Washington, D.C. – Earlier today, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) hosted a policy briefing on Capitol Hill that highlighted forest policy priorities for the forest industry and sportsmen’s community. With Members of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC), more than 75 congressional staff, and key conservation partners in attendance, the Federal Forests Management and Markets for Low-Value Wood Policy Briefing provided the opportunity for policymakers to hear directly from conservation leaders about federal legislation and programs important to enhancing wildlife habitat and forest health on federal and private working lands.

Actively managing forests is essential for increasing forest resiliency, reducing wildfire risk, improving fish and wildlife habitat, increasing access for hunters and anglers, protecting communities and public health, and supporting the economy. As the wildfire season heats up and catastrophic wildfires increasingly threaten communities, calls to improve the management of federal forests, in conjunction with support for the sustainable stewardship of private forests, have picked up steam. By bringing together the forest industry and the sporting-conservation community to stress mutual goals, the policy briefing is a step forward for reforming the management of federal lands and bolstering innovative markets to support the forest management supply chain.

"As Chair of the CSF Forestry Advisory Council, I'm thrilled with today's briefing that demonstrated several conservation sectors, including the forestry industry and the sportsmen's community, are all working toward the same end goal, which is sustainable, healthy forests that benefits everyone's interests, including wildlife and hunter access." said CSF Board of Directors Member Brian Luoma.

The briefing featured natural resource policy experts from the forest industry and the sportsmen’s community who discussed several pressing issues, including the need for litigation reform, a Cottonwood fix, and categorical exclusion acreage expansions as well as biochar, cross-laminated timber, and other emerging markets for low-value wood. Along with CSF staff, speakers included Ryan Bronson, Director of Government Affairs, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF); Deon Nelson, Vice President of Government Relations, National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO); and Zach Bodhane, Vice President of Government Affairs, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP).

CSF is working with these organizations and other conservation partners to pass the Fix Our Forests Act and establish the Forest Conservation Easement Program, among other initiatives to increase the pace and scale of forest restoration on federal public lands and prevent forest conversion to non-forest uses. The forest industry is a critical partner to the sportsmen’s community as private working forests provide recreational opportunities across the country and forest industry carries out the forest management work that creates the desired conditions for wildlife habitat and wildfire resilience along with other conservation deliverables for watershed and forest health.

The successful Federal Forests Management and Markets for Low-Value Wood Policy Briefing underscored the importance of the sportsmen’s community and forest industry working together to advance shared policy priorities. Fish and wildlife habitat, sportsmen and women, and the public at large benefit from improved federal forest policies and a robust forest industry, and CSF is thankful to continue partnering with leading forest and hunting conservation organizations to promote active forest management policies across the public and private lands matrix. For information on CSF’s forest policy work, click here.