John Marker

In September 2000 a group of Forest Service retirees attending a reunion in Missoula, MT met to discuss their growing concerns about deteriorating forest health on the national forests and the continuing downsizing of Forest Service work forces. At the end of the meeting a proactive retiree organization had been formed, the National Association of Forest Service Retirees better known today as NAFSR.  

The goal of the new organization was to use member’s scientific training and years of professional experience to advocate for the science based management of America’s forests, public and private. However, members agreed the priority had to be reversing the declining health of national forests, and the Forest Service’s collapsing budgets and staffing as demands on the agency expanded.

Today more than400 members of NAFSR work to reverse the downward spiral of the forests and the agency.  This membership represents something over 13,000 years of experience and training in the sciences of forest management, practical field work in forest protection and management, national and international forest leadership, world class basic and applied research in forest and forest related science and professional and technical skills in disciplines from Agronomy to Zoology.

The diversity of training, experience and expertise is bound together by the shared commitment members have to the well being of the forests they spent their careers protecting and managing, to assure these magnificent public lands will be passed to future generations of American citizens.

Since 2000 NAFSR has published a significant document titled Forest Health and Fire, produced a numerous issue papers for political leaders, written letters supporting professional forest management and participated in meetings and hearings about forest and public land issues.  NAFSR members work to build coalitions of organizations and individuals who share their commitment to the public’s forests.

In the fall of 2008 NAFSR issued a paper titled “What We Believe, What We Advocate” for use as a briefing paper for the Transition Team of President-elect Obama. Authored by NAFSR’s Chair George Leonard, the paper has been adopted by NAFSR’s Board of Directors as the organization’s “work plan.” We believe it appropriate to present this paper as our introduction to Evergreen readers.

What We Believe! What We Advocate!

Our nation’s forests are assets that contribute significantly to the long-term well being of the American people. They must be protected, maintained, and restored where needed for sustainability, to assure their benefits are available to future generations.

The National Forests and Grasslands are unique parts of our total forest and rangeland resource. They benefit the whole nation and have particular significance to rural communities within and adjacent to them. Within their statutory mandates, these lands should be managed so they are assets both nationally and to these local communities.

The long-term management of the National Forest System under the provisions of the Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act of 1960 and the planning requirements of the National Forest Management Act of 1976 helps to insure that these lands best meet the needs of the American people.

Proper protection and management of the National Forests and Grasslands require an adequately financed and staffed, professional, interdisciplinary organization.

Leadership of the U.S. Forest Service is crucial, and best served by career professionals with demonstrated natural resource management experience and organizational management skills. This helps to insure that the Congress, the Administration, and others will receive sound, non-partisan advice on resource management issues.

The integration of the four principal elements of the Forest Service mission – National Forest System Management, Research, State and Private Forestry, and International Forestry– has a proven record of insuring that the best scientific and technical information is available to and used by all people involved in the protection and management of our nation’s forest and rangeland resources.

Our nation’s forests and rangelands are under pressure from increasing demands for goods and services, increasing development in the wildland-urban interface, and are affected by changing climate. At the same time, forest research in the private sector and at universities is declining. Continued support and expansion of Forest Service research programs are essential to ensuring the scientific foundation needed to respond to these pressures and changes is available.

Our nation’s forests and rangelands are a mix of ownerships across the landscape. The management and use of Federal and State Parks and Forests interact with the management and use of private forestlands and adjacent communities. It is essential that forest management programs, particularly programs for the protection of forests from fire and other threats, be closely integrated. Adequate funding of the State and Private Forestry program helps to ensure that state agencies are adequately financed to meet their responsibilities and to provide the needed integration.

We live in an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world. It is essential that land managers and research scientists have the capability to maintain contacts with their counterparts around the world and participate actively in international forestry activities.

Maintaining an adequate system of roads and trails, and recreation and administrative facilities is essential both to protecting forests and watersheds and to helping provide economic stability and opportunity for local communities, to meeting the American people’s needs for outdoor recreation, and for proper protection and management of forests and rangelands.

Fire has played a role in shaping the characteristics of many of our forests and rangelands. Our climate is changing and is different than that which shaped our forests and rangelands prior to European settlement. A significant portion of our population of 300 million people lives in or near our forests and rangelands and is dependent upon our National Forests for clean water and for other resources. Smoke from wildfires affects air quality over wide areas. These factors make return to “natural” fire regimes impracticable in much of the country. Never the less, carefully prescribed fire can be a useful tool in the protection and management of our forests and rangelands. Resource managers should use the full range of management tools, including prescribed fire, to establish and protect resilient forests and rangelands that can adapt to changing conditions.

Given the demands of our growing population and concerns for public health and well being, the Congress has enacted a vast body of environmental law. Management of wildfires and their consequences must meet the requirements of these laws, particularly, the Multiple Use - Sustained Yield Act mandate to maintain the productivity of the land and the requirements of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts to protect the quality of our air and water.

When fire is used to obtain resources benefits, it is essential that the decision reflect Forest Land Management Plan direction; that it be supported with a sound assessment and balancing of both the anticipated resource benefits and the probable adverse impacts, and be based on a documented judgment that the fire can reasonably be expected to remain within prescription until extinguished.

Forest Land Management Plans help to insure that management of National Forest System lands is consistent with statutory direction and responsive to the current needs of the people. Planning efforts have been hindered by continued efforts to re-do planning regulations. As a result, many plans are long overdue for revision. Priority should be given to bringing Land Management Plans up to date.

Thrifty, resilient forests play an important role in carbon sequestration and should be a part of our Nation’s strategy for addressing climate change. Maintaining the productivity of our forests was one of the purposes for which the National Forests were established. Prompt rehabilitation of damaged watersheds and reforestation with appropriate species is essential to fulfilling these purposes.

Controlling tree density (stocking) and fuel levels through active management can make forests more resilient and reduce their vulnerability to the otherwise catastrophic effects of insects, disease, and fire. Not every acre needs to be treated, but creating a mix of managed stands across the landscape can contribute significantly to the sustainability of the whole forest.

Funding for treatment of excess fuels is important, but given the magnitude of the needed work and demands on the federal budget, the only way to get on top of the problem is to utilize the economic values of the material that needs to be removed to help cover the cost of removal. Its use can contribute to meeting our needs for wood products and energy. Research has and can continue to develop economic uses for material not currently marketable.

 However, needed investments in plants and infrastructure will be forthcoming only if investors believe the National Forests will be a reliable source of supply. Consistent, adequately funded programs are essential for businesses to make the investments to do the work efficiently and thus minimize the cost to the government of doing these restoration treatments.

The current budget approach for funding fire suppression is seriously disrupting the essential programs of the Forest Service, including management of the National Forest System, Research, State and Private Forestry, and International Forestry. It is reducing the capacity for cooperative programs with other agencies. The costs of suppressing wildfires should be separated from the regular budgets of the Forest Service and other land management agencies.

NAFSR members believe Caring for the Land and Serving People remains a valid and essential role for the U.S. Forest Service; and the national forests are of paramount importance to the public for renewable resources such as water, wood, forage, clean air and wildlife habitat. They are also the source of emotional, intellectual and spiritual values that add so much our quality of life.