Aug. 27, 2001

The Future of America's Private Forests At Stake in Congress

Pacific Forest Trust Offers Essential Sourcebook

Santa Rosa, CA -- Nearly 60 percent of America's forests are privately owned, but according to the authors of a groundbreaking new book on forest conservation, the viability, indeed the very existence of these forests, is increasingly threatened by population growth, urbanization and patchwork development. As Congress addresses the plight of the nation's farms and forests in the Farm Bill and other legislation its members can turn to America's Private Forests: Status and Stewardship, written by Pacific Forest Trust co-founders Constance Best and Laurie Wayburn. The book not only illuminates the status our nation's private forests based on new government data, but also presents a strategy for stemming private forest loss using existing and emerging tools.

"People depend on private forests for a wealth of vital goods and services. Yet most people don't have any idea of the importance of these forests," said co-author Constance Best, "In addition to providing the obvious wood products and jobs, private forests clean our water, stabilize our climate and provide a home for numerous creatures. Private forests are essential to the continued health of our society."

Yet, according to government data released this summer and analyzed in America's Private Forests, an average of nearly a million acres of private forestland were lost to development each year from 1992 to 1997 -- a 70 percent increase over the previous decade. Fragmentation is also increasing with alarming speed: on average, almost 2 million acres of forestland per year -- an area about the size of Yellowstone National Park -- were broken up into "ranchette" parcels between 1978 and 1994.

"The demographic and market forces behind forest loss and fragmentation are powerful and deeply rooted, "said Ms. Best. "To compete with these forces, the benefits of conservation -- financial and otherwise- need to increase in size and scope."

America's Private Forests highlights a number of tools designed to do just that. One such tool is the Forest Legacy program, authorized in the 1990 Farm Bill, through which land or development rights are voluntarily sold or donated to a state agency, the USDA Forest Service or a nonprofit land trust. Through such a transaction, the forestland base is permanently preserved and protected from any future threats of development. Landowners benefit from conserving their forestland either through the proceeds of the sale or tax deductions for the donation.

As of June 30, 2001, the Forest Legacy Program had protected more than 200,000 acres in 18 states. The program is increasingly popular with landowners and has a backlog of over one million acres needing over $200 million in funding. Yet, the current House and Senate versions of the 2002 Interior Appropriations bill designate just $60-$65 million for the Forest Legacy program. Of this, $59 million has already been earmarked for specific projects in 15 states leaving virtually nothing for the priorities of the other 18 states expected to qualify for Forest Legacy funding in 2002. PFT, the Land Trust Alliance, and others are seeking to boost this modest budget as Congress finalizes the Interior Appropriations bill. In addition, Congress should consider additional conservation tools, such as existing programs in the Farm Bill that could be expanded.

"There is, of course, no one silver bullet for preserving private forestland," said co-author Constance Best. "In order to turn the tide on forest loss, many tools and approaches will be needed, reaching out across traditional divides and engaging the wider public. Those who already know and prize these forests must take the lead in meeting this challenge."