The latest news related to the economic interests of private forest landowners and their unique natural resource assets.
FLA to USFWS: Finalize the LPS 4(d) Rule for Regulatory Certainty
FLA led a coalition of Louisiana landowners and associations representing 3 million acres of forestland in the state to send a letter urging the US Fish and Wildlife Service to finalize the long over-due 4(d) rule for the Louisiana pinesnake. In April...
WOTUS Repeal
EPA finalizes repeal of controversial Obama-era rule defining “Waters of the United States” Last week marked a major win for the rule of law, property rights, and the environment: the Trump administration finalized its repeal of President Barack Obama’s...
FLA applauds the re-nomination of Aurelia Skipwith for Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
On July 17, 2019, President Trump re-nominated Aurelia Skipwith to serve as the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The president first nominated her to the same position in October 2018, but the Senate failed to confirm her before the Congressional...
FLA holds Timber Talk and Forest Forum with USFWS to discuss red-cockaded woodpecker recovery
As the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service continues to work on its 5-year review of the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, FLA has been working with the Service to ensure that the interests and impact of private forest landowners are fully understood. As a part of these...
Rollback on threatened and endangered species regulations provides relief for private landowners
The Trump administration has announced major changes in the way the Endangered Species Act (ESA) will be implemented, to reduce the system’s regulatory impact on private interests. On August 12, 2019, the Administration finalized three new rules governing the...
FLA Conference focused on markets and pride in being a family forest landowner
Forestry’s only family business conference drew a diversity of family forest owners from across the country. Every year, the FLA conference attracts a diversity of attendees, and this year we witnessed an increase across the spectrum in families and forestry...
FLA Urges USFS Not to Overlook Core Forest Landowners in Critical Survey
Are core forest landowners falling in the gap among USFS NWOS surveys focused on small wood lot owners, urban tree owners, and large-scale corporations? Although the NWOS, released regularly since 1993, is the government’s most thorough assessment of family forest...
Coalition Urges Economic Relief for Forest Landowners in Wake of Natural Disasters
A coalition of 29 forestry and conservation organizations from across the country sent a letter urging the House Ways and Means Committee to act on the Forest Recovery Act, introduced by Rep. Carter (GA-1). The FRA would allow a tax deduction for the fair...
Florida Governor Urges More Help for Forest Landowners From USDA
Senator Rick Scott is calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to do more to help the timber industry after Hurricane Michael. H.R. 1444, the Forest Recovery Act provides fair market value tax deduction for loss of timber due to a catastrophic event. [button...
Cost of Forestry Practices in the South
We need your assistance in completing and sharing the Cost of Forestry Practices in the South 2018 survey. FLA and Auburn University have partnered on this endeavor. In 1953, Albert C. Worrell reported results of the original cost of forestry practices study in...
Buy America Executive Order Includes Lumber
The Forest Landowners Association praised President Trump for signing his second executive order requiring federal agencies to prioritize the purchase of USA-made goods, including lumber, in federally-financed infrastructure projects. This new executive order...
FLF Research: Creating a positive perception of America’s Forest Caretakers
The Forest Landowner Foundation is the only entity dedicated to focused research, data, and communications that enable those who own and manage their working forests with a holistic approach – financially, environmentally and socially – to fulfill their family’s forest legacy and pass on the tradition to future generations.
Webinar: Casualty Loss and Income Tax Deductions Related to Timber
Sign up for the live webinar “Casualty Loss and Income Tax Deductions Related to Timber and Landscape Trees” taking place at 1pm on December 7th, 2018, with Dr. Linda Wang, a National Timber Tax Specialist with USDA Forest Service in Washington D.C.
Supreme Court rules 8-0 in favor of private landowners in Weyerhaeuser v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife case
The Forest Landowners Association hails the property rights victory of the unanimous ruling by the Supreme Court in favor of private property rights. Tuesday’s 8-0 decision in the Weyerhaeuser v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife case is a clear win for forest landowners.
Midterms 2018: What the Elections Mean for Forest Landowners
As the ramifications of the mid-term elections begin to settle in, this is a good time to review the impact of the elections on the Forest Landowners Association and our policy agenda.
National Forest Products Week 2018
During National Forest Products Week, FLA recognizes that challenges remain for the family forest landowners who supply the resources that we celebrate this week. We examine the issues that our members face in today’s economy.
ESA Bills Move in Congress; RCW 5 Year Assessment Underway
On September 27, 2018, the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on nine bills that would amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). Four of those bills were voted to the House floor for consideration.
FLA Submits Comments on Administration’s Proposed Regulatory Rollback
On September 25, FLA submitted technical comments to the Federal Register providing the private forest landowner perspective on three proposed rules that would modify several current regulations under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). FLA urges the Trump Administration to consider a stricter stance toward the USFWS’s ability to designate critical habitats, which have been shown to infringe upon private property rights.
Weyerhaeuser vs USFWS: Private Property, the ESA, and the Supreme Court
The security of private property rights has been a guiding principle for the work of the Forest Landowners Association since our formation in 1941. FLA is deeply troubled by the potential outcome of the Weyerhaeuser Company vs US Fish and Wildlife Service case, which heard oral arguments in front of the Supreme Court on October 1st, 2018.
Narrative Gone Wrong: 3 Myths that Reveal the Inaccurate Story About America’s Family Forests
Until the popular narrative disseminated from the NWOS and its summary reports tells the story of America’s true forest stewards, policy will continue to prescribe solutions to the wrong problems. We break down a few of the alarming facts originating from the NWOS and begin to offer a more accurate representation of family forest landowners.