Statewide Forest Resource Assessment and Strategy
Redesign of State & Private Forestry Programs

State forestry agencies administer an array of federal programs for landowner assistance, forest conservation and management, and fire prevention and suppression. Collectively, many of these fall under the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act, and are sometimes called U.S. Forest Service “State & Private Forestry” programs. These programs include:  Private Land Fuels Management, Forest Health Program, Forest Stewardship Program, Urban & Community Forestry, and Forest Legacy Program

For some time, among the U.S. Forest Service and State Foresters there has been an ongoing effort to “redesign” State & Private Forestry programs (see Related Links). A recent legislative provision in the 2008 Farm Bill requires state forestry agencies to conduct a Statewide Assessment & Forest Resource Strategy in order to continue receiving federal funds for these programs. The Assessment and Strategy were due by June 18, 2010.

Direction from the Farm Bill and the Forest Service divided the process into three components:

• State-wide Assessment of Forest Resources: provides an analysis of forest conditions and trends in the state and the information necessary to delineate “priority forest landscapes.”  The six issues addressed in the Washington assessment are Working Forestlands & Conversion; Biodiversity & Habitat Conservation; Water Quality, Quantity & Puget Sound Restoration; Wildfire Hazard Reduction; Forest Health Restoration; Urban & Community Forestry.
• State-wide Forest Resource Strategy: provides a long-term plan for investing State & Private Forestry program funding that is best leveraged with other state, federal, and private resources to manage “priority landscapes” identified using the Assessment. A focus is on where program investments can most effectively implement desired actions and engage multiple partners while meeting statutory program purposes. 
• Annual Report on Use of Funds: describes how State & Private Forestry funds were used to address the priorities in the Assessment and Strategy, including performance measures (see Related Links), for any given fiscal year.

FINAL Documents Available for download
Part I. Cover, contents, and introduction 
Part II. Assessment  
Part III.  Strategy 
Part IV. Appendices