WASHINGTON, D.C.— The National Wild Turkey Federation stepped up to the legislative plate Wednesday to address the House and the Senate and show its support for a strong forestry component in the 2007 Farm Bill.
Throughout the day NWTF’s Senior Vice President for Conservation Programs James Earl Kennamer, Ph.D., addressed the legislative bodies and participated in a press briefing hosted by the Forests in the Farm Bill Coalition.
The newly launched coalition urges Congress to take immediate action through the Farm Bill to conserve forest lands and the significant economic and environmental benefits forests provide. As part of the coalition, Kennamer represented the NWTF’s 545,000 members and all hunters and anglers.
"Our nation’s forests provide critical habitat for many species of wildlife," Kennamer said during his presentation. "For more than 60 million hunters and anglers, our forests represent an essential part of the outdoor experience, and the Farm Bill is an important part of ensuring one of our greatest national treasures, our forests, is available for future generations to cherish as we do."
Among the coalition’s 33 members are major conservation and business groups as well as organizations representing family forest owners, sportsmen and sportswomen, forestry professionals and academics. Georgia forest landowner and Rolling Stone member Chuck Leavell and representatives of landowner, conservation and industry groups also voiced their support for forestry in the Farm Bill throughout the day.
The coalition was formed to assure private forests are viewed as a vital part of the rural landscape and economy, to improve the effectiveness of programs for private forest conservation and management, and increase resources for these programs.
According to the U.S. Forest Service, every year an area larger than Everglades National Park, more than 1 million acres of forests, is lost to development and sprawl. The majority of the acres at risk -- more than 430 million acres -- are owned by families and individuals. These private forest owners often lack financial and technical resources to hold on to and manage their forests effectively.
"To ensure the future of our hunting heritage, we need to look to the next Farm Bill to find innovative methods to help forest landowners enhance the quality of their forests," Kennamer said. "Quality forests mean better income to the landowner, jobs in our wood products sector, and abundant and diverse wildlife populations. This is the legacy we must pass on to future generations, and adequately funding the Farm Bill will be a big part of making sure that happens."
