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Senate farm bill hearing looks at forest, conservation efforts
 
By RACHEL LANE
D.C. Correspondent
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In 1998, wildfire programs were allotted about 16 percent of the federal forestry budget. Today, that figure has increased to 53 percent.
 
“This is just no longer sustainable. We need to be able to restore the resiliency of our forests and grasslands,” said Tom Tidwell, chief of the USDA Forest Service, when speaking to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry on the 2018 farm bill earlier this month.

He asked for assistance to fix the budget issue in the existing farm bill, but also said the forestry title in the bill has helped the nation improve forests, reduce wildfire threats and sustain rural America.

In 2016, the U.S. Forest Service entered into 225 stewardship contracts and agreements, selling more than 718 million board feet of timber and restoring or improving over 22,000 acres of wildlife habitat. Programs funding in the farm bill help limit the threat of pests and diseases and restore watersheds and forests on federal land.

Voluntary conservation programs and those that provide financial incentives to farmers for conservation practices assist on farms, in forests and across the country as water and soil health improve, said Committee Chair Pat Roberts (R-Kan.).

Farmers and ranchers are making a difference, limiting environmental impact while continuing to grow safe and affordable food, and he said regulatory action has not been needed.

“I have heard from farmers repeatedly about the importance of these programs, how they successfully incentivize farmers to take conservation to the next level,” said Roberts. “I understand the challenges facing the forestry sector, which are not vastly different than the challenges facing other sectors.”

Reflecting on the 2014 farm bill, he said a few changes could be made in conservation and forestry. The bill consolidated the 23 separate programs into 13 to improve their efficiency and delivery, while reducing the overall cost of the programs, he said.

“We find ourselves in a very tough budgetary environment. I know many within the conservation community that will be looking to increase funding for programs that experienced cuts in the 2014 farm bill, however, Congress will have difficult decisions to make,” Roberts said, adding he will work to protect conservation and existing programs.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), ranking member of the committee, said preserving water resources is nothing new in Michigan, where protecting the Great Lakes has been a focus for years.

“With 70 percent of U.S. land privately owned, our farmers, ranchers and foresters are the original conservationists and our first responders to sustain our natural resources; however, they should not have to bear this responsibility alone,” she noted.

She said conservation and forestry contribute livelihoods and money to the economy, allowing land to be used for recreation and supporting more than 700,000 jobs. “I’ve always said the farm bill is a jobs bill, and conservation and forestry is no exception.”

The 2014 farm bill provided new tools for national forests and encouraged the use of a program to match government dollars with private funding.

“Landowners make decisions every day that affect not only their property but the property of their neighbors, watershed, affect the U.S. population,” said Jimmy Bramblett, deputy chief for Programs, Natural Resources Conservation Service.

He discussed conservation efforts such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and Regional Conservation Partnership Program. The Conservation Stewardship Program has become the nation’s largest conservation effort, with more than 80 million acres enrolled in fiscal year 2010.

The programs are receiving an increase in applications, indicating they have been well received, Bramblett said. 
7/19/2017