Forests in the Farm Coalition Ask for Improvements on Next Farm Bill

By Ammoland Editor Joe Evans

EDGEFIELD, S.C. -(Ammoland.com)- As Congress begins writing the next iteration of the Farm Bill, the Forests in the Farm Bill (FIFB) Coalition today released a set of forest-related recommendations that would improve the bill’s ability to support private and family-owned forests and the benefits they provide.

Private owners own half of the forests in the U.S. These forests play an integral role in our environment, and in sustaining America’s rural economies, by providing more than 50 percent of the nation’s wood supply.

Programs within the Farm Bill provide private and family forest owners, in addition to farmers, with the resources to conduct conservation practices to improve wildlife habitat, protect water quality and conserve healthy forests.

The FIFB Coalition asks Congress to address, with both policy improvements and funding, six key priorities in the next Farm Bill:

• Grow jobs and rural economies through forestry;
• Conserve and enhance habitat for forest-dependent wildlife;
• Keep forests as forests;
• Address fire and forest health;
• Improve and streamline forest and conservation programs; and
• Support forest research, education, and information needs

The FIFB Coalition, which has been in existence for more than 15 years, includes more than 85 forest groups representing all aspects of the forest sector, …Read the Rest

Source:: AmmoLand