Page 8 - White Paper

“In the West, where the timber industry relies heavily on federal lands, somewhere between 35 and 40 percent of the milling capacity has been
lost since the 1990’s”
—KIM KoSteLnIK, neW MeXIco StAte DIvISIon oF ForeStrY
EPA nEw guIdAnCE on how wAtErs ArE ProtECtEd undEr thE ClEAn wAtEr ACt
The EPA is working toward a new definition of “waters” as currently prescribed in the Clean Water Act. If carried forward, this “redefining” could significantly curtail forest management on both public and private land.
Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) and Congressman Kurt Schrader (D-OR) released a “forest roads protection” bill that will codify the Environmental Protection Agency’s historical treatment of roads on private forest lands as “nonpoint” pollution sources that do not require additional permits.
Beutler says, “A recent court decision reclassifies forest roads, treating them the same as factories and industrial parking lots in terms of pollution sources. This court ruling reverses 35 years of Clean Water Act regulation of forest roads. Under this court ruling, for the first time ever private forest land owners would be forced to obtain a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit for roads on their land.”
BuIldIng CodEs
The 2012 edition of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) if fully implemented will cause a mar- ket loss of 900 million square feet
of wood structural panels plus other wood products. This loss in wood market share results from a prescrip- tive mandate in the new energy code requiring the widespread use of foam board sheathing that replaces the use of wood structural panels.
AssEssIng thE FEdErAl tAx CodE And dEvEloPIng A CoMPrEhEnsIvE ForEst tAx PACkAgE
The NASF Forest Resources Committee completed a white paper recently outlining changes to the federal tax code that would support landowners and markets. The FMC would like to work with that committee to address their policy recommendations such as reform of the federal estate tax and the treatment of timber income as a long-term capital gain.
WOOD BIOMASS INCENTIVES
“Woody biomass like mill residues and forest thinnings can play an important role in the future of energy, but the patchwork of incentives
and regulations surrounding its
use should be steered toward sustainability and the long-term use of public and private forestlands,” According to the Wood-to-Energy Road Map released by the 25 x 25 Alliance and Federal Interagency Woody Biomass Working Group.
TRENDS THAT CAN HURT FORESTS AND FOREST PRODUCTS INDUSTRY
Here are some examples of the types of issues that with help from a coalition of forestry advocates could be corrected.
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