Washington outlook. (Clippings).

The September 11 terrorist attacks and later anthrax letters have thrown legislative schedules and priorities into disarray. There's heightened uncertainty about whether and how key pieces of forestry legislation--such as the FY 2002 Interior Appropriations bill and the 2002 Farm Bill (which AMERICAN FORESTS helped craft)--would move. However, extraordinary determination by some congressional leaders has pushed the process forward.

The FY 2002 Interior Appropriations bill (HR 2217), which funds the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and other Department of Interior agencies, passed Congress in early October. It moved easily through a conference between House and Senate appropriators and was one of the first of the 13 annual spending bills to clear Congress. The final bill provided strong funding for AMERICAN FORESTS' priorities for Forest Service Cooperative Forestry programs, including: $36 million for Urban and Community Forestry; $33 million for Forest Stewardship; $65 million for Forest Legacy; $35 million for Economic Action Programs; and $9 million for Pacific Northwest Assistance.

It also included a second year of strong funding for the National Fire Plan, as well as continued commitments by congressional appropriators to support long-term fire protection strategies. Conference report language expresses keen interest in ensuring that the Forest Service and BLM work collaboratively with states and local communities through a recently adopted 10-year framework; use cooperative agreements and grants with community groups, nonprofits, and small businesses in implementing the National Fire Plan; and emphasize urban-wildland interface areas for thinning and prescribed burns o reduce hazardous fuels.

The 2002 Farm Bill has surged forward in the House and Senate this fall, even though farm programs do not need to be reauthorized until next year, and many participants have suggested Congress postpone action until then. However, a favorable budget resolution--when large budget surpluses were still projected--give many farm interests and political leaders an opportunity to build higher spending levels into the 5-10 year Farm Bill if action is completed this year. Funding has clearly motivated the forceful efforts of House and Senate Agriculture chairmen Larry Combest (TX) and Tom Harkin (IA) to get a bill passed this year. Whether they succeed remains to be seen, as Congress reconvenes for a rare post-Thanksgiving session.

AMERICAN FORESTS has worked with a wide range of forestry, conservation, and environmental groups in pursuing our priorities in the Farm Bill. These priorities build on our own "ecosystem restoration and maintenance agenda" and discussions with community partners in urban and rural areas. They include: providing incentives for nonfederal forest landowners to engage in planning and collaborative efforts to ensure forestry issues are addressed at a landscape level; ensuring communities a substantive role in planning, implementing, and monitoring activities under the National Fire Plan; and strengthening funding and direction in the Forest Service's Urban and Community Forestry Program for restoring and protecting "green infrastructure in large metropolitan areas." We have had substantial access to and built good relationships with committee staff but have had limited success in getting our priorities in the Farm Bill. We will continue to work with partners and staff, in hopes that we'll have more success in th e final stages of this process.