WESTERN FORESTRY LEADERSHIP COALITION
Providing Resources, Partnerships and Solutions for Western Forestry Challenges
www.wflccenter.org

The Coalition represents a unique partnership between state and federal forestry leaders. The Coalition is comprised of 34 members from across the federal and state agencies of the west:

• 23 State members, also known as the Council of Western State Foresters, which include State, Territorial, and Commonwealth Foresters of the west and

American-affiliated islands of the Pacific.
11 USDA Forest Service members, which include:

• 7 western Regional Foresters,
• 3 western USFS Research Station Directors, and
• 1 USFS Forest Products Lab Director.

A five-member staff and seven western committees provide support for the Coalition. The staff includes: Executive Director, Governmental Affairs Director, Marketing and Communications Director, Program Analyst, and Business Manager. The western committees are: Forest Resource Management, Forest Health & Invasive Species, Wildfire Protection, Water Resources, Urban & Community Forestry, Pacific Islands and Emerging Issues.

The Mission of the Coalition
To promote science-based forest management that serves the values of society and ensures the health and sustainability of western forests.

Core Beliefs of the Coalition

• Forests are essential to our environmental, economic, cultural, and social well-being.
• Forested watersheds are vital sources of fresh water, recreation, wildlife, timber, and other products, values and uses.
• Healthy, sustainable, productive forests provide benefits for current and future generations.
• The practice of sustainable forest management can contribute to local, regional, and national goals thereby reducing third-world forest exploitation.
• Managing natural resources across land boundaries through partnerships, collaboration, project integration and program coordination is essential.
• Private forest landowners are willing to make investments that produce public benefit.
• Public and decision-maker understanding and awareness of forestry are essential.
• The risks from catastrophic fire are increasing due to the growth of the wildland urban-interface, unhealthy forest conditions and global warming.
• Research and science-based information is critical to establishing effective and relevant forest policies and practices.

Goals of the Coalition

• launch initiatives that position the West to respond to the public's forestry needs.
• combine resources and finding forestry program efficiencies to maximize federal and state forestry investments across the West.
• forge productive partnerships across agency, interest and ownership boundaries via collaboration.
• provide research, recommending policies, and coordinating efforts across agencies and land ownerships.
• provide credible information for forest landowners, policymakers, media and the public.
• advocate for active, sustainable forest management.
• facilitate the development, integration and implementation of western State and Private Forestry programs.

Strategic Issues
The following five strategic issues, identified by the membership, are used to guide and define the boundaries of the Coalition's work. USDA Forest Service programs, including State and Private Forestry, Forest and Rangeland Research, National Forest System, and Wildland Fire Management are directly connected with the issues below, providing the collective foundation for which the Coalition members, staff and committees work in partnership.

I. Wildland Fire
The condition of our nation's forest lands, both federal and non-federal, is a significant contributor to the ongoing problem of catastrophic wildfire. Fire regimes are out of balance, resulting in abnormally destructive wildfire behavior (catastrophic wildfire), undesirable and atypical fire effects, substantially increased fire suppression costs and unacceptable risk to life and property. Efforts to reduce the amount of readily flammable material (fuel treatments) must be maintained and communities continually engaged. Reducing wildfire risk requires a long-term commitment. To this end, the Coalition works toward:

• sustaining support for the National Fire Plan.
• promoting landscape-scale fuel treatments, including the use of fire to reach management objectives.
• incorporating research and science into fuel reduction and restoration efforts.
• providing leadership in wildfire suppression cost containment and apportionment.
• contributing to solutions to smoke and fire emissions issues.
• determining the appropriate role of wildland firefighters in all-risk event response.

II. Forest Health
Western forests must be managed in a manner that assures ecological, economic and social sustainability. Overly-dense forests on federal and non-federal lands are susceptible to insect and disease infestations, to weather events and to catastrophic wildland fire resulting in threatened communities, watersheds, wildlife habitats, old-growth forests and recreation areas in much of the West. To this end, the Coalition works toward:

• implementing the Healthy Forests Restoration Act and other beneficial legislative, regulatory and policy guides.
• aligning strategically with the Western Governors' Association forestry-related activities.
• integrating forest health restoration and fuel reduction programs.
• addressing emerging insect and disease issues with agencies and partners through prevention, detection, rapid response and suppression.
• promoting research and programs that provide the knowledge and tools forest managers need to ensure the long-term sustainability of forests.
• promoting the utilization of material derived from fuel reduction and restoration projects.

III. Invasive Species
Western forests are increasingly besieged by non-native invasive species. They can rapidly become established, weakening or killing native trees, degrading wildlife habitat, negatively affecting fire regimes, and threatening basic ecosystem functions. Second only to direct habitat destruction, invasive species are the greatest threat to native biodiversity. Our goal is a focused, west-wide strategy to help prevent, treat and manage the encroachment of invasive species, as well as restore already-impacted western forests. To this end the Coalition works toward:

• raising public awareness of the threat of invasive species and how actions and decisions effect the impact of invasive species.
• supporting the establishment of a State-level rapid response capacity to plan for and control invasive species at levels that minimize ecological, social and economic impacts across jurisdictions.
• increasing and sustaining support for invasive species research and on-the-ground mitigation.
• resolving jurisdictional and other disputes in an effort to improve coordination of Federal and state agencies in invasive species management.
• increasing research in areas of prevention, early detection and biological control.
• promoting needed tools and training to address invasive threats.

IV. Water and Watershed Management
Freshwater is a finite resource requiring diligent and forward-looking stewardship. Clean and abundant water is a direct result of healthy, well-managed forests. A healthy forest is a direct result of sound policy decisions and management actions. Increasing population growth and ever-increasing demands on our water supplies exerts greater pressure on forested watersheds. Thus, we must renew our focus on sound forest management and its connection to sustainable sources of clean and abundant water. To this end, the Coalition works toward:

• sharing the contributions of forest practices and best management practices in reference to water quality and quantity, such as water monitoring protocols and riparian habitat management.
• building complementary water policies and positions with other agencies and associations.
• implementing the Clean Water Act.
• establishing recognition for the environmental services public and private landowners provide to society at-large.
• promoting sustainable and well-managed forests and their contributions to water quality and quantity.
• integrating urban & community forests with water management issues including retention of storm water and green space.

V. Communities
The economic and social well-being of communities is dependent upon the long-term health of our rural and urban forests. Increasingly, the ecological well-being of forests is dependent upon the social and economic vitality of rural and urban communities. The Coalition is committed to creating new, and sustaining existing, industries and programs in both rural and urban environments that provide for the economic, social and environmental needs of our society. To this end, the Coalition works toward:

• promoting local workforce and community capacity when designing forest health and restoration treatments.
• maintaining the domestic forestry products industry infrastructure.
• securing legislation and policies that build on the strong connections between sustainable forests, sustainable communities and sustainable industries.
• promoting programs that maintain and expand market opportunities for utilization of small-diameter wood as well as use of woody biomass in wood products and as an energy source.
• pursuing research that demonstrates the social and economic value of sustainably managed forests and their benefits to society.
• improving the condition and extent of community forests in urban, suburban, and rural areas.

LINDA GOODMAN
PNW Regional Forester, USFS
Lead Regional Forester, and
Co-Chair
Western Forestry Leadership Coalition

JIM SEDELL
PSW Research Station Director
Lead Western Research Station Director,
Western Forestry Leadership Coalition