AMERICA HAS NEVER HAD more power or more promise, and yet we live in a time when our ties as a nation feel frayed and many people struggle to feel hopeful for our future. As a newcomer to American Forests, I have immediately been uplifted by the potential for the work of restoring forests to also restore our hope and our unity as a nation.

All across the United States, we are having difficult, and often politically partisan, debates about issues like health care and the future of our economy. These are real and important issues for our country, and sometimes necessitate hard conversations where we won’t always easily agree.

Yet, bring up the topic of America’s trees and forests, and our deep common bonds as a country become immediately apparent. Our country was literally built with timber from our forests like white pine and white oak. Our forests were an early source of national power. Even today, if you like to sip a glass of bourbon or wine, you are drinking from American white oak barrels that flavor these beverages. Many of our fellow Americans — 2.4 million in total — still make a living from forestry work like creating whiskey and wine barrels and other forest products. Our forests unite and enrich us.

Speaking of drinking, our forests also collect and filter more than half of the drinking water that Americans consume each day. Red states and blue states alike, our country was developed  around certain water-rich forests that provide for the cities down below. In fact, our 193 million acres of national forests owned together by every American were situated in certain locations precisely so that they could assure permanent protection for our most important water supplies.

During this “crazy busy” age when we have never more urgently needed restorative time outdoors, our forests also stand ready to rejuvenate Americans one and all. Whether you are a fan of contemplative “forest bathing” and wildlife viewing or prefer high-energy activities, like mountain biking and hiking, forests offer us all refuge — and even a chance to reconnect with each other.

But, as we all share in bounty of our forests, we all share in the obligation to care for this critical resource. This, too, can and must bring us together.

Our forests face incredible pressures. Raging “super fires” in the West and rapidly growing pest infestations, like emerald ash borer, create unprecedented restoration challenges such as replanting vast areas devastated by wildfire and replacing entire city tree canopies that will be lost to pests. Climate change is already creating its own stress on forests, including worsened drought and widespread tree mortality in some areas. We also have many “former forests” that remain a challenge to our nation’s resolve — like abandoned mine lands in the Central Appalachians and Heartland states where American Forests has begun to rip and replant desolate mining hardscapes that will once again become soaring native forests.

While taking care of our forests requires shared investment of time, money and commitment, this challenge actually offers one last gift to our country — shared purpose. American Forests long ago adopted an organizational commitment to working in partnership everywhere we go. This means replanting trees on vacant city lots with passionate neighborhood groups that create employment and educational opportunities for local residents. It means partnering with community-based forest restoration groups in rural areas to help empower local people and employment. And, it means engaging volunteers everywhere we can, so as many people as possible can participate in the healing act of planting trees and caring for our forests.

It was Teddy Roosevelt who said, “When you help to plant trees and preserve forests, you are acting the part of good citizens.” Right now, that kind of shared sense of citizenship is especially important for our country. So, as we push our forest restoration work to an unprecedented scale of ambition, in cities and landscapes alike, American Forests is going to work harder than ever to create opportunities for Americans of all backgrounds to play a part in this work, planting hope together. Surely this is a vision we can all agree on.

The post Offshoots: Planting Hope appeared first on American Forests.

“I AM THE LORAX. I speak for the trees!” goes the classic conservationist tale by Dr. Seuss. But, who speaks for the whitebark pine? Melissa Jenkins is one.

Time seems to be running out for this keystone species. If we don’t take action, and fast, the whitebark pine will undoubtedly become functionally extinct.

As a silviculturist and a natural resources specialist at the U.S. Forest Service, you could say that trees are Melissa’s passion. But it’s the whitebark pine that’s earned a special place in her heart. Struggling for life in the face of challenges — the pesky mountain pine beetle, a non-native fungal disease called white pine blister rust, and the always ominous force of climate change — the species could certainly use someone advocating for its restoration. Someone like Melissa.

