Biden Administration Unveils Old Growth Inventory
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Biden Administration Unveils Old Growth Inventory

Last year the Biden administration announced Executive Order 14072: “Strengthening the Nation’s Forests, Communities and Local Economies.”, which tasked the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management with defining and inventorying old growth and mature forests on federal lands. The order cited the importance of old growth’s carbon sequestration and storage for climate mitigation as…

Every Day is Earth Day for Private Forest Landowners
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Every Day is Earth Day for Private Forest Landowners

Private forests provide clean air, clean water and essential wildlife habitat This Saturday, April 22 is Earth Day and for private forest landowners, it’s business as usual, as caretakers of our nation’s forests. America’s forest landowners work behind the scenes every day managing their forests not only to supply wood and paper products, but to…

Forest Landowners Association | Legislative Update
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Forest Landowners Association | Legislative Update

A rule expanding the definition of bodies of waters subject to federal environmental protections remains in place after the House failed to override President Joe Biden’s veto of a measure that would have repealed it. On Tuesday, the House passed a disapproval resolution by a vote of 227-196. While this fell short of the two-thirds…

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes Streamlining Conservation Agreements and Permitting
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes Streamlining Conservation Agreements and Permitting

Update On April 10, FLA submitted comments to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding this proposal. While we are encouraged by the efforts of the Service to streamline permitting and conservation agreements, we urge the Service to consider additional revisions that would further improve the regulations and help landowners better achieve collaborative species conservation…

Senators Cassidy and Warnock Prioritize Forest Landowners Bill
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Senators Cassidy and Warnock Prioritize Forest Landowners Bill

WASHINGTON, DC –The Forest Landowners Association (FLA) commends the introduction of S. 217: The Disaster Reforestation Act, bipartisan legislation designed to allow private forest landowners to recover from the loss of timber destroyed by natural disasters. The bill, sponsored by Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA), would provide the economic certainty that…

House Tax Bill Introduced to Help Forest Landowners Recover
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House Tax Bill Introduced to Help Forest Landowners Recover

WASHINGTON, DC –The Forest Landowners Association (FLA) commends the introduction of H.R. 655: The Disaster Reforestation Act, bipartisan legislation designed to allow private forest landowners to recover from the loss of timber destroyed by natural disasters. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) and Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL), would provide economic certainty that is…

FLA Keeps Watchful Eye On WOTUS
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FLA Keeps Watchful Eye On WOTUS

On December 30, the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S Department of the Armyreleased a notice of their final rule defining Waters of the United States (WOTUS). The final rule relies largely on pre-2015 guidance: starting with the 1986 regulations as a baseline and updated to include limitations by the Supreme Court on federal jurisdiction since…

FLA Fights for Workable Solutions in Northern Long-eared Bat Reclassification
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FLA Fights for Workable Solutions in Northern Long-eared Bat Reclassification

Update: Effective Date Delayed Until March 31, 2023The effective date of the final rule to reclassify the northern long-eared bat as endangered has been delayed until March 31, 2023. The Service notes that the delay is necessary to finalize conservation tools and guidance documents to avoid confusion and disruption with members of the public and…

FLA Weighs in on Louisiana Pinesnake Critical Habitat Proposal
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FLA Weighs in on Louisiana Pinesnake Critical Habitat Proposal

In October 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to designate 209,520 acres of forestland in Louisiana and Texas as critical habitat for the Louisiana Pinesnake. 72,925 acres of this proposed designation are privately owned, including 2,716 acres of unoccupied private land designated for reintroduction efforts on adjacent National Forest land. FLA prepared comments…