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In FY 2004, the Forest Service will focus on key areas that make tangible contributions towards achieving the goals of the President’s Healthy Forest Initiative and the President’s Management Agenda. Key areas addressed through this budget and related legislative proposals will support the National Fire Plan, providing benefits to communities, management of invasive species, rangeland management, and implementation of the President’s Management Agenda. Program priorities based on the key areas include the suppression of unwanted wildland fires; removal of hazardous fuels; control and eradication of invasive species; purchase of environmental easements; assisting non-Federal landowners to become better stewards of their forested land; and management of grazing allotments.

Healthy Forest Initiative: The Healthy Forest Initiative will implement core components of the National Fire Plan’s 10-Year Comprehensive Strategy and Implementation Plan. This historic plan, which was adopted this spring by Federal agencies and western governors, in collaboration with county commissioners, State foresters and Tribal officials, calls for more active forest and rangeland management. It establishes a framework for protecting communities and the environment through local collaboration on thinning, planned burns and forest restoration projects.

National Fire Plan: The President’s Budget places increased emphasis on protection of communities and property from the effects of catastrophic wildfire. The President’s Budget supports the 10-Year Comprehensive Strategy. The Strategy outlines the long-term basis for collaborative proactive management of wildland fire across governmental boundaries. The Strategy supports the removal of overgrown materials from National Forest System lands and from around rural communities; improving the capability of Federal, Tribal, State, and local wildland fire management agencies; economic utilization of hazardous fuel treatment byproducts; fire research; and protection of forest and rangelands from fire related spreads of invasive species. Additionally, the Healthy Forests Initiative provides better tools to accomplish these goals of the Strategy.

The FY 2004 President’s Budget contains a program increase of $144.4 million for the Forest Service’s portion of the National Fire Plan. It includes a program increase for wildfire suppression to improve the agency’s wildland firefighting capability while minimizing the impact of potential fund transfers, maintains funding for hazardous fuels to protect communities and to restore natural fire regimes to National Forest System lands, and maintains funding for preparedness. The budget also takes the unprecedented step of assessing the performance of the program to measure progress and identify areas for improvement. The total FY 2004 President’s Budget request for the National Fire Plan, both Forest Service and DOI, is over $2.2 billion.

Benefits to Communities: The President’s Budget contains a $15.2 million program increase in Forest Stewardship to further support objectives of the President’s Healthy Forests Initiative and the National Fire Plan. The increase can strengthen rural communities and agency partnerships through a competitive cost-share program that leverages Federal funds to reduce hazardous fuels in and around rural communities and manage non-Federal forestlands for the prevention of invasive species. The increase in the Forest Stewardship Program would also increase support to private landowners for the production of small diameter and underutilized forest products.

Additionally, the President’s Budget contains a $19.9 million program increase in Forest Legacy to enhance conservation on environmentally important lands. This would occur through collaborative efforts with the States and other partners to acquire interests in lands from willing sellers. The increase would support partnerships with up to ten additional States that have not previously participated in this program and would result in conservation easements on an additional 50,000 acres. These additional acres would conserve wildlife habitat, water quality, and recreation.

Invasive Species: Overall, the FY 2004 President’s Budget proposes $91.0 million to manage invasive species. The Forest and Rangeland Research request provides $14.5 million to increase development of tools to prevent, detect, control, and monitor invasive species. The amount includes increases of $2.5 million to address the potentially significant risks to natural resources caused by the Sudden Oak Death pathogen, $3.6 million for research and development tools essential to prevent, detect, control and monitor other invasive species and restore impacted ecosystems, and $0.5 million for an emerging pests and pathogens fund. The President’s Budget also re-proposes the State and Private Forestry Emerging Pest and Pathogens Fund initially proposed in the FY 2003 budget request. The FY 2004 budget requests $11.9 million for this program of rapid response to new introductions of invasive insects, and pathogens.

Grazing Management: The President’s Budget provides a $6.5 million program increase to better manage livestock on National Forest System rangelands. This emphasis would provide for a 30 percent increase in grazing allotments operating under up-to-date decision notices and grazing management plans. It would enhance the agency’s capability to manage livestock and support communities where rangelands are an integral aspect of the economy.