The U.S. Forest Service exceeded its forest restoration goals for the fiscal year 2014, and it plans to accelerate efforts to restore forest health in 2015.
The Forest Service says that projects it orchestrated reduced hazardous fuels on 1.7 million acres of wildland urban interface, sustained or restored watershed conditions on 2.9 million acres and sold 2.8 billion board feet of lumber. Those totals were achieved despite losing staff time to the government shutdown and rising costs of fire-fighting that take money away from restoration and management activities.
“The Forest Service has made strategic investments across all agency programs to advance our efforts to create resilient forests and sustainable communities,” said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell in a statement. “This work reduces the wild land fire threat to communities and firefighters and minimizes the risk of forest pests and climate change, while supporting American jobs and rural economies.”
The Forest Service isn’t going to slow down in its efforts come 2015, he added.
The agency’s budget request to Congress included more funding for key programs, such as the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program, to allow for more acres treated and boost timber harvests to 3.1 billion board feet.
The fiscal year 2014 statistics will be made public in early December.
