HEALTHY FOREST RESTORATION ACT

Western Hardwood Association

June 26, 2005

HFRA Objectives

To reduce the threat of wildfires while upholding environmental standards and encouraging early public input

HFRA• Strengthens public participation in forest

health projects• Reduces complexity of environmental analysis

and allows for best science uses• Encourages public participation in project

planning• HFRA has support of bi-partisan majority of

Congress, and Administration, industry, and a variety of conservation groups

Adoption followed a series of catastrophic fires in the West in 2002 and 2003:

• 147,000 fires – 11 million acres• 22 civilians and 51 firefighters lost their

lives• Air quality reduced• Endangered species habitat destroyed• Increased threat of invasive species and

disease

Provisions of HFRA can be applied to 20,000,000 acres of Federal land or 31,000 square miles

• Removes hazardous fuels• Expedites treatment of lands at risk from fires• Removes blown down or ice storm damaged

trees• Expedites environmental review of projects• Addresses maintenance and restoration of old

growth• Requires collaboration between Federal

agencies and local communities on wildfire projects

• Requires 50% of HFRA funds to protect areas adjacent to high-risk communities

• Encourages courts to expedite judicial review of legal challenges

• Courts are to balance long and short-term environmental effects against taking no action when considering requests for injunctions.

• Encourages removal of biomass from public and private lands.

• Allows stewardship contracts (up to 10 years) for small business, not-for-profits and communities to reduce wildfire risk.

• Allows USFS and Bureau of Land Management to trade goods for services, trees and biomass in return for work.

• USFS must develop and carry out an applied silvicultural assessment program along with states, universities and private land owners to combat forest damaging insects and diseases.

• Department of Agriculture authorized to develop an early warning system for environmental threats (insects, disease).

HFRA 1 ½ Years Later• Debate continues if a $760 million budget is

sufficient – or too much.• 4.2 million acres treated in 2004 for hazardous

fuels.• Goal is to treat 8 million acres a year.• 80-90 million acres need fuel reduction treatment.• At current rate, it will take 15 years to reach that

goal.• USFS infrastructure is stretched thin and not

adequate to meet challenges.

What’s Next?

Undersecretary Mark Rey:

• Bush Administration will continue to focus on implementation of HFRA.

• It has had a positive effect of USFS morale.

First Ignored—Now Addressed

• Early warning satellite monitoring system.

• Applied silvicultural assessment.

Satellite Monitoring System

• $5 million a year for five years

• One station in Corvallis, OR

• NHLA priority

Diseaseand

Insects

Sudden Oak Death

• Active spots in California and Oregon (Oregon near eradication)

• Nurseries in 37 states quarantined

• West Coast nurseries being monitored by APHIS

Red Oak Borer

Red Oak Borer

• Epidemic levels in northwest Arkansas, southern Missouri, and east Oklahoma

• Common on land pushed beyond carrying capacity

• USFS funding prevention activities in National Forests in Arkansas

Emerald Ash Borer

• Considered the most devastating tree killing pest in North America (comes from Asia)

• Every ash tree in North America is threatened; 30-36,000 trees already dead

• Eradication strategy is to cut down tree and grind it up

• All infested trees are removed along with all trees within 1/2 mile

• Quarantined area is 20 counties in SE Michigan; Lucas County, OH and small pockets in NW Indiana

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)

• Hardwood plantings given special treatment

• Continuous enrollment

• Extended, long-term contracts

• Secretary of Agriculture set a goal of 500,000 acres planted in hardwood

• Program is behind expectation

USFS Regional 6National Forests

Volume Sold by Fiscal Year (MMBF)

1990 - 3,997

2000 - 242

2002 - 306

2003 - 400

2004 - 491

USFS Region 6Harvest Volume by Fiscal Year (MMBF)

2001 2002 2003 2004

Total 307.0 276.9 320.9 499.9

Oregon 217.8 198.3 243.8 382.6

Washington 89.2 78.6 77.1 117.3