“It was kind of accidental,” she says of her first interactions with whitebark pine in 1991. “Very, very few people were planting whitebark pine at that time. The wildlife biologists went and collected all this seed, and they really didn’t know what they were doing — nobody really did. The seeds had really poor germination, so I knew that they hadn’t done it correctly, and we needed to figure out why.”

After only the first few minutes of speaking with Melissa, I could feel her affection for this tree oozing through the phone — a certain ecological infatuation she likes to call “the fever.”

“I guess it was kind of happenstance when I first fell into it, but the more I learned about the tree and its plight, I got a passion for it,” she adds. “I tell people it’s like getting the fever. You just kind of get infected.”

And infected, she was. In 1999, she became the chair of a subgroup of the Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee, which was dedicated to preserving and protecting the whitebark pine, leading restoration efforts and paving the way for future conservation projects, programs and research within the ecological community. In 2010, she joined the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation Board of Directors, on which she now serves as secretary. The whitebark pine isn’t just any old tree, and that’s why Melissa believes in working so hard to save it. She highlights the high-calorie, high-fat seeds on which dozens of wildlife rely as an indication of how much these ecosystems need whitebark to be healthy — or even exist, in some cases.

“That’s why they call it a keystone species,” she says of whitebark. “So many other species depend on it. I don’t think our high elevations would be the same if we didn’t have whitebark pine.”

Clearly, the species is in quite a predicament. What’s more, it’s because of humans that the tree is now so severely threatened. Melissa notes that humans introduced blister rust around the turn of the 20th century, impacting a species that had been “doing just fine” for millennia. Even worse is the uncertainty surrounding climate change and how it will affect whitebark pine.

“Humans created this problem,” she says, “and because we created this problem, we have a responsibility to restore this tree.”

When asked if she always pictured herself fighting for the natural world, she replied with an air of confidence that assures you of her deeply rooted love for the Earth.

“I’ve always known what I wanted to do,” Melissa says. “I’m one of those lucky few. I’ve always, always been a conservationist.”

It’s not exactly a job of day-to-day monotony, either.

“My job is to learn,” she says. “We always have to have the best available science.”

Naturally, given the limited available resources and the urgency of the situation, there’s a lot of time, effort, energy and the occasional frustration involved when it comes to working to restore the whitebark pine. It’s not always rainbows and butterflies out in the field.

“One time there was a tree that I found that appeared to be really resistant , so we caged the cones even though it hadn’t been treated for the mountain pine beetle,” she says.

“When we came back to collect the cones, the tree was totally riddled with mountain pine beetle. That made me sick.”

For Melissa, however, special moments of gratification make the minor setbacks and obstacles well worth it.

In 2009, she visited the very first seed orchard and saw a little conelet growing on a sapling. The moment, which she describes as possibly the most amazing moment she’s ever had with whitebark pine, was a kind of culmination of all the hard work she and her colleagues had done over the past decade or so.

“All that effort we had put into that one little tree, and that one little conelet, kind of represented all that work for me,” she reminisces. “I could see the future of whitebark in that little conelet.”

Though the whitebark pine seems to have all odds stacked against it, Melissa isn’t giving up. She’s doing everything she can to tell the uniquely touching story of the whitebark pine and its integral role in high-elevation forest communities, vouching for the resilience she’s determined to see.

For Melissa, the Lorax of the whitebark, this tree needs our help now more than ever. While she thinks there will always be whitebark pine, she still has many questions. Will it function on its own and within a functioning ecosystem? Will there be a large enough population to provide a food source like it has in the past?

“I think, if we could wait a couple thousand years, whitebark would probably take care of itself,” she concludes. “But it would take thousands and thousands of years. And, I don’t think we have the time to wait.”

To learn more about whitebark pine and American Forests’ work to save the species, check out “One Tree, Many Futures.”

Allie Wisniewski was American Forests’ summer 2017 communications intern and is a rising senior at Florida State University, studying English and Studio Art.

The post Earthkeepers: It Starts With a Fever appeared first on American Forests.

