Tuberville, Warnock Highlight Forestry Crisis and Need for Disaster Reforestation Act
The Forest Landowners Association (FLA) commends Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) for their leadership in highlighting the national crisis facing private forest landowners. During a business meeting of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry on the Fix Our Forests Act, the Senators proposed an amendment to include the Disaster Reforestation Act.
Senator Tuberville stated, “I filed this amendment with Senator Warnock for the purpose of raising awareness of the large gap in relief efforts available to private forest landowners when a natural disaster strikes. Our forest landowners grow a crop that takes decades to mature, but when a hurricane, tornado, pest, or disease outbreak strikes, they do not have crop insurance or standing disaster programs available to them.
“Our amendment would adjust the tax code to allow landowners to deduct the appraised value of their uncut timber prior to it being destroyed if they commit to replacing within five years. This will not make them whole but will allow them to reinvest, keep forests healthy, and sustain rural jobs.”
Although the amendment was ultimately withdrawn due to jurisdictional challenges, the effort elevated awareness of the urgent need for disaster recovery tools for timber producers, tools that all other agricultural commodities already receive through crop insurance or disaster programs.
“Our nation’s private and family-owned forests are the backbone of America’s working forest economy,” said Craig Anderson, FLA’s Vice President of Government Affairs. “We appreciate Senators Tuberville and Warnock for using this opportunity to shine a light on the crisis facing forest landowners and for advancing a bipartisan, commonsense solution through the Disaster Reforestation Act.”
Timber is a key agricultural commodity, yet private forest landowners lack the recovery and safety-net programs available to other producers. When disaster strikes, forest landowners are left with total loss and no mechanism to replant or recover. The Disaster Reforestation Act would provide a practical and fair solution by allowing timber producers to deduct their reforestation expenses after a disaster, allowing them to reinvest and restore their forests.
“The Disaster Reforestation Act would not make landowners whole, but it would give them the certainty and tools they need to replant and sustain their operations,” Anderson continued. “We urge the Senate Agriculture Committee and the Senate Finance Committee to work together to advance this critical legislation that truly helps fix our forests.”
Watch Senators Tuberville and Warnock propose the amendment (skip to 32:30)