Western Week in Washington

RVCC’s annual fly-in to the nation’s capital – was a great success! Ten RVCC partners spent last week meeting with Congressional staff, public lands agency administrators, and national partners. The trip allowed us to share our priorities for the Farm Bill and appropriations process, as well as to listen and get a better understanding of the state of play in Washington. We shared the value of innovative, targeted programs like the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program and the Joint Fire Science Program, raising awareness and garnering support for both. We also advocated for working lands conservation and rural development programs in the Farm Bill, telling the story of how such programs roll out on the ground for communities.

Our conversations with agency staff were also valuable, providing insights into evolving policies within the Forest Service, BLM, and NRCS. These meetings offered an opportunity for RVCC to share thoughts on how such policies affect rural communities, conservation projects on the ground, and local economies. It was great to hear how receptive agency administrators are to working with partners like RVCC and local collaboratives.  

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Western Week was an opportunity to listen to and spend time with RVCC partners from around the West and in Washington. Often the conversations between or after official meetings were just as valuable as the formal meetings. It’s encouraging to hear about the good work being done, and to celebrate our recent successes like the fire funding fix. Just as at the local level, building real human connections is the only way that we can work to find durable, inclusive solutions to the complex problems facing rural communities and the land.

In a time when our national political discourse can feel ugly and divisive, I’m reminded all the more of the deep value of our collaborative efforts. Communities and diverse parties coming together to do the hard work of developing mutual respect and finding common ground based on a shared understanding of problems is the essence of the democratic process. Let’s make sure we continue to model that process for our lawmakers in Washington. 

Omnibus Policy Update

On March 23, Congress finally passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act (or Omnibus) for FY 2018. A long-sought fire funding fix was included within the Omnibus, as well as a few forest management policy changes and a two-year extension of Secure Rural Schools funding. In addition, the Omnibus carried funding increases for many programs that RVCC supports, putting us in a better position to advocate for stable funding moving into the next fiscal year. 

RVCC is pleased to see a bipartisan, broadly supported solution to fire funding after years of work on the issue. These changes should help to ensure more stable budgets in programs that proactively work to reduce conditions that result in uncharacteristically severe wildfire. We look forward to working with Congress as they begin to craft the FY 2019 budget and we will continue to communicate the value of the many important programs our partners rely on.

Fire Funding Fix
The Consolidated Appropriations Act included a comprehensive fire funding fix, formally called the Wildfire and Disaster Funding Adjustment, found in Division O of the Act. The wildfire funding fix locks in fire suppression budgets at the FY 2015 10-year average ($1.011 billion for USFS; $384 million for DOI) and allows agencies to pay additional suppression costs under a disaster cap. The disaster cap starts at $2.25 billion and incrementally increases to $2.95 billion by FY 2027. 

This is a 10-year agreement, beginning in FY 2020 and running through FY 2027. Before FY 2020, fire suppression will follow the current funding process, although an additional $500 million for suppression was allocated for FY 2018 and is expected for FY 2019 as well.

Importantly, this agreement does not allow agencies to access disaster funds indiscriminately. Rather, agencies must make a budget request for both the baseline FY 2015 funding level and forecasted excess need to be paid under the disaster cap. Should costs exceed this estimate, Congress will need to approve the use of additional funds under the disaster cap. Furthermore, the agreement does not formally end the practice of “fire borrowing,” which could still occur in the event that suppression costs exceed the disaster cap. For reference, the cost of the FY 2017 wildfire season exceeded $2 billion. 

Forest Management Changes
A number of forest management changes were also included in Division O of the Omnibus. These include new Categorical Exclusions (CEs), extended stewardship contracts, changed rules for Endangered Species Act consultation (related to the Ninth Circuit Cottonwood decision), and inclusion of road work in the Good Neighbor Authority.

Categorical Exclusions: The Act establishes new 3,000 acre Categorical Exclusions for hazardous fuels reduction projects in areas already designated as at-risk for insects and disease under the 2014 Farm Bill. This CE also includes a provision requiring that it either be used in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) or only in high-risk areas outside of the WUI (Condition Classes 2 or 3 in Fire Regime Groups I, II, or II). The new CEs, like previous Healthy Forest Restoration Act CEs, require a collaborative process be used. 

Stewardship Contracting: The Act extends the maximum duration of stewardship contracts to 20 years. It also includes a new preference for contractors that promote an innovative use of forest products, including cross-laminated timber. The Omnibus also changes cancellation ceilings by allowing them to be obligated in stages, ameliorating the burden of carrying the entire cancellation ceiling in a single annual budget. 

Consultation: In response to the Ninth Circuit Cottonwood decision, the Act addresses existing land management and Endangered Species Act consultation. Newly listed species will no longer require an immediate revision of a land management plan for specific projects to move forward. Rather, agencies will have 5 years to revise existing plans to reflect the new listing, and projects are permitted within that time frame, although they are halted after five years if the plan revision is not complete. Changes to consultation requirements are also applied to Bureau of Land Management O&C lands, but not to other Department of Interior lands.
Good Neighbor: The Omnibus amends the Good Neighbor Authority to include road reconstruction, repair, and restoration in the list of permitted activities. 

Secure Rural Schools
The 2018 Omnibus includes a 2-year reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools program (SRS), which retroactively covers FY 2017 and current FY 2018. Funding levels for FY 2017 are set at 95 percent of FY 2015 and FY 2018 is set at 95 percent of FY 2017.  An important change to SRS is the inclusion of language allowing counties to use funds to pay for law enforcement patrols, a move that should help counties pay for costs incurred through search and rescue operations on federal land. 

