What the Forest Service is Saying about SRS Reauthorization Efforts
As Congress and the Administration wrestle with the reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools Act, the Forest Service has the following to say:
- The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act of 2000 (the Act) was enacted to provide temporary funding to help rural communities make the transition through precipitous declines in the natural-resource economy, particularly in forest-dependent communities of the West.
- Under the Act rural counties in 41 states received more than $5 billion in funding from the federal government for schools, roads and other projects since 2001.
- Under the current Act the last payment will be made by January 2012.
- If the Act is not reauthorized, counties will share in the 25-percent payment to states, based on a 7-year rolling average of receipts from the national forest. The 25-percent fund act was passed in 1908 to help fund public schools and roads in counties in which national forests are located. This payment will be significantly less than the annual payments under the Act since 2001.
- The President’s fiscal year 2012 Budget proposes a five-year- extension of the Act that provides funding to historically forest-dependent communities. The budget proposal acknowledges the challenges that rural communities face, and the need to responsibly reduce the federal deficit.
- Thus far, two proposed alternatives to the Act have had hearings in the House, the “National Forest County Revenue, Schools, and Jobs Act of 2011”, which requires the Secretary to generate sufficient receipts to meet an annual revenue requirement, and the “Action Plan for Public Lands and Education Act of 2011”, which would grant millions of acres of public lands to states.
- USDA Under Secretary Harris Sherman has said that these two alternatives would do more harm than good, likely resulting in weakened environmental protections, inviting controversy and litigation, and adding to the federal deficit. See the news release at http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2011/releases/09/secure-schools.shtml.
- Another proposal has been introduced in the Senate, S 1692, but no hearing has been scheduled. The Forest Service typically does not take positions on bills until a hearing is held.
- The agency has worked closely with stakeholders to increase revenue in these communities while acting in a way that is consistent with environmental protection and multiple-use values. Last year, 2.6 billion board feet of lumber were produced from National Forest lands.
- The mission of the U.S. Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. Recreational activities on our lands contribute $14.5 billion annually to the U.S. economy. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world.
Thank you for posting this information. I support our rural counties with nationally valuable watersheds in Federal ownership in there efforts to gain sufficient funding to provide the county services, including schools and roads, essential to forest management. However, efforts that would provide funds at the expense of the watersheds are contrary to our local and national interests.
A critical mission of the USFS is to protect our watersheds. Placing these lands in private ownership will almost inevitably result in their degradation. Forcing the forests to harvest timber to provide jobs at the expense of ecological integrity will only harm our children and future generations. Responsible timber harvest is a good thing. Irresponsible harvest is shameful.