NATURE AND INDUSTRY are like oil and water: You can put them together, but they’ll never really mix. In Kentucky, what once was a thriving wonderland of flora and fauna has been tragically tainted by the material motives of man. In Daniel Boone National Forest, 29 percent of the land is detrimentally affected by legacy coal mining. Sure, it’s a grim vision of ash and soot when put plainly, but the situation is far from hopeless.

Daniel Boone National Forest is a home to a vast variety of species, including black bears, deer and migratory birds, as well as unique populations of salamanders and mussels. Without a lush habitat provided by the forest landscape, the ecosystem could cease to function in its naturally harmonious fashion.

This synergy has, unfortunately, been threatened. When regions of the Central Appalachians were deforested in the early 1800s for the construction of surface-level coal mines, the oak, hickory, chestnut and maple trees that once blanketed the mountainous terrain were never replaced. The mines stopped operating in the 1970s, but a notorious quick fix trumped the more environmentally sustainable alternative of restoring the native vegetation. Instead, non-native species were hastily planted to prevent soil erosion. This has significantly disrupted the local ecosystem, and indigenous plants and animals are struggling to survive in what must now feel to them like an alien landscape.

“The combination of the compacted land and non-native species can inhibit the return of the natural vegetation community for hundreds, if not thousands, of years,” says Christopher Barton, Director of the University of Kentucky Appalachian Center and Professor of Watershed Management.

While this may give the impression of an unpromising future, Barton makes it clear that the future is bright for this Kentucky national forest.

“The forest is beloved,” he says, “and the staff on the Daniel Boone National Forest are very dedicated to protecting and managing the forest for the future.”

However, there is still much work to be done before these areas can be restored to their former harmonious glory. Invasive species must be removed, compacted soils ripped and seedlings grown, planted and nourished. It’s no easy task, but American Forests is up for the challenge.

In 2017, with the help of the U.S. Forest Service, we’re planting 11,000 trees of 14 different species across 16 acres of Daniel Boone National Forest.

Barton says his goals for the project extend beyond reforesting the land. Additionally, the project will provide economic opportunities for local citizens through jobs and services needed to do the restoration work. He hopes to educate them on the issues associated with surface coal mining in Appalachia and empower them to help repair the degraded ecosystem.

This is the second project conducted by the Forest Service in the past two years that has focused on restoring and revitalizing the ecosystems surrounding former mine lands. Forest communities are not the only ones who benefit, either. According to Barton, re-establishing balance in these areas also helps mitigate climate change and improve watershed quality. We’d argue that the promotion of an inhabitable planet and clean drinking water is a cause we can all get behind.

Allie Wisniewski was American Forests’ Summer 2017 communications intern and is a rising senior at Florida State University, studying English and Studio Art.

The post Project Showcase: Rising from the Ashes: Restoring Kentucky’s Appalachian Forests appeared first on American Forests.

THE ROLLING HILLS OF THE OAKMULGEE RANGER DISTRICT in Alabama’s Talladega National Forest is once again beginning to thrive with the longleaf pine trees that belong there. What makes this land so unique is the complex and long history it has survived.

Before being settled, the land we now call Talladega National Forest was dominated by longleaf pine. But now, longleaf only exists in about 3.4 million acres of the original 90 million acres that used to thrive — that’s roughly 3 percent.

Settlers converted the area to farmland, but the farms eventually failed during the Great Depression. President Roosevelt then designated 157,000 acres as a national forest in 1936, and began restoration efforts. Unfortunately, non-native trees were planted, and the forest became stressed and at major risk of wildfire. In 1986, the U.S. Forest Service began to replace the dying trees with native longleaf pines and started implementing more responsible fire management practices. The forest is recovering, allowing for even more successful restoration efforts and recuperation of wildlife.

Much of the wildlife native to the area had been forced onto the endangered list due to the decades of widespread habitat loss. For example, the red-cockaded woodpecker, a keystone species that is essential for the survival of 27 other animal species is endangered, and the gopher tortoise, another keystone species that digs burrows that provide shelter for more than 360 species, is threatened. Additionally, the forest is home to 100 bird, 36 mammal and 170 reptile and amphibian species, as well as more than 900 plant species, including 29 that are endangered.

