**STATEMENT OF**

**KEN ARNEY**

DEPUTY REGIONAL FORESTER FOR STATE AND PRIVATE FORESTRY

**US FOREST SERVICE, SOUTHERN REGION**

**UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE**

**BEFORE THE**

**HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES**

**COMMITTEE ON RESOURCES**

**SUBCOMMITTEE ON FORESTS AND FOREST HEALTH**

**CONCERNING**

**ISSUES AFFECTING SOUTHERN FORESTS**

**JUNE 1, 2004**

**MARY KAHRS WARNELL FOREST EDUCATION CENTER**

**SOUTH GUYTON, GEORGIA**

**Mr. Chairman**:

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in today's field hearing to
discuss issues affecting Southern Forests. My name is Ken Arney. I am
the Deputy Regional Forester for State and Private Forestry for the
Southern Region of the Forest Service. The Southern Region encompasses
National Forest System land in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. The Mary Kahrs
Warnell Forest Education Center here in South Guyton, Georgia is an
appropriate setting to discuss forest health conditions and challenges
facing southern forests, given that this property is home to a working
forest where sustainable forest management is both practiced and
demonstrated.

## **Background** 

The need to actively restore our Nation's forests and rangelands to
long-term health has never been greater. Southern forests play a
critical role in the quality of life of southerners, providing, clean
air, drinking water, recreation opportunities, timber, as well as scenic
beauty.

The southern forest products industry is a major contributor to the
economic stability of most southern states, producing more than 58
percent of the nation's timber and 15.8 percent of the world's supply of
wood for industrial production. Southern Forests, however, are facing
tremendous health challenges---both on private and public lands. The
complexity of these challenges is compounded by the intermingled
ownerships of public and private lands. About 5.5 million landowners
oversee 89 percent of southern forestlands, while National Forest lands
comprise about 8 percent of the landscape. Unlike western forests, it is
apparent the future health and sustainability of forested lands in the
South ultimately rest with private landowners---who may not fully grasp
the critical role they play in maintaining and restoring healthy forest
conditions. Moreover, it is a challenge for states\--which are facing
sharp budget cuts\--and federal agencies to reach these landowners and
provide incentives to implement responsible land stewardship practices
on their lands.

For the 13.5 million acres of National Forests, as well as the privately
owned forest land in the South, the greatest challenges are skyrocketing
population growth, catastrophic wildfires, and diseases and infestations
that will require consistent, active forest management.

# 

### Challenges from Urbanization and Population Growth

In 1999, four federal agencies, working collaboratively with southern
state forestry agencies, studied pressures placed on southern forests
and forecasted their future condition. While it appears southern forests
are sustainable -- which means they will remain diverse and productive,
while providing economic and social benefits for the future -- the
Southern Forest Assessment pointed to a number of trends that require
attention.

Population growth and urbanization tops the list as the most significant
challenge facing Southern forests. The rate of forest conversion to
urban and industrial uses has increased from about 667,000 acres in the
1980's to 1.1 million acres a year in the 90's. This trend doesn't
appear to be slowing. Between 1992 and 2020, about six percent of the
South's forests could be lost to urban uses. Effects of forest
conversion to urban and suburban areas extend far beyond city limits,
and include wildlife habitat fragmentation, a scarcity of forest
benefits such as recreation opportunities, and limitations on management
options necessary to keep forests healthy. Most of these effects will be
focused in the Piedmont and along the coastal areas of the South.

# [Threats from Wildfires]{.underline}

Catastrophic wildfires represent the most visible consequence of the
deteriorating forest and rangeland health. On average, more than 45,000
wildfire outbreaks consume approximately one million acres of the 215
million acres of southern forests. Runaway blazes destroy about 250
structures a year. Historically, prescribed fire programs have been a
key element to offset catastrophic wildfire risks in the South. Forest
Service specialists have used controlled burns to treat about 1.2
million acres of National Forests System lands each year. As a result,
many southern forest acres have achieved favorable condition
classifications that reflect a reduction in their risk to catastrophic
fire outbreaks. However, an annual hazardous fuels treatment program
that exceeds 2 million acres is what southern forests will require to
prevent catastrophic fire outbreaks. Growth in southern population
presents a challenge for the prescribed fire program. Increases in
wildland interface and construction of residences near forests
boundaries, have raised additional concerns for fire planners.

