriation.

This branch works with a broad range of programs that address the protection, wise use and management of 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 forest pests, invasive species and wildland fires.

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

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 allowing 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 non-industrial private forest owners to encourage and enable active long-term forest management.
Forest Legacy - supports state efforts to protect environmentally sensitive forest lands through voluntary land acquisition.
Urban and Community Forestry - provides 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 through the Fiscal Year 2009 Interior Appropriations Bill.

FY2007 Final
$279,761

FY2008 Final
$263,000

FY2009President’s Budget
$109,500

FY2009 NACD Recommended
$289,021