American Forests and our partner organization, The Longleaf Alliance, has been and will continue restoring this precious longleaf pine habitat. Together, we are planting nearly 88,000 trees in 2017, during our Oakmulgee Ranger District Restoration project, part of American Forests’ longleaf restoration mission that includes projects across the Southeastern U.S., from Louisiana to Virginia. This project will continue through 2019, and the Longleaf Alliance plans to establish 8 million acres of longleaf by 2025.

The Longleaf Alliance’s mission is to “ensure a sustainable future for the longleaf pine ecosystem through partnerships, landowner assistance and science-based education and outreach.” Its president, Robert Abernethy, has devoted himself to this project in order to restore what he calls “one of the most diverse forests in North America.”

According to Abernethy, the soil, vegetation, topography and historical land use have created a one-of-a-kind mosaic of habitats that is waiting to flourish again.

“The opportunity to accelerate forest restoration has presented itself because of the mix of tree species as well as the mix of soil types,” he says.

Almost 10,000 acres of the forest still need to be restored. With the longleaf pines we are planting this year, American Forests and The Longleaf Alliance will bring the forest a few steps closer to where it needs to be to support everything and everyone that depends on it. And, in the words of Abernethy, “we can get it done.”

To learn more about longleaf pine ecosystems and the woodpecker species that inhabit them, check out “Woodpeckers: The Engineers of Ecosystems.”

Melanie Friedel was American Forests’ Summer 2017 communications intern and is a rising junior at American University, studying Environmental Science.

The post Project Showcase: A Long and Bright Future for Longleaf Pine appeared first on American Forests.

“THIS IS THE ONLY HOME we have… and all of us need to take care of it.”

I read this sentence again and again after receiving it in an email interview response from science teacher Terri Dufendach. I was in awe at the way, in just a few words, she could express everything we need to know about the importance of our Earth.

Terri teaches at Northern Hills Middle School, and with her passion for nature and science, it’s no surprise that her students are following along the conservationist path she is paving.

Northern Hills is a seventh and eighth grade middle school nestled in Grand Rapids, Mich. The school has always prided itself on being environmentally conscious. All students study Earth conservation, natural cycles, plant reproduction and tree types, and the administration tries to limit the amount of paper used. The school is surrounded by forest land and, according to Terri, students even spend time in the neighboring forest during an outdoor education class.

In honor of Earth Day 2017, the school’s science teachers and their devoted students decided to take their passion one step further. The school announced that they would be conducting a fundraiser with the goal of collecting money to plant enough trees to replace the amount of paper the school uses in one year. They planned to donate that money to American Forests, so we could plant the trees and support the school’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.

The calculations began. The students discovered that their middle school alone uses 179 cases of paper every year, which is derived from about 110 trees. So, they set the goal at $110 to plant that many trees. But, that wasn’t enough for this group of motivated kids.

They progressively increased their goal number throughout the collection period, using their continuous success as inspiration to meet the next goal, and they eventually raised enough money to balance out the paper that not just their school uses in a year, but that their entire district uses.

The Forest Hills Public School District includes 18 schools ranging from K-12 and more than 10,000 students. The district’s mission is to provide all learners with opportunities to acquire the knowledge, skills and experiences necessary to build meaningful and productive lives. And, judging by the looks of this story, it’s succeeding.

Even before this fundraiser, Terri had noticed that her students were particularly concerned with the amount of paper they use, and she was excited to share with us Northern Hills’ plans to further reduce its environmental impact. The school intends to limit its paper use by sending parents electronic news and transitioning to online conference sign-ups.

Throughout Earth Week, students donated and collected money, and by the end of the week they had met their final goal. The school raised and donated $2,090 to American Forests to plant 2,090 trees. Terri thinks her students felt especially “connected to the cause” and “gave generously” for this fundraiser in comparison with others the school holds since they learned about the impact of their work every day in science classes.

