FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 7, 2011

CONCORD, N.H.-- In a report released today, 60 organizations urged lawmakers to help meet New England’s economic challenges by investing in the region’s forests, and outlined six critical federal policy opportunities to conserve this vital resource and the environmental infrastructure it provides.

The report, A Policy Agenda for Conserving New England’s Forests, is released at a time when forest cover is declining in all six New England states, threatening the region’s drinking water, air quality and climate regulation. New England’s forests are the headwaters for all of the Northeast’s major rivers, and protect drinking water for millions of people. The region’s 33 million acres of forest also clean the air by filtering out pollutants and store vast quantities of carbon, slowing climate change by offsetting more than a quarter of New England’s carbon dioxide emissions.

“A commitment to the conservation of New England’s forests is a key to the future health of the New England economy, the integrity of our air and water, and the availability of natural landscapes that provide recreational opportunities for the region’s residents and visitors,” said Susan Arnold, Vice President for Conservation for the Appalachian Mountain Club, the nation’s oldest conservation and recreation organization, and one of the groups endorsing the report.

New England’s economy--so strongly dependent on woodlands for tourism, outdoor sporting activities, heating fuel from sustainably managed forests, and healthy fish and wildlife—may well be influenced by six crucial policy actions facing Congress in Fiscal Year 2012, the report says:

• Funding private working forestland –the backbone of New England’s forest products economy.  Projects include High Peaks—Crocker Mountain in Maine, Northern Green Mountains (Vermont), Southern Monadnock Plateau (Massachusetts), Androscoggin Headwaters (New Hampshire), and Thorpe Mountain (Connecticut).
  
  
• Conserving large New England landscapes such as the North Woods (Northern Forest) and the Connecticut River watershed.
  
  
• Connecting forests and communities for public benefit and recreation through programs that would develop and maintain recreational trails, and help communities preserve open space and develop trails and greenways.
  
  
• Protecting special places by adding to public lands. Since New England has far less public land than other parts of America—less than 5 percent in federal ownership—adding to federal units such as the Conte National Fish & Wildlife Refuge, Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge, and Acadia National Park can enhance public recreation opportunities and associated economic benefits for current and future generations.
  
  
• Providing financial incentives to forest landowners through the Healthy Forest Reserve Program and Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative, helping them meet essential forest stewardship goals like timber stand improvement, watershed protection, and habitat restoration. The programs would provide cost-share funds for conservation practices, and payments for qualifying long-term easements.
  
  
• Directing policy attention to thermal wood biomass programs, enabling efficient use of forest resources.  The report cites Vermont—a national leader in developing community-scale biomass—where fully 20 percent of schoolchildren go to a school heated with biomass, saving money for local budgets and creating economic returns for private forest owners.

"Not only does New Hampshire's quality of life depend on our forests," said Jane Difley, president/forester of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, "but it is our forests that protect the watersheds of rivers like the Connecticut and the Merrimack that provide clean water for people and industry downstream. New England needs healthy New Hampshire forests."

Despite substantial differences in population, development, and geography across the six New England states, 60 representative organizations from across the region have come together in an unprecedented way to signal to Congress the national significance of keeping this critical green infrastructure of New England’s forest intact.

The organizations urging action are listed in A Policy Agenda for Conserving New England’s Forests, downloadable at www.outdoors.org/conservation/hotissues. 

Founded in 1876, the Appalachian Mountain Club is America’s oldest conservation and recreation organization. With more than 100,000 members, advocates, and supporters in the Northeast and beyond, the nonprofit AMC promotes the protection, enjoyment, and understanding of the mountains, forests, waters, and trails of the Appalachian region. The AMC supports natural resource conservation while encouraging responsible recreation, based on the philosophy that successful, long-term conservation depends upon first-hand enjoyment of the natural environment. More information is available at www.outdoors.org.

Founded in 1901, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests is the state’s oldest and largest non-profit land conservation organization. Supported by 10,000 families and businesses, the Forest Society’s mission is to perpetuate the state’s forests by promoting land conservation and sustainable forestry. For more information, visit www.forestsociety.org.