WASHINGTON OUTLOOK.

Congress' final actions this year, which emerged from debates an the Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA) and its response to the 2000 wildfires, include some significant successes for conservation programs and community-based forestry efforts.

Environmental and conservation groups pushed hard for passage of CARA, which would have provided $3 billion annually for federal land acquisition and conservation programs through a permanent appropriation from offshore oil receipts. In the end, however, congressional appropriators were unwilling to give up discretion on spending and permanently commit that level of revenues to these programs.

As a compromise, the Administration and congressional conferees on the Interior Appropriations bill (H.R. 4578) agreed to create a six-year Land Conservation, Preservation, and Infrastructure Improvement program (Title VIII) that provides $1.6 billion in Fiscal Year (FY) 2001 and increases funding each year until it reaches $2.4 billion in FY 2006. The conferees created a funding mechanism for this money, but they clearly stated that the funding is not guaranteed. For FY 2001 the U.S. Forest Service's Forest Legacy Program will receive an additional $30 million through this program, bringing its total to $60 million. The agency's Urban and Community Forestry Program will receive a $4 million addition to its nearly $32 million appropriation.

Meanwhile, the dramatic 2000 wildfire season prompted congressional debate that addressed more than the emergency of putting out the fires and rehabilitating damaged ecosystems and communities.

In their report language for Title IV, conferees on the Interior Appropriations bill urged federal agencies to work collaboratively with states, local governments, and citizens to develop a long-term strategy addressing "the wildland fire and hazardous fuels situation, as well as needs for habitat restoration and rehabilitation across the nation." They adopted language from the Senate's version of the bill on hazardous fuels reduction in the urban-wildland interface. This language, developed by Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), gives the Forest Service and BLM authority to provide training and employment opportunities to people in rural communities. It also directs the agencies to give preference to local workers and youth groups, such as Youth Conservation Corps, in developing hazardous fuels reduction projects. The conferees provided $120 million to each of the two agencies for hazardous fuels reduction in the urban-wildland interface. They also provided an additional $12.5 million for Economic Action Programs to help communities develop capacity to use and market small-diameter materials removed during fuels reduction activities.

Over the next several months, AMERICAN FORESTS will work with community-based partners and the federal agencies to understand how the new authorities and funding in this year's Interior Appropriations bill can help build local capacity and promote collaborative efforts to restore and protect forest ecosystems.