The students of Northern Hills are certainly making a meaningful and productive difference, and American Forests is excited to see where their passion for the environment leads them next.

Melanie Friedel was American Forests’ summer 2017 communications intern and is a rising junior at American University, studying Environmental Science.

The post Donor Profile: Northern Hills Middle School appeared first on American Forests.

UncommonGoods has donated $1 to a customer-selected charitable partner through its Better to Give program since 2001, totaling more than $1 million. American Forests’ dollar-a-tree model was a perfect fit, and we became UncommonGoods’ first environmental nonprofit partner in 2010.

Historically, the company and its founder have voiced support for a variety of causes, working with elected officials to champion those issues. Inspired by other members of the business community, UncommonGoods wanted to encourage a deeper relationship between its customers, nonprofit partners and the missions they all support.

“We turned to our Better to Give partners to learn which policies were most important to their causes and how we could help advocate on their behalf,” said Jennifer Coleman, PR & Social Media Manager at UncommonGoods. “After speaking with the team at American Forests, we decided that we needed to take a stand to protect the Endangered Species Act.”

From those conversations, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) Toolkit was built. The toolkit features a variety of resources to help concerned citizens learn more about the ESA and the various ways they can contact their elected officials to voice opposition to the proposed “modernization” of the legislation.

Many UncommonGoods customers have been very supportive of both the partnership with American Forests and the issue-specific campaigns. In addition to the positive response from customers, Coleman and her colleagues at UncommonGoods realize the valuable role businesses play in making a positive impact on the world.

“What we’re hoping to do is raise awareness and build resources to take action,” she said. “The voice of the business community is incredibly powerful, and has great potential to create everlasting change.”

Take action for the Endangered Species Act at americanforests.org/ProtectESA.

The post Corporate Partner Profile: UncommonGoods appeared first on American Forests.

Justin Hynicka, Manager of Forest Conservation

WORKING AT AMERICAN FORESTS, I did not expect to find myself here: It is dark, loud, and although it smells like pine, the scent is stronger than I have ever experienced before. My expectations are not because I am anti-forest industry or anything like that, but as a nonprofit organization in the tree planting business, we rarely talk about cutting trees down.

Yet, here I am touring the Potlatch Sawmill near Bemidji, Minn., watching a staggering 28 red pine trees turn into 2×4 lumber every minute. And, I am not alone. I have five IKEA iWitness
Ambassadors with me to see and experience American Forests’ work first-hand. This particular stop may sound like fundraising suicide, but the sawmill is one in a series of stops with a greater purpose: to provide a holistic experience of forests from tree planting to maturity and the challenges they face along the way.

First and foremost, our group is in northern Minnesota at the Chippewa National Forest to help plant trees. We arrive at the planting site in late morning to meet Gary Swanson, the Forest Silviculturist at the Chippewa National Forest, where he explains that the site we are helping to restore was damaged by an intense storm in 2012, which snapped and uprooted mature conifer trees across 95,000 acres. Surveying the site as he speaks, we have to use our imaginations to picture what it must have looked like following the storm. There is no evidence of tree-carnage despite the destruction that occurred here because the most difficult work — removing the fallen trees — has already been completed. Except for a few remaining logs, the site is nearly barren — ideal conditions for white spruce seedlings — beckoning us to give it new life.

If you have not been to this region, northern Minnesota excels at two things: producing water and growing trees. With all that water, wildfires are rare and damage to forests is caused primarily by wind. It’s also bitterly cold in the winter, which helps keep damaging insects at bay. Stately spruce and pines dominate this forest if left untouched. However, faster-growing oaks and aspen proliferate when the canopy is opened until they succumb to old age or are overtaken by slower-growing confers in a centuries long race of hare and tortoise.

By planting white spruce seedlings where white spruce trees previously stood, we are deciding this race early. Gary Swanson’s job can best be described as a forest architect. He and other silviculturists around the country are experts in forest ecology, and they use their expertise to set goals, evaluate the forest and, if necessary, design and alter a forest to meet them. The goal at our tree planting site is to accelerate the natural process of forest succession and return it to a mature conifer forest more quickly. While oaks are excluded here, they are promoted in other parts of the forest, which has a massive tree planting program exceeding 1.5 million seedlings of a dozen different tree species each year. Most people are not aware that design permeates throughout our public lands, and there are few that can read and interpret this design in the forest.

