Americas Nonfederal Forests (Programs)

[Don Staples]

Programs.

RECOMMENDATION 3.

Coordinate and suitably strengthen incentive, technical-assistance, and
regulatory programs for nonfederal
forests, and broaden their application to a wider variety of individual
and societal interests (Chapter 7).

The history of federal involvement in nonfederal forestry has been one
of providing leadership for private concerns and for state and local
units of government to establish and apply progressive forestry
programs.  In so doing, the federal government has played a significant
role in building the policy and program capacity of those entities. 
However, many of the policies and programs, especially those focused on
nonindustrial private forests, have been developed in response to single
concerns (for example, timber, wildlife, and water quality) and assigned
to many different agencies for implementation.  As such, there is
substantial opportunity for enhancing the exercise of the federal role
in nonfederal forests, especially by more clearly specifying program
goals and purposes, improving the coordination of program
implementation, Within the federal government and with private concerns
and state and local u its of government, and by broadening program
purposes to include accomplishment of a broader array of interests in
nonfederal forests.

		This points to the following specific recommendations:

        *	Private initiated programs that lead to investments in
nonfederal  forests should he
		promoted

         *	Coordination of federal incentive, regulatory and technical
assistance programs should 			be improved and these programs, as well as
tax policies and programs, should be 			periodically evaluated to
improve effectiveness. Technical assistance, fiscal 			       
incentive, and tax programs that target special landowner categories
should he 			        considered
	
	*	A clear set of purposes for educational programs focused on
nonfederal  forests should he
		established with a well-defined statement of  federal agency
responsibility for attaining 		these goals.

	*	Tax policies and programs that discourage investments in the
sustained  management
	        private nonfederal  forests should be
eliminated.                                                                             

	*        Federal and  state regulatory programs for nonfederal forests 
should be designed to honor 		 public and private interests in
nonfederal forests.


-- 
Don Staples
UIN 4653335

My Ego Stroke:  http://www.livingston.net/dstaples/