The federal government has numerous programs to support forest management on state and private forestlands, primarily administered by the Forest Service (FS) in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The House and Senate Agriculture Committees often examine these programs in the periodic legislation to reauthorize agriculture programs, commonly known as farm bills. Both the House ( H.R. 2642 ) and Senate ( S. 954 ) versions of the 2014 farm bill contain a forestry title (as did four of the previous five enacted farm bills) and also address forests and forestry practices in several other titles. Note that some programs are combined for funding purposes. Some programs provide assistance for protecting forestlands from wildfire, insects, diseases, and for preventing conversion of forests to non-forest uses (e.g., agriculture, residences). In addition, International Forestry has been included in this report, because (a) it provides technical assistance to other nations on forestry matters, and (b) it has often been funded out of S&PF appropriations. Some programs provide only technical assistance, which can range from relevant existing information to advice and aid on specific projects. Other programs provide financial assistance. Typically these programs are grants (with or without contributions from recipients) or cost-sharing (with varying levels of matching contributions from recipients), although two programs have other "financial" provisions: (1) Forest Health Protection funds FS activities to survey and to control insects or diseases on state or private lands (with the consent and cooperation of the landowner); and (2) Forest Legacy includes federal purchase of lands or easements as well as grants to states. Historically, forestry assistance has included programs with cost-share assistance to private landowners for forestry practices on their lands, but the forestry-specific landowner assistance program created in the 2002 farm bill (the Forest Land Enhancement Program) was not reauthorized in the 2008 farm bill, and both the House and Senate versions of the 2014 farm bill propose to repeal the program. Section 8001 of the 2008 farm bill added a set of national priorities for Forest Stewardship of private forest conservation through federal support for state assistance. Assistance to private landowners is through the state agencies. Authorized funding is at "such funds as may be necessary" and does not terminate. To provide flexibility in implementing programs, states may request consolidated payments for all the authorized cooperative forestry assistance programs. Several programs provide financial and/or technical assistance through the states for planning and implementing forest management practices (e.g., tree planting, site preparation for reforestation, thinning, pruning, fertilizing, prescribed burning, and other activities) and sometimes practices to enhance other resources (e.g., restoring watersheds, improving wildlife habitat, and other activities). Appropriations for forestry assistance programs have fluctuated greatly since FY2000. The largest sustained levels of funding have been for the forest protection programs—forest health (for insect and disease identification and control), wildfire assistance, and forest legacy (for easements to prevent forest clearing). However, funding for all of those programs has been declining since FY2010. In comparison, forest management assistance funding has remained relatively constant.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has numerous programs to support management of state and private forests. These programs are under the jurisdiction of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees and are often examined in the periodic legislation to reauthorize agricultural programs, commonly known as farm bills. Both the House (H.R. 2642) and Senate (S. 954) versions of the 2014 farm bill contain a forestry title with provisions affecting forestry-specific assistance programs. Both versions of the farm bill propose to repeal, reauthorize, and modify some of these programs.
Forestry-specific assistance programs (in contrast to agriculture conservation programs that include forestry activities) are primarily administered by the USDA Forest Service (FS), with permanent authorization of funding as needed. The House version of the 2014 farm bill (H.R. 2642) proposes to eliminate the permanent authorization for many of these programs. Some programs provide technical assistance—information, advice, and aid on specific projects. Other programs provide financial assistance, usually through grants (with or without matching contributions from recipients) or cost-sharing (typically though state agencies, with varying levels of contributions from recipients). Many programs provide both.
Most of the programs provide assistance to state partner agencies. The state agencies can use the assistance on state forestlands or to assist local governments or private landowners. How the states use the funds is largely at the discretion of the states, within the authorization of each program; however, the 2008 farm bill added national priorities for state assistance and state-wide assessments and strategies to focus state efforts on achieving the national priorities. Funds are appropriated for planning and implementing forestry and related land management practices—site preparation for reforestation, tree planting, thinning, pruning, fertilizing, prescribed burning, restoring watersheds, improving wildlife habitats, and other activities. Other programs provide support for protecting forestlands from wildfires, insects and diseases, and from clearing forests for non-forest uses (such as growing crops or building houses). Two programs are designed specifically to assist landowners to recover or restore forests following catastrophic events, such as wildfires. In addition, International Forestry is often included as a forestry assistance program, because it provides technical forestry help and because it has often been funded out of FS appropriations for forestry assistance programs. Finally, states are authorized to request consolidated payments, for flexibility in program administration, and several coordinating or advisory groups exist to coordinate programs or for specific purposes under one or more programs.
Overall funding for forestry assistance programs in FY2013 was $354 million. After a high of $429 million in FY2010, funding has decreased for three successive years. Funding for the forest management assistance programs—forest stewardship and urban and community forestry—has remained relatively constant over the past five years. However, funds for forest protection programs—forest health (for insect and disease identification and control), fire assistance, and forest legacy (for easements to prevent forest clearing)—are at five-year lows.