The difference between a good and a great silviculturist (forest architect) is the ability to anticipate change and learn from other forest health experts to make informed decisions. If you live in the eastern United States, you have likely heard of the emerald ash borer. This small green insect was introduced to North American from Asia in 2002, and kills all species of native ash trees commonly found along streams and other moist areas. The larva feed on live cells beneath tree bark, starving the tree of water and nutrients it needs to make energy, and later emerge as winged adults from D-shaped holes in search of a new tree-host. These new agents of change are now on the doorstep of the Chippewa National Forest, whose many forested swamps are dominated by black ash. In anticipation of the emerald ash borer and the widespread loss of black ash from the Forest, Gary devised an experiment with Brian Palik at the U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station to understand the impacts of losing this tree — putting him in great silviculturist territory.

We head north from the tree planting site to meet Brian where the experiment is taking place. Donning knee-high boots, our group enters the swamp, carefully stepping on clumps of grass and sedge so we don’t sink into the amber water. Brian explains to us that the purpose of the experiment is to mimic the emerald ash borer only on a much smaller scale. Small groups of black ash trees in the swamp are girdled, (i.e., killed by completely removing a portion of the bark around the tree) and changes in the environment have been monitored over several years. Other tree species that tolerate the wet conditions can be found in the swamp, but black ash are the most common by far and thrive here. With the loss of ash, Brian found that water levels in the swamp rose to a point that other tree species may no longer tolerate the wet conditions, suggesting that forested swamps in the Chippewa National Forest will likely transition to non-forested swamps in the future with the widespread loss of ash.

In addition to serving an important ecological function, black ash are also important culturally. The Leech Lake Indian Reservation is within the forest boundary, and the Anishinabe people have used black ash wood for thousands of years to make woven baskets. Felled trees are laboriously pounded to make annual growth rings separate like layers of an onion, which are then cut into thin strips for weaving. There are no other native trees in the region that can be processed in this manner, but Japanese mountain ash (a closely related tree species) may help keep this tradition alive.

The Chippewa National Forest has experienced this type of loss before, but our last stop offered hope that pieces of the forest can be put back together. Once widespread throughout the eastern United States, American elm trees have been decimated across their entire range by a non-native fungus introduced in Ohio during the 1930s. Mature surviving trees likely have natural resistance to the disease, and seedlings grown from survivors in Minnesota, Delaware and Ohio have been planted in the forest as part of a disease resistance experiment.

At a fenced-in field with orderly rows of American elm trees, Gary shows us a colorful map indicating which tree is been planted where. There are noticeable gaps among the trees, places where southern elms should be but could not tolerate the bitter Minnesota winter. Most are 12 to 15 feet tall and growing well except for one type affectionately labeled FUBAR, which are all growing at a strange angle. The trees will be exposed to Dutch elm disease in the coming months, and based on their response may well produce the next generation of American elm seedlings returned to the landscape.

The post From the Field: Northern Minnesota appeared first on American Forests.

Jad Daley, Vice President of Conservation Programs

AS A FORMER RESIDENT OF Vermont and the new Vice President of Conservation Programs at American Forests, I was excited to join a field tour in July to visit new American Forests tree planting projects in the Green Mountain State, designed to curb polluted farm runoff that is fouling beautiful Lake Champlain. Cue the blue skies and puffy white clouds, green mountains and idyllic farms dotted with cows!

While most of American Forests’ tree planting helps create large blocks of forest, the projects in Vermont are testing a new innovation — planting skinny forests along stream corridors as they cross farms.

