News Category: Forestry

August 5, 2024 (Washington, DC) – Last week, more than 50 congressional staff, leaders of forest policy, state foresters, and key partners attended the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation’s (CSF) Sustainable Forest Management Policy Briefing that highlighted forest policies and programs impacting wildlife and hunter access on private working forests and federal forests. At the briefing CSF…

Why it matters: The U.S. Forest Service is largely understaffed and underfunded given their immense responsibilities as one of the nation’s largest land managers. The Good Neighbor Authority allows states, counties, and tribes to partner with the Forest Service to conduct forest management projects. States, counties, and tribes have a vested interest in the health…

Why It Matters:  Sportsmen and women depend on healthy forests to provide quality wildlife habitat, and forest owners and land managers need accurate and accessible information to effectively manage forests. The Forest Data Modernization Act would update the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis Program to better inform forest management decision-making to improve forest…

Why It Matters: For years, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) has supported efforts to restore state wildlife management authority of species that are recovered under the Endangered Species Act, including grizzly bears and gray wolves. Furthermore, CSF has long supported efforts to alleviate the costly procedural hurdles imposed by the Cottonwood decision. Last week’s hearing…

Why It Matters: Despite the importance of young forests to a variety of wildlife species, young forests and other early successional habitats comprise less than 1% of the George Washington National Forest. Implementation of the Archer Knob Project is critical to reversing the habitat loss and declines in wildlife, including species pursued by Virginia’s hunters…

Why It Matters: Active forest management is an effective way of improving wildlife habitat and forest health, which in turn increases access and opportunity for outdoor pursuits of these healthier wildlife populations. Forest restoration projects such as the one proposed on the Hoosier National Forest are crucial to conservation and CSF’s mission of advancing the…

Why It Matters: Early successional habitats are lacking on George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, and the scarcity of these critical habitats for wildlife negatively impacts hunting traditions as game populations have declined because of reduced active forest management treatments. Supporting these projects is important for creating habitat that supports game and nongame wildlife and…

Why It Matters: Currently, the U.S. Forest Service and other public land managers such as the Bureau of Land Management are unable to make significant headway in efforts to address forest restoration needs and to improve fish and wildlife habitat. This legislation takes a pragmatic approach to addressing wildfire threat and improving wildlife habitat. CSF…

Highlights Why it matters: The Cottonwood decision prevents our nation’s forest managers from utilizing active management practices to improve our forests including timber harvests, timber stand improvement, thinning, and prescribed fire, among others. As a result, our forest managers are limited in their ability to improve habitat, increase forest resiliency to reduce the threat of…

Highlights Why it Matters: The Resilient Federal Forests Act would improve wildlife habitat, reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire, and restore watersheds through targeted landscape-level restoration projects on federal lands and properties in the wildland-urban interface. The lack of active forest management on federal lands has created tens of millions of acres of overstocked forests…

Highlights Why it matters: On January 27, President Biden issued an Executive Order (Order) on “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.” As directed in this Order, the U.S Department of Agriculture published a Federal Register notice seeking public input on existing and innovative opportunities to install climate-smart agriculture and forestry practices. In response,…

Highlights: Why it matters: Inadequate funding to address losses from wildfires, drought, disease, and insect infestation has created a significant backlog of reforestation planting needs. The U.S. Forest Service has identified more than 1.3 million acres that may never recover without replanting or regeneration financial assistance. Without addressing this funding shortfall, our nation’s forests are…