Forested Landscapes in Perspective Prospects and Opportunities for Sustainable Management of America's Nonfederal Forests (1998) / Chapter Skim
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7 Policy and Program Investments
7 Policy and Program Investments
Pages 90-108
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From page 90... ...
These programs are a means to secure the range and magnitude of benefits potentially provided by nonfederal forests. Possible program activities include developing management responses to private market signals, forming ownerships of forest property by the public, distributing information, and providing technical assistance, access to financial resources, and the imposition of governmental regulations.
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From page 91... ...
However, many of the policies and programs, especially those for nonindustrial private forests, have been developed in response to single concerns (for example, timber, wildlife, or water quality) and assigned to different agencies for implementation: education to extension services; service forestry to state forestry agencies; tax policy to local governments; forest wildlife to state wildlife agencies; water quality to state pollution-control agencies, and so forth.
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From page 92... ...
In the late 1980s, over 7 million acres of nonindustrial private forest were eligible. Tree-farm members number 70,000 (including inactive members)
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From page 93... ...
The program sets forth a set of forest principles and implementation guidelines that require companies to carry out a variety of actions, including reforesting harvested land promptly, protect water quality in streams and lakes, enhance quality of wildlife habitat, minimize visual impact of timber harvests, protect lands of special ecological significance, contribute to biodiversity by enhancing landscape diversity (American Forest and Paper Association 1995; Chapter 5, Box 5-5~. Compliance with SFI is a requirement for continued membership in AF&PA.
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From page 94... ...
Private and state funds raised are matched by Congress and are spent on land acquisition, research programs education, endangered species recovery, restoration of degraded habitat, and some policy work involving political analyses to assist government agencies and nonprofit organizations in working together to achieve conservation goals. Nonprofit organizations generally seek limited government involvement in their activities; yet, they often seek partnerships with government in protecting and managing sensitive forest ecosystems.
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From page 95... ...
Private voluntary initiatives also occur in the form of citizens volunteering to help various causes, including the application of sustainable forestry practices by private forest owners. Excellent examples are the "master woodland manager" programs that exist in at least 14 states.
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From page 96... ...
Landowners have limited access to timely, high-quality information about market prices for forest products. In some measure, the responsibility for forestry and environmental education exists with the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, the USDA Forest Service State and Private Forestry, the U.S.
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From page 97... ...
1996~. The potential for providing technical assistance is highlighted by the reality that only one in five nonindustrial private forest landowners has a written management plan for their forestland (Birch 1996~.
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From page 98... ...
is subject to risk because of fire, insects, disease, and disaster weather events; forests have a low degree of liquidity; and the investment is subject to a low return rate compared with alternative capital investments. For these reasons, fiscal and tax incentives become important programs for the sustainable management of private nonindustrial forests.
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From page 99... ...
Estate Taxes When a person dies and is not survived by a spouse or when there is no current estate plan, the estate, including land, may be subject to federal estate taxes. The most recent revision of the federal tax code (1997 Taxpayer Relief Act)
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From page 100... ...
These are important corrections in Tax Reform Act of 1986 which, among many consequences, discouraged landowners from extending timber-harvest rotations and managing older-age forests. As with recent changes in estate tax law, changes in capital gains tax law will also require continuing analysis to determine their impacts on timber investments made by private forest landowners.
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From page 101... ...
State Tax Policies Federal tax policy is not the only concern of owners and managers of private forests. Local governments rely upon property taxes to raise revenues.
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From page 102... ...
Yet, when society's interest in maintaining and enhancing forest ecosystems is evident, owners and managers of forest resources are obligated to examine the range of programs available for achieving such interests. It is critical to realize that the structure and administration of federal, state, and local regulatory programs vary greatly.
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From page 103... ...
tend to spawn among citizens. The federal administrative landscape of regulatory programs bears little relation to a holistic approach to maintaining the integrity of forest ecosystems, which include nonfederal forests.
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From page 104... ...
Establishment and administration of state and local regulatory programs have caused concern over the relation between these programs and federal programs. Program Coordination The nature of the problem of coordinating state and federal regulatory initiatives becomes apparent when ecosystems owned by nonfederal concerns are imposed on by multiple regulatory laws, multiple layers of government, multiple administering agencies, and conflicting client expectations of forest ecosystems.
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From page 105... ...
The intensely held views of the public about the use of regulatory programs to influence forestry practices demand a special sensitivity to the design and implementation of regulation. At the very least, federal and state governments should adopt regulatory programs only when they are clearly more efficient than other types of programs that might be available for influencing private actions.
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From page 106... ...
Other suggested improvements include an option for state ownership of easements, direct grants to states for easements, payments in lieu of taxes to communities for easements, amendments to include timber management as a Forest Legacy Program objective, and funds for states to monitor easement compliance. Conservation Rental Contracts Conservation rental contracts can provide opportunities to protect endangered or threatened species on private forests.
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From page 107... ...
Such could ease the burden on those who have especially high costs associated with the designation of endangered-species habitat on their property (Environmental Defense Fund 1995~. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Policies and programs affecting nonfederal forests include governmental initiatives, private and voluntary initiatives, education and technical assistance, fiscal and tax incentives, and regulatory programs.
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From page 108... ...
· Tax policies and programs that discourage investments in the sustainable management of private nonfederalforests should be eliminated. · Federal and state regulatory programs for nonfederal forests should be designed to honor public and private interests in nonfederalforests.
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