Why is this important? Vermont’s Lake Champlain is like a mini-Great Lake that touches multiple states and stretches into Canada. The lake is at the receiving end of rivers covering most of Vermont, ones that run through the state’s beautiful farms. Farms can generate a lot of polluted runoff to these rivers from cow manure, fertilizer for fields of feed corn and other sources. Combine that with a big water body like Lake Champlain and it creates major pollution problems.

That is where American Forests’ skinny forests strategy comes in. Forests are powerful filters, pulling out pollutants and discharging clean water, even when the forests are narrow bands of trees planted along a river or stream.

It was inspiring to meet with our partners for these projects — farmers who care passionately about protecting the environment and also producing great food. As we toured the tree plantings made possible by American Forests’ financial and technical support, we heard the farmers’ stories of almost immediate improvements in reduced flooding and water pollution.

The pinnacle of the trip was tasting homemade maple gelato on one stunningly beautiful farm, knowing that this classic “Made in Vermont” food can now be produced with less impact on the waters of nearby trout streams and, ultimately, Lake Champlain. This kind of win-win use of forests to heal our environment embodies a new focus at American Forests on using forests to provide solutions to our environmental and economic needs.

The post From the Field: Lake Champlain, Vt. appeared first on American Forests.

THE PRESIDENT delivered his detailed budget proposal to Congress in late May, drastically cutting and zeroing out forestry and conservation programs important to American Forests’ work in urban and native forest landscapes. This proposal clearly shows what the Administration deems important and what it does not. While American Forests understands the desire to reduce government spending, cutting vital programs that produce tangible results, leverage private funds and make our communities stronger is not the best way to reach that goal. These programs help create jobs in the communities that need them the most, engage people with their forests, enhance wildlife habitat and protect our watersheds.

To ensure these proposed levels do not make it into the Fiscal Year 2018 appropriations bill, we reached out to our Congressional friends on both sides of the aisle, advocating strongly to return these programs to their existing funding levels. Many Republican appropriators admonished the Administration for such drastic cuts across the land management agencies, further proving that forest issues are not partisan.

Here are a few of these programs and why they are important to our work:

THE TREES WHERE WE LIVE: Urban and Community Forestry (U&CF) plays an integral part in promoting sound stewardship of our nation’s urban and community forests and trees. By providing important technical and financial support, U&CF helps cities and towns across the nation enhance tree and forest cover, prepare for storms and other disturbance events, contain threats from native and invasive pests, and maximize the economic, social and ecological benefits of their tree resources.

CONNECTING TOWNS TO THEIR FORESTS: Community Forests and Open Space (CFP) has made substantial progress in preserving forests by increasing opportunities for Americans
to connect with forests in their own communities and fostering new public-private partnerships. CFP has supported nearly three dozen community forest projects in cities and towns across 17 states and territories.

KEEPING FORESTS WORKING AND THRIVING: Since authorization in 1990, the Forest Legacy Program has protected 2.61 million acres of private forests through voluntary conservation easements. It is imperative to continue protecting our nation’s forests for future generations. Although still in private ownership, these lands provide a myriad of ecosystem services to Americans today.

LARGE-SCALE FOREST MANAGEMENT WITH PARTNERS: The Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) was created to promote job stability, a reliable wood supply and forest health while reducing emergency wildfire costs and risks. As of 2017, the CFLRP has met or exceeded its targets for a majority of performance measures, including timber volume sold, hazardous fuels reduction and wildlife habitat improved, and is on track to meeting its lifetime goals over its 10- year timeframe.

COORDINATING CONSERVATION ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE: The 22 distinct Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs), which in total encompass the entire United States, are playing an essential role in bringing together federal, state, local and private sector conservation efforts. The LCCs foster effective natural resource conservation and good governance by helping to assure that public and private investments in conservation science, planning and implementation are well coordinated across sectors and political boundaries.

Thankfully, our concerns were heard by House Appropriators, and we saw programs that were drastically cut return to near-level funding. The Senate Interior Appropriations bill is expected in early September once Congress returns from recess. With the fiscal year ending the last day of September, we are expecting to see a short-term continuing resolution to keep the government running as Congress comes to agreement on the final appropriation levels.

