Hardwood Floors February/March 2017

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

By Dana Cole

Management of our Federal Forest Lands and the Impact on U.S.-Based Timber Supplies

harvested from the national forest system has plummeted over the years, limiting supply, devastating local economies around the forests, and negatively impacting the health of our federal forests. Moreover, the devastation from wildfire on our federal forest holdings is a growing national crisis. What was once a threat confined largely to Western public forests is clearly not anymore, as evidenced by the tragic fires in the Great Smoky Mountains last fall. More than 193 million acres of the National Forest System is managed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), located within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Forty-six million acres of the Federal Forest System, or 24 percent, are designated as available for timber harvest. Less than half the timber designated for cutting on designated lands is being harvested. From the mid-1950s through the mid-1990s, the average amount of timber harvest from the national forests averaged 10 to 12 billion board feet. During that same time period, the average annual amount of acres burned due to catastrophic wildfire was 3.6 million acres per year. Since 1996, the average amount of timber harvested annually was between 1.5 and 3.3 billion board feet. Since 1996, the average annual amount of acres burned due to catastrophic wildfire was over 6 million acres per year. Wildfire suppression costs currently consume over 50 percent of the Forest Service’s budget, stealing dollars from other

The Hardwood Federation is the voice of the hardwood industry in Washington, D.C. We represent the U.S. hardwood forest products industry before the U.S. Congress and the executive branch, focusing on federal level policies and legislation that impact the economic viability of our sector. The value of associations like the Hardwood Federation is that they foster coordination and focus on issues and initiatives of common concern. The Federation was founded in 2004 by industry leaders from various hardwood sectors that recognized the importance of speaking with a united voice on key issues in our nation’s capital. The unique characteristic of the Hardwood Federation is that we coordinate on those top-level issues that cut across many hardwood industry sectors. The Federation team, all three of us, spend a lot of time working with Congress and their staff on issues that impact the industry most, including access to raw materials and regulations that can strangle business operations. Access to raw materials is one issue that the entire hardwood value chain is concerned about. This is one of the main issues that we have been working on over the last few years and it will continue to be a priority in 2017 as we work with the incoming Congress and Trump Administration. In particular, we are concerned about the management of our federal forest lands and how that management impacts U.S.-based timber supplies. Access to raw materials

DID YOU KNOW? More than 193 million acres of the National Forest System is managed by the U.S. Forest Service

BigStockPhoto ©

hardwood floors www.hardwoodf loorsmag.com

18