Federal Forest Resource Coalition Bill Imbergamo, Executive Director

FFRC in 2013  Added new members in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Utah.  Michigan Members Increased Commitment 300%  Added first County Government Members  Now have presence in 32 States

FFRC Continues to Grow

 Expanded PAC to multi-candidate status  OFW Staffing increased commitment from Legislative Team  Developing new website and strategic communications plan

Forest Service Timber Sales vs. Total Acres of Wildfire, Since 1990:

Much of the National Forest System is off limits to Management Already  18.1% is designated Wilderness  31.9% is in Roadless Areas  25.3% is “Suited for Timber Production” Working to make that designation meaningful.

Federal Forest Resource Coalition Growth has drastically exceeded removals for the last 3 decades:

Forests and Wood Products Sequester CO2 Wildland Fires Release CO2

Decreasing Investments in Forest Infrastructure have lead to a $6 Billion Deferred Maintenance Backlog:

Over the last 5 years, NFS sold 38% of the Allowable Sale Quantity called for in existing Forest Plans. Fiscal Year:Timber Sold (BBF):% of Aggregate ASQ: % % % % %

2013: A Year of Running in Place:   Timber output stable in spite of 5% Sequester to NFS budget.   USDA predicted output would fall to 2.2 BBF (turned out to be wrong)  USFS left 400 MBF on the table because of appeals, litigation  Would have INCREASED outputs by 15%

2013: A Year of Running in Place  Government shutdown created unnecessary disruptions  $600 million in fire borrowing starting in August.  Supplementals and CR’s ultimately repaid all 2012 and 2013 fire borrowing

2013: A Year of Running in Place: Some things DID get done:   Objection Process for all Projects done under EA’s and EIS’s   House moved a reform bill (HR 1526)   FFRC testified in both the House and Senate on Reform   Administration still refuses to engage

2014: A Return to Regular Order? 2014 Omnibus Spending Bill:   Good Neighbor Authority Expanded;   CE Projects Exempted from Appeals   FS directed to track payments to litigants under the Equal Access to Justice Act.   Restored sequester cuts to timber and added $150 million to hazardous fuels

2014: A Return to Regular Order? Farm Bill: Is this the year?  Reauthorization of Stewardship Contracting with Fire Liability Fix  Expanded forest health authority with 3,000 acre discretionary Categorical Exclusion  Expansion of Designation by Description  Exemption for Forest Roads?

Musical Chairs in Congress: House Approps Subcommittee on Interior: New Chairman (Ken Calvert, R-CA, Riverside) New Ranking Member in 2014 (Probably Betty McCollum, D-MN, St. Paul)

Musical Chairs in Congress: House Natural Resources Committee: New Ranking Member (Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-OR Eugene) Majority Committee Staff departed in January.

Musical Chairs in Congress: Senate Energy & Natural Resources: Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) to take the reigns in February Sen. Ron Wyden is retaining his seat while taking the gavel at Finance

Musical Chairs in Congress: Other Prominent Departures: Sen. James Coburn (R-OK) Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) Rep. George Miller (D-CA) Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL)

Prospects on Budget  Omnibus sets up nearly 9 months of appropriations stability  We expect the Administration’s budget to be late again this year.  House and Senate have largely gone “down the middle” on the Forest Service Budget

Prospects on Budget Congress has:  Not expanded IRR beyond pilot status  Not agreed with Admin’s proposed increases in land acquisition  Kept timber funding level while cutting other programs  Allowed CI&M backlog to balloon from $5 billion in 2008 to over $6 billion today

Prospects for Fundamental Reform  FFRC Proposal calls for “trust” approach some portion of the NFS  Reduced requirements for analysis, limits on appeals and litigation  Trust model with strong fiduciary responsibility

Pressing for Fundamental Reform  One more Senate Hearing next Week (Feb 6 th, FFRC will testify)  Once Landrieu takes the reigns, we’ll see how much appetite there is for reform  Apparent that leadership will come from Sen. Barrasso (R-WY)

Pressing for Fundamental Reform Barrasso Draft:   7.5 million “suitable” acres designated as “Forest Management Emphasis Areas”   FS must conduct harvest on these over 15 years (16% of suitable base, 3.8% of the NFS).   100 page EA; proposed action and 1 alternative, limits on cumulative effects analysis, FS conducts their own ESA consultation.   Projects subject to objection process and binding arbitration, rather than litigation.

Fire Borrowing: FLAME Act has FLAMED Out:  subjected to overhead, redirection to “deficit reduction,” treated as part of 10- year average.  First 3 years after enactment were “slow” fire years, funds were stolen in the name of fiscal probity  Slightly over $1 billion in Fire borrowing since 2012.

Fire Borrowing: Wildfire Disaster Act (S. 1875) Creates a “budget cap exemption” for firefighting expenses beyond 75% of the 10-year average. FS required to submit a budget proposal that requests this funding level. Beyond this the agency accesses mandated funds the same as FEMA. FFRC working with a broad coalition to support enactment.

Prospects for Success?  Instability and brinksmanship cratered Congressional approval ratings in 2013  Competitive Election in 2014 raises the prospects of action in 2015, so current leaders may try to control events by moving now.  Improved chances for Farm Bill and “regular order”-like approach to Approps

Prospects for Success?  Focusing on Senate to help “encourage” administration to engage constructively  Preparing to engage heavily in rulemaking processes.  Onward!