| America’s chronic economic downturn has done little to streamline the budget process in Washington DC as Congress works to present President Obama with a spending plan for the next fiscal year that reduces the federal deficit by $1.2 trillion.Buried within this quagmire is proposed funding for urban and community forestry both through annual allocations to the Federal Transportation Enhancementsand to the proposed 2012 Farm Bill (the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee has included more than $32 million for urban and community forestry in its funding package). And while opportunity exists to make urban forestry stronger in the next reauthorization of the Federal Farm Bill, other resources for tree planting, tree care, and related activities are already under attack.Twice this year, amendments to the popular Transportation Enhancements (TE) have been proposed by U.S. Senators that seek to eliminate this program which represents 10% of all highway project spending. TE projects can include creation of bicycle and pedestrian facilities, streetscape improvements, refurbishment of historic transportation facilities, and other investments that enhance communities and access (California typically receives $75 million annually for these purposes, which is distributed through the state’s regional transportation agencies down to local governments). Fortunately, both efforts failed but this issue will likely resurface in 2012. |
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Meanwhile, negotiations on the 2012 Farm Bill are underway in Washington DC, with the possibility of definitive action coming before the year’s end. The measure is re-authorized every five years, and provides the framework through which Congress enacts and amends a wide range of agricultural and conservation programs including the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act, which houses the Urban & Community Forestry Program. The added element of the bipartisan Congressional Super Committee this year means greater potential for opportunity to strengthen the urban and community forestry component of the Farm Bill. For this reason, California ReLeaf has joined ACT in supporting a suite of recommendations to Congress developed by the Sustainable Urban Forests Coalitionthat we believe will support efforts within the Farm Bill to protect urban forest health, promote urban trees and forests as green infrastructure, and provide research, tools and information designed to serve urban forestry needs.Visit www.actrees.orgfor more information on these issues. |
