Forest Flash: Major Action on Climate, Expanding the Role for Forests
In Pacific Forest Trust’s e-newsletter, Forest Flash, we send you the most recent PFT news and updates on forests, clean water, climate, and wildlife, no more than once or twice a month. Subscribe here.
Managing for “Good Fire”: California’s Early Action $536 Million 2021 Wildfire and Forest Resilience Funding Package
Governor Newsom signed a landmark $536 million “early action” 2021 funding package in April that is immediately available for a broad range of forest and fire-related grant programs. This is more than double what any California budget has spent on proactive efforts. It is in line with what PFT led a coalition to support in December of 2020, and $200 million more than Gov. Newsom proposed in January. This action reflects the broad public support to ‘go big’ given the impacts of climate change and the need to scale up proactive efforts on climate and fire resilience.PFT has been leading an ambitious ‘early action’ funding package request since last fall, organizing multiple coalition letters, doing media briefings, testifying at hearings, and hosting an online fire resilience ad campaign. Bold investments in managing to reduce risks and promote “good” fire have been a unifying goal, bringing together partners ranging from the Cattlemen’s Association to the Wilderness Coalition to the Vintners Association to CalCAN and others in the agricultural community.
While this is an unprecedented amount of funding, there will be a second round of forest and fire investments in the next budget adopted in June. We will continue to advocate for a holistic approach that includes investments in community protection as well as forests and watersheds, accelerating the pace of action to make a difference in time to avert the worst impacts of climate change, promote adaptation and build a safer future.
Learn more about who supports this, what this package funds, and how you can support more investments in the next budget.
Welcome, Glenn Fee!
PFT is delighted to announce the hire of Glenn Fee of Portland, Oregon as our new Vice President for Engagement. This new position is designed to help PFT launch a new phase of impact and accomplishment. Glenn brings a passion for nature, a commitment to address climate change, and many years of experience in both development and communications to advancing PFT’s work.
“I’m thrilled to join the Pacific Forest Trust, an organization doing critical work to conserve and restore private forests, reduce the threat of wildfire, and mitigate impacts from climate change. I believe my leadership in community engagement and fundraising will significantly elevate our work.”— Glenn Fee
Right: A great lover of the outdoors, Glenn can often be seen hiking and kayaking in the Oregon wilds.
USDA Steps up to the Climate Challenge
On January 27, 2021, President Biden took unprecedented climate action, issuing an Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad to conserve 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030, enhance biodiversity protection, and confront the climate crisis. Increasing engagement with private landowners to expand forest conservation and restoration is essential to achieving these targets. Advocating and demonstrating how forest conservation and stewardship is a natural climate solution for almost 30 years, PFT brings unique experience to this issue. We’re urging the USDA to expand the funding and flexibility of incentive programs to accelerate the pace and scale of forest conservation, while also ensuring that these programs deliver lasting benefits to the atmosphere and restore natural resilience to our nation’s forests, both public and private.
In addition to significantly increasing funding to meet the scale of the climate crisis, there are other things that the USDA can do to leverage its programs, expertise, and educational capacities to engage private landowners in the fight to mitigate global warming. In particular, the USDA should leverage its short-term incentive programs with long-term investments that ensure lasting climate benefits through conservation easements, pairing these to gain multiple synergies. It can also establish procurement programs to preferentially purchase products from domestic well-managed, conserved forests and farms. Additionally, similar to the EPA’s Energy Star program, it can support consumer demand for climate-friendly products such as food and wood from conserved and well-managed private lands.
It should also make programs easier to use and expand their impact such as by engaging accredited land trusts as full partners in all its conservation programs, including Forest Legacy. And, on public lands, it should manage and restore forests and grasslands to serve as a Strategic Carbon Reserve to increase net, resilient carbon stocks that help meet our climate goals more quickly, while also improving watersheds, fire resilience, and wildlife adaptation.
Read our full comments here.