# [Threats from Stand Density, Diseases & Invasive Species]{.underline}

In addition to fire, forests and rangelands across the country face
unusually high threats from the spread of invasive species and insect
attacks. Insects and pathogens have historically existed in our forests
and rangelands. However, the frequency, extent, and timing of recent
outbreaks are out of the ordinary. The South leads the nation in the
number of non native insects and diseases. More than 21 million forest
acres of all ownerships are at risk of death because of insects and
diseases causing standing timber losses of over \$100 million. Southern
forests have been extremely vulnerable to attacks from insects like the
southern pine beetle, which infested 1.5 million acres between1999 and
2002 and the red oak borer, which destroyed 300,000 acres in the
Ouachita -- Ozark Highlands in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. Further,
older-aged hardwoods dominate Appalachian Forests, rendering them
susceptible to insect and diseases such as Oak Decline, Red Oak Borer
and Gypsy Moth. Other infestations in the South include the hemlock
woolly adelgid, found in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee and Georgia, which threatens the continued existence of
eastern and Carolina hemlocks. Sudden Oak Death, which was inadvertently
transported to southern nurseries, is one of our newest threats. This
nonnative disease has been killing oaks in central California and poses
a significant threat to all eastern oak species should this disease
become established. In 2003 alone, the Southern Region of the Forest
Service spent \$15 million to suppress insect infestations and diseases.

In the past 20 years, insect outbreaks are occurring more frequently and
continuing for a greater duration due to changes in tree stand density,
as well as in species composition and structure, resulting from decades
of excluding or immediately suppressing fire, the lack of active
management, and extended drought. Several thousand acres of southern
pine are in need of first thinnings to reduce crowding and competition
for water and nutrients. Without this type of treatment these stands are
susceptible to Southern Pine Beetle attacks, wildland fire and severe
damage from other catastrophic events such as wind and ice storms.
Native insects are expanding at an alarming rate. The latest southern
pine beetle outbreak (1997-2002) destroyed 1.5 million acres of trees at
an estimated value of \$1 billion. In the South, there are over 89
million acres at risk to bark beetle loss. Often when these areas burn
with uncharacteristic intensity, they become very susceptible to
invasive species, further prolonging poor forest and rangeland health.
Nonnative invasive plants are a direct threat to the productivity,
biodiversity, and integrity of our forestlands.

Nonnative plants infest over 100 million acres in the United States and
continue to increase by 8% to 20% annually; they are a major concern for
the South, where the notorious kudzu covers a total of 7 million acres.
In the South, we face added challenges to provide coordinated strategies
across multiple ownerships, and differing jurisdictions to adequately
address multiple threats from invasive weeds like cogon grass to zebra
mussels in our rivers.

#### [Using New Tools to Address Threats -- Administrative Authorities]{.underline}

In March of this year the Forest Service entered into an Alternative
Consultation Agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the
National Marine Fisheries Service on threatened and endangered species
as required under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for
qualifying projects under the National Fires Plan. The purpose of the
counterpart regulations is to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness
of the Section 7 consultation process by providing an optional
alternative to the procedures when the Forest Service determines a
project is "not likely to adversely affect" any listed species or
designated critical habitat. After analysis by a qualified and trained
biologist, Forest Service line officers will be able to certify that
projects meet the ESA regulations and requirements without additional
concurrences from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National
Marine Fisheries Service. On southern National Forests, with over 180
federally listed threatened and endangered species, we will see benefits
of this new process through more timely and simpler decisions.

In addition, responding to the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
Guidance of December 9, 2002 to the Secretaries of Agriculture and
Interior on the preparation of Environmental Assessments (EAs), the
Administration identified several hazardous fuels treatment pilot
projects across the Nation. One of these projects was the Four
Notch/Boswell Creek Watershed Healthy Forest Initiative Pilot Project on
the Sam Houston NF in Texas. This project included the assessment of the
fuels conditions and the need to reduce fuels on the portions of the Sam
Houston NF in the Boswell Creek watershed. The NEPA analysis has since
been completed and a decision made. This is another example of how the
Southern Region is using HFI administrative authorities to address
pressing fuels treatment needs. As we continue project planning for
FY2005 we are looking for many other opportunities to use the new
administrative tools under HFI and HFRA.

**[Using New Tools to Address Threats -- Legislative
Authorities]{.underline}**

Recognizing the impending forest health crisis, Congress, last year
passed the Healthy Forest Restoration Act (HFRA) of 2003, which provides
key tools we need to confront many of the challenges we are facing as
land managers for private and public lands. The successful passage of
this legislation has equipped managers of both public and private lands
with much-needed tools to address the challenges we face. Since its
passage, we've already begun utilizing these tools. At the Forest
Service, we are now positioned to pursue activities that effectively
address critical health risks we face. In addition, we will take steps
to engage other landowners so they can employ these tools on private
lands, as well.

