Joint Principles

March 8, 1999

We are a Coalition of organizations concerned about National Forest and BLM Forest Land Management, and the relationship of these lands to the people in states and counties that have a heritage of common interests. Due to changes in forest land management over the last decade, the relationships have changed, negatively impacting a large number of local communities. The Coalition firmly believes that a cornerstone of our principles is the health and productivity of these federal lands which is of vital importance both now and in the future. In addition, the Coalition concurs in their belief that the creators of our National Forest and BLM timberland system expected: 1) that forest resources would be managed in such an environmentally responsible manner that they would produce long-term sustainable revenue to share with schools and counties as well as products for the nation; 2) that the revenue loss to counties because of this land removal from potential private development was to be mitigated by the Federal Government with the funds used for schools, roads, and other local purposes; and 3) that compensation to counties was to be equivalent to 25% of all gross receipts received from the National Forests, and/or 50% of gross receipts from the revested O&C lands, and/or 4% of the gross receipts from Public Domain Lands. Policy and practice have allowed these basic tenets to be eroded.

Proposed Policy: National Forest Counties & Schools Coalition support legislation that will:

  1. Cover all National Forest counties nationwide and include O&C counties.
    Note: O&C forests are those in the Pacific Northwest managed by the Bureau of Land Management under different statutes than the National Forest System.
  2. Make no changes to the Agricultural Reapportionment Act of 1908 as amended, and the O&C Acts of 1937 & 1939 as amended, and the Department of Interior Appropriations Act, 1952 (65 Stat. 252), specifically no "decoupling" of payments from actual gross forest receipts. Provide an incentive that requires the Forest Service to produce receipts and be accountable for their basic responsibilities for active healthy management of the National Forests. The difference between actual receipts and safety net payments shall be paid by the Forest Service and BLM, but shall not be paid out of revenue producing activities and budgets, including trust funds of the United States Forest Service.

Short-Term Principles

Special payments to states under this legislation will provide a short-term safety net with a specific termination date.

  1. Require payments be guaranteed based on 100% of the average of the highest three-years since 1986.
  2. Require "either/or" language which provides for the above payment, or the actual 25% forest reserve receipts, and/or 50% receipts for the O&C counties, and/or 4% receipts for the Public Domain Lands, whichever is greater.
  3. Provide for indexing of the payments to a CPI.

Long-Term Principles

Provide a process for developing a long-term solution to ensure long-term forest management and a return to actual gross receipts.

Any long-term solution must:

  1. Promote local government coordination and community based partnerships.
  2. Recognize the need for sustainable economic self sufficiency of rural communities through the best use of the natural resources whether for farming, grazing, mining, timber harvest, recreation, or aesthetics.
  3. Be in accord with a definition of sustainable forest management, wherein ecological, economic, and social factors will receive equal consideration in the management of the National Forests.
  4. Provide for total forest management which considers the principle of multiple use and other factors as they relate to total systemic and sustainable forest health, based on current best science, using independent critical peer review.

If you agree with the above and would like to show your support and receive additional information, please join us.