FY2018 Appropriations
An increased budget cap in the Omnibus resulted in small increases or level funding for programs of interest to RVCC. Overall, the Forest Service received a modest budget increase of $338 million (about 5.7%) over FY 2017. 

Many Forest Service branches received increased budgets, including Research and Development (up $8.5 million), State and Private Forestry (up $106.6 million), and the National Forest System (up $410.4 million). These increases mask some reorganizations within organizations, particularly Hazardous Fuels moving to the NFS branch (see below). The Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program received flat funding relative to FY 2017 and the continuing resolution for FY 2018, staying at $40 million. The Forest Products line item received a slight decrease in funding (down $1.8 million). Look for the RVCC Appropriations position paper being distributed for sign-on the second week in April for a line-by-line breakdown.

The Omnibus also reorganized some programs within the Forest Service, including moving National Fire Capacity and Rural Fire Capacity to State and Private Forests, and moving Hazardous Fuels to the National Forest System. The Omnibus does not block broader USDA reorganization, which has been proposed by the Secretary of Agriculture. The Secretary has proposed removing the position of Undersecretary for Rural Development, as well as moving the Natural Resource Conservation Service to the Farm Production and Conservation mission area.

The Farm Bill Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) are both funded at full mandatory levels, which represents an increase over FY 2017 and FY 2018 continuing resolution levels. This also means the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) will receive full funding, as it derives funding from both CSP and EQIP. The Rural Energy Assistance Program is also funded at the full mandatory level. 
 

RVCC Comments on the Forest Service's Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on NEPA Efficiencies

The Forest Service is undertaking an effort to improve its environmental analysis and decision making processes. As part of this effort, the agency published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) proposing to "revise its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedures with the goal of increasing efficiency of environmental analysis." Read the full Federal Register Notice from January 3, 2018 here.

Public comments on the proposed rulemaking were due February 2, 2018. The RVCC Leadership Team submitted comments, suggesting that avenues for improving analysis and decision making other than Rulemaking might be just as likely to gain the efficiencies the Forest Service is seeking. Some suggestions include improving the use of existing authorities, improving training, working with partners to complete analyses, and conducting more programmatic analyses. We look forward to engaging with the Forest Service on this process in the coming months.

From Alaska, For Alaska: Local jobs in the woods

2017 Forestry Training Academy. All photos by Bob Christensen

“I like to say that I get paid to walk through the forest and hug trees,” Buck Grasser laughed. He was fresh off a long day of working in sun dappled woods. Buck lives and works in a special place, Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska, known for its vast natural wealth from ancient forests to salmon runs. As I talked with Buck, he was gathering up his two young kids to go to their local park, and Buck’s enthusiasm for his new Forest Service job and the training that helped him get there was infectious. 

Buck is one of the first graduates of the Forestry Training Academy, class of 2016. The Academy is a free two-week training course setting local community members on the path to jobs in the woods. Buck was one of the seven 2016 Academy grads to find work. On a remote island with isolated rural communities still feeling the effects of a significant downturn from a once booming timber industry—this is no small thing. 

Buck’s new job with the Forest Service as a technician provides much more stability than he’s had in years. Most striking is that Buck says he’s now working towards an occupation, not just a job. Buck’s taking every opportunity to prepare himself for new opportunities in forestry, from taking classes offered by the Forest Service to mentoring for this year’s Academy. This chance for advancement is huge, Buck tells me. I get it, a chance for advancement is truly something rare and of value—no matter where you call home.

This local workforce development in Alaskan natural resource stewardship has been over a decade in the making. The Forestry Training Academy is a tangible, pragmatic outcome of a collaborative path through conflict. A diverse group people came together which included timber interests, environmental groups, and the State of Alaska—to carve a new path to better long-term management of the Tongass National Forest. They went beyond the usual focus on forest planning and articulated how to get projects done on the ground, through local jobs with local workers.

The Academy “is a key element of the new Tongass Land Management Plan, put into action. It’s good for the region and it is an improvement in forest management,” said Andrew Thoms, executive director of the Sitka Conservation Society. Proving collaboration is more than just a buzz word, in its second year the 2017 Academy trained 12 new students, all from Alaska. Funding and support for the Academy is also, importantly, a collaborative effort. Supporters include the Forest Service, Alaska’s Division of Forestry and Division of Economic Development, Sealaska Timber, Spruceroot Community Development Fund and Sustainable Southeast Partnership.

RVCC is preparing to go to DC at the end of May for our annual Western Week in Washington, so I asked Buck what message he would want us to share. He told me that it was important to get the word out that federal funds for programs are working in rural communities, especially when bad news is mostly what we hear.

Buck said the Forestry Academy Training program provides a “great opportunity to show that the people who live in Alaska are the people who should be working in Alaska – to give people a chance to make something of their lives outside of traditional college, to have a trade school, to be able to work your way up the ranks, is a valuable asset. It’s cost effective, good for the community, good for everybody.”

As the new administration proposes cutting essential investments in the programs RVCC cares about, we look forward to bringing this critical message to policy makers—federal funds make good.

Buck Grasser

Justin Reno

Christa Hambleton

Cory Paratovich

Destiny Madewell

John Gabriel

James Stevens

Julia Scott

Meghan Smith

Mike Webb

Nick Schlosstein

Paul Hartzell

Rebecca Sheufelt

Cathy Needham

Best of luck to this new crew of Forestry Training Academy Grads!

Thanks to Buck Grasser, Andrew Thoms, Bob Christensen, Bethany Goodrich, and Quinn Aboudara for your help in telling this success story. Author: Ashley Rood