Policy Priorities
Policy Priorities
As an organization that was founded to advocate policy initiatives that address our member’s economic challenges, ensure their property rights, and promote the vitality of forest landownership, our policy priorities are central to FLA’s purpose.
We work diligently with policymakers at the national level to foster a strong business environment and balanced regulatory climate for the benefit of private forest landowners.
Forest landowners face real management and regulatory challenges in today’s market:
Trade Imbalances
Trade imbalances that disadvantage our members as timber producers.
Timber Supply
Uneven supply of raw timber products that has depressed prices at domestic mills.
Regulatory Policies
Regulatory policies that impose undue economic burdens on forest landowners.
Although specific policy issues facing forest landowners have evolved since our founding, today’s economic challenges still require FLA’s patient attention to our members’ needs and passionate advocacy on their behalf.
Current Policy Priorities
FLA’s Policy Focus Areas
01.
Taxes
FLA believes that federal tax policies based on equality and certainty are required to encourage the nation’s private forest landowners to make sustained, long-term capital investments in forest management.
02.
Growth in Markets
FLA believes that working to achieve policies that address the concern of forest landowners’ ability to sell timber both in the U.S. and in the global wood supply chain is important.
03.
Fair and Balanced Regulations
FLA believes that human society cannot reap the numerous benefits of forests without secure private property rights.
04.
Private Property Rights
FLA believes that the private property rights of forest landowners are vital to ensure that forests can be managed in a sustainable and economically viable way.
Service Lists Pearl River Map Turtle as Threatened
On July 12th, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a final rule designating the Pearl River map turtle as threatened under the Endangered Species Act with a tailored 4(d) rule for take prohibitions. This rule goes into effect on August 12, 2024. Read the final rule here. This rule lists four other map turtle…
Policy Alert: Supreme Court Overturns Chevron Doctrine
Late last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to overturn the Chevron Doctrine, established in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. (1984). The landmark ruling in Loper Bright v. Raimondo and Relentless v. Commerce (2024), authored by Chief Justice Roberts, marks a significant shift in the regulatory landscape. For forty years, the…
Forest Landowners Association Applauds House Agriculture Committee’s 2024 Farm Bill Unveiling
The Forest Landowners Association (FLA) welcomes the release of the 2024 Farm Bill by the House Agriculture Committee. This pivotal legislation promises significant benefits for private forest landowners nationwide. Crafted to bolster the sustainability and productivity of privately owned forests as well as many other important farm and nutrition-related policies, the bill stands to fortify…
FLA’s Grassroots Tour: Advocacy in Action in Louisiana
This year, FLA launched an on-the ground initiative to meet with our State Engagement Team members and other interested parties in their home states to grow our grassroots engagement. Government Affairs on the Ground: FLA’s Grassroots Tour Amidst shifting markets, regulations and legislative landscapes, private forest landowners across the country are face mounting pressure and…
Bipartisan Tax Package Moves Through Congress
Additional Option for Passage of Disaster Reforestation Act Tax Package Clears Initial Hurdle in the House Last week, Congressman Jason Smith (R-MO), Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, announced an agreement on a framework for tax reform legislation. Read more on this…
Advocacy in Action: FLA’s Government Affairs Team Encourages Members to Share Their Stories
Advocating for policies that protect private forest landowners’ private property rights, economic viability, and forest legacy is the core of our work at the Forest Landowners Association (FLA). While FLA’s Government Affairs team is working to advance your interests with Congress and the Administration, our team needs landowners like you to tell their stories. When…