Rebecca Turner writes from Washington, D.C., and is American Forests’ chief strategy officer.

The post Washington Outlook: Countering the President’s Budget Proposal appeared first on American Forests.

What led you to want to work in urban forestry?

I spent about 30 years working in rural forestry — basically working to get better stewardship on family-owned forests. About 4 million families own most of the woodlands in the U.S. And, many are very special people. They care about their woodlands, but even more they understand all the benefits that trees bring to wildlife, the environment and, most of all, people. They’re passionate about that. And, that passion is infectious. So, when I left my previous job, I figured I’d find that same level of passion among the folks in urban forestry. I was right. And, I’ve been involved ever since.

Why did you want the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC) to get involved with the Vibrant Cities Lab?

Every community that embraces urban forestry begins with a plan. Or, if they don’t, they should. Plans at the neighborhood, local and regional level dictate the kind of environment we’ll live in — for better or worse. A tree might grow in Brooklyn, N.Y., but thousands of trees can’t thrive without engaging dozens of policymakers and advocates in figuring out what, where and, most importantly, why trees should be planted.

NARC brings together and serves as a “knowledge hub” for most of the nation’s metropolitan planning organizations. Every one of these communities brings different concerns to the table. NARC is committed to helping them make urban forestry part of the solution to their economic, environmental and social issues.

What was your favorite aspect of your job?

The look on people’s faces when they finally understand all the things trees can do for their community. For them, it’s a “jeez, I didn’t know that” moment; for me, it’s the sound of progress.

What was the most difficult moment or encounter that you experienced in pursuit of your work?

It happens so often, I’m used to it. When asked in a social setting what “I do” , it’s usually less than a half minute before they make excuses and walk off to find somebody “more important.” People need to be educated; unfortunately, I generally need more than 30 seconds.

What do you think is the biggest issue facing urban forestry today?

There’s so much new research being published and new urban forestry practices tested. It seems the pool of knowledge is overflowing. But, we need to find better ways to put this information in the hands of people who can use it. That’s why American Forests and NARC teamed up with the U.S. Forest Service to create the Vibrant Cities Lab.

Who is your favorite fictional scientist and why?

Real scientists are so much more interesting than fictional ones. My favorite was actually a mathematician, John Kemeny. He was a renaissance man: he invented the nation’s first distributed computing system in the ‘60s and a programming protocol for non-professionals; he became president of my college. The only thing I know he failed at was teaching me calculus.

If you weren’t in the field of forestry, what would you be doing? Why?

If I didn’t find my work fulfilling — and fun — I wouldn’t be doing it. Hence, I’ve not really given this much thought. At the beginning of my career, I was a television writer and documentary producer until I discovered that, behind the camera, I could only record what other people were doing. “Doing” seemed more satisfying than observing. So, I moved on, found the right fit and stayed for nearly four decades.

Where is your favorite spot to experience nature and why?

Woodend, a 40-acre nature preserve literally inside the Beltway near where I grew up. It’s owned and managed by the Audubon Naturalist Society, founded 120 years ago . Not only are they magnificent stewards of their land, they have deep roots in the area. Both Rachel Carson and Theodore Roosevelt were former board members.

What is the most surprising thing that you have learned or discovered?

It’s not surprising, but it did influence my career: that there are no environmental issues that are truly black and white. There are no pure heroes, and no unalloyed villains. Pointless confrontation is just that. It spawns endless lawsuits, vituperative name-calling but no solutions. For that to happen, everyone needs to listen, to understand other peoples’ motives and dare to explore middle ground.

Do you have a favorite story from your years in the field? (working with Conservation organizations?)

I’ve had some singular moments, but few worth preserving in print. One true story, generally told after three or four beers, involved a young canvasser who ambushed me on my way to the gym. He asked whether I “had a moment to spare for the environment.” I pointed out that I had already spent about 25 years working for the environment, and turned to walk away. “But wait,” he shouted, “don’t you know that some lady named Kimberly Clark is cutting down all of Canada’s forests.”

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