Title I of HFRA, increases our ability to reduce hazardous fuels on
National Forest System lands and provides our most progressive tool for
preventing catastrophic wildfires in the South. For example, in fiscal
year 2000 the Region burned under prescription 549,300 acres. This year
we are burning under prescription more than 963,000 acres of National
Forest System lands to reduce fire and restore fire-dependent
ecosystems. We've already accomplished 98 percent of that total. Despite
this accomplishment, we still have many areas that remain vulnerable to
wildfires and diseases. We will be working to reverse these threats.

We're also stepping up efforts to thin and treat densely-wooded areas to
reduce both risks of fires and diseases. We've have undertaken bold
initiatives to treat areas at risk for pests and infestations. This
region, for example, established a southern pine beetle prevention and
restoration program totaling \$15 million in fiscal years 2003 and 2004.
The cooperative part of the funding\--\$10 million\--is being used in 10
of 13 states to create state managed southern pine beetle prevention and
restoration programs. The funds are being used to develop SPB hazard
rating systems, encourage sound forest management on non-industrial
private forests and State-owned lands, and educate landowners about the
impacts of SPB and the need to maintain healthy forests to prevent SPB
infestations. The Federal part of the prevention/restoration funding,
\$5 million, is being used to thin high risk pine stands on National
Forest System lands.

In addition, we are assessing how best to employee other HFRA
authorities to improve efforts in utilization of biomass and watershed
protection.

Title II of HFRA, (Biomass) will be utilized to address the fuels
build-up in southern forests (As a result, there is a need to consider
new uses in the South for woody biomass from the small diameter trees in
the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) plantations (e.g. combined heat
and power generation by rural utilities, the production of ethanol and
other transportation bio-fuels, and the development of bio-based
products). The banning of the MTBE additive from gasoline will mean that
the demand for ethanol in east coast gasoline markets will significantly
increase. The current corn-based ethanol plants in the Midwest can't
meet this demand. A logical source in the South for sustainable ethanol
production is the abundant forest resource, especially the small
diameter CRP stands in need of thinning and timber harvesting slash.
There is a growing awareness on the part of forestry agencies,
universities, agricultural producers and others in the South for the
need to develop agricultural and forest based bio-industries to reduce
hazardous fuels and help sustain the economic viability of rural
communities in the region.

> Title III of HFRA, the Watershed Forestry Assistance Program (WFAP),
> will be used to promote use of forest and forestry practices to
> sustain healthy watersheds through collaborative approaches. The
> Forest Service is working with state foresters and with tribes to
> develop separate guidelines for the State Watershed Forestry
> Assistance Program and the Tribal Watershed Forestry Assistance
> Program. Our goal is to have the guidelines in place by October. To
> implement the programs, State Foresters and Indian Tribes will work in
> partnership with communities, nonprofit organizations, local watershed
> councils, and landowners to encourage the use of forests and forestry
> practices in protecting and restoring watersheds. By focusing in
> priority watersheds, states and tribes can integrate forestry
> practices across mixed ownerships, provide cumulative water quality
> benefits, and offer low cost, long term solutions to many of the
> nation's non-point source pollution problems. When applied on a
> priority watershed basis, forests and forestry practices can protect
> drinking water sources, lowering cost of drinking water treatment, and
> help manage storm water runoff, impacting wastewater treatment
> requirements.

Another useful tool is the Stewardship Contracting authority. These
contracts allow private companies, communities and others to offset the
purchase price of forest and rangeland products with the cost for the
services of hazardous fuels treatment including thinning trees and brush
and removing vegetation. Long-term contracts foster a public/private
partnership to restore forest and rangeland health by giving those who
undertake the contract the ability to invest in equipment and
infrastructure. To date, the southern region has awarded twenty of these
stewardship contracts.

##### Conclusion

Mr. Chairman, these new efforts are just the beginning. We have much to
do to address the serious risks and threats we face. With the South's
productive soils and long growing seasons, forest conditions can change
dramatically in 5 years. Forest health conditions in the South demand
consistent, active management. The Forest Service---working with other
federal agencies, states, partners and citizens---is committed to
providing that management and leadership to address the health
challenges on forests. Moreover, the Forest Service is committed to
working with Congress, State, local and tribal officials and the public
to advance common-sense solutions to protect communities and people, and
to restore forest and rangeland health. With the tools we now have
available, we believe we have the legal framework to effect the future
condition of southern forest both today and in the future.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on issues affecting the
southern forests. I would be glad to answer any questions you may have.