OPINION:
The Forest Service’s distribution of stimulus funding has been questioned by some lawmakers, but Congress’ recent restoration of funding to the District’s green-jobs program was the right thing to do (“Funds for D.C. wildfires rebuked, then restored,” Page 1, Thursday).
The primary intent of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery. The work of state forestry agencies - including the D.C. Urban Forestry Administration - is an opportune vehicle to deploy federal funds and put Americans to work tackling the health and management needs of our nation’s trees and forests.
Even before the economic stimulus legislation was passed, states were quick to assess their forest health issues and their capacity to create jobs in order to identify potential projects worthy of this new injection of funding. When passed into law, the ARRA gave the Forest Service the authority to spend a portion of the funds on hazardous-fuels reduction, forest health projects and ecosystem improvement activities on state and private lands, including urban forests.
Wildland fire activities, while important, are not the only forest-management activities that can create jobs in a struggling economy. The two D.C. green-jobs programs being carried out under ARRA funds are excellent examples of non-fire-related projects that will create lasting jobs in the District at a time when its unemployment rate recently climbed above 11 percent.
Wildfires are a terrible threat to America’s forests, and more needs to be done to promote responsible forest management that will reduce their occurrence and resulting destruction. But the reality is that every state - and the nation’s capital - has been hurt by the recession, all states face serious forest health issues, and all are worthy of federal assistance. When all the stimulus money has been spent, forestry-related jobs will have made an important contribution to the nation’s economic recovery.
STEVEN W. KOEHN
President
National Association of State Foresters
Annapolis
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