This week’s Farm Bill markup could lead to easy changes for more effective forest conservation and funding partnerships
OVER 40 Groups Call on Legislators to Streamline Key Conservation Funding Program, Strengthening Partnerships with Non-Profit Organizations to Reduce Costs.
For Immediate Release—May 14, 2013—A diverse network of forest land owners, environmental groups and land trusts are urging lawmakers to make it easier and more cost-effective for state agencies to conserve land through stronger partnerships with land trusts. A no-cost amendment to the USDA Forest Legacy Program would expand public-private conservation partnerships and remove unnecessary regulatory barriers to forestland protection.
Rep. John Garamendi (CA-3) introduced the amendment to the House Agriculture Committee as discussions on the Farm Bill markup began. “This amendment is a no-cost, common sense measure that improves a Farm Bill conservation program vital to the protection of our nation’s working forests. As state budgets around the country are increasingly constrained, amendments such as this one encourage private sector financing while maintaining state oversight of important conservation objectives, and therefore increase the effectiveness of every federal dollar spent,” said Congressman Garamendi, a Member of the House Agriculture Committee, who is a lifelong rancher and manages a pear orchard with his wife Patti at their home in Walnut Grove, California.
The USDA Forest Service’s Forest Legacy Program provides money to states to pay for public-private conservation efforts with Land and Water Conservation Fund monies generated by offshore oil and gas leases. It has conserved 2.2 million acres since its creation in the 1990 Farm Bill, and could do more if states responsible for implementing the program could call on qualified land trusts to help hold and maintain conservation easements funded by the program, according to over 40 groups from across the country. The groups signed on to a letter (attached) sent to the leaders and ranking members of the Senate and House Agriculture committees, which are holding hearings on the 2013 Farm Bill.
While Forest Legacy is a powerful tool for the conservation of private working forestlands, the program is constrained by the fact that only governmental entities are allowed to hold the conservation easements it funds. Because easements entail ongoing stewardship and monitoring obligations from entities that hold them, Forest Legacy requires a substantial commitment of resources by state implementing agencies. In this time of tightening budgets, these administrative costs represent a considerable burden for states with tight budgets conserving land with Forest Legacy funds.
“This amendment would increase the efficiency of the Forest Legacy program not just here in Michigan, but throughout the country,” explained Glen Chown, Executive Director of the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy. “Because land trusts such as ours can play a larger role in Forest Legacy fundraising and stewardship, this amendment would give us more tools to help preserve private forests that are threatened by development.”
“Many other federal-state conservation programs already partner with land trusts to help implement their programs over the long term through having them hold, monitor, and steward conservation easements, such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program and conservation grants under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act,” said Laurie Wayburn, president of the Pacific Forest Trust, which helped bring the Forest Legacy program to California in 1995. “This approach encourages additional funding partnerships with the charitable sector as well, given that philanthropies often prefer to give to non-profits rather than undertake what they see as a government obligation. And, many private landowners prefer to work with qualified, non-profit land trusts rather than governmental entities. Enabling Forest Legacy to also leverage this kind of private partnership will make this program even better.”
Those who signed today’s letter have recommended a simple but influential change to the program to allow qualified, non-profit conservation organizations to hold easements funded by Forest Legacy. Such an amendment would significantly improve the program’s flexibility and reach, and allow qualified groups to help states streamline their role in implementing the program without sacrificing any control or quality, Wayburn said.
This change would cost nothing, and could represent a considerable cost savings for states to help precious Forest Legacy dollars go farther, Wayburn added. This option only would be exercised at the state’s discretion, and would necessitate no other changes to the Forest Legacy program.
For FY2014, the Administration has proposed that the Forest Legacy program provide $60 million to protect thousands acres of working forestland from development in 19 states across the country. The funds are primarily awarded to states to purchase conservation easements from willing landowners, ensuring their well-managed forests will stay standing in perpetuity. Both cost-effective and practical, conservation easements keep productive forestland intact, privately owned and contributing to local tax rolls. They conserve working landscapes that sustain rural economies while providing clean air and water, climate stabilization and other benefits serving people everywhere.
Media: Laurie Wayburn and other coalition members are available for comment. Call Kim Kowalski at 415-561-0700 ext. 13 or e-mail kkowalski@pacificforest.org to arrange an interview.
Representative Garimendi’s office: Matt Kravitz matthew.kravitz@mail.house.gov
About Pacific Forest Trust
Founded in 1993, the Pacific Forest Trust (PFT) is dedicated to conserving and sustaining America’s vital, productive forest landscapes. Working with forest owners, we focus on conserving privately owned working forests for all the benefits they provide, including clean water, sustainably harvested wood, green jobs, renewable and sustainable energy, fish and wildlife habitat, and a livable climate. With an array of stakeholder partners, we advance innovative, incentive-based strategies to safeguard our nation’s diverse forest landscapes and the communities they support. Learn more at www.pacificforest.org.
###