"When you try to change a single thing, you find it hitched to everything
else in the universe..."
John Muir
Welcome
Click on the pictures for more information...
Training Guidelines
AQUATIC
SECTION
FORESTRY
SECTION
SOIL
SECTION
WILDLIFE
SECTION
SPECIAL
TOPIC SECTION
FORESTRY SECTION
A SUMMARY OF FEDERAL LAWS AFFECTING FORESTRY
Laws form the legal basis for using and managing our nation's forests. Since 1890, more than 140 laws affecting forestry have been passed by the United States Congress and signed by the President. In the early years most laws enabled or authorized the protection and management of the nation's forests. Many of the laws passed in recent years restrict or regulate the use and management of these forests. Some of the more important Federal laws are described below:
Creative Act of 1891 -- Authorized the President of the United States to set aside public lands bearing forests as public reservations commonly called Forest Reserves.
Organic Administration Act of 1897 -- Provided that the Forest Reserves, later to be called National Forests, were established to improve and protect the forest, to secure favorable conditions of water flow, and to furnish a continuous supply of timber.
Transfer Act of 1905 -- Transferred the administration of the Forest Reserves from the United States Department of the Interior to the United States Department of Agriculture.
Twenty-five Percent Fund Act of 1908 -- Established the procedure for paying the states twenty-five percent of the monies received from national forest timber sales to benefit public schools and public roads in counties where national forests are located. These payments are made in lieu of taxes.
Weeks Law of 1911 -- Authorized purchasing and adding to the National Forest System forested, cut-over, or denuded lands within the watersheds of navigable streams which are necessary to regulate the flow of navigable streams or to produce timber.
Smith-Lever Act of 1914 -- Established a Federal-State Cooperative Extension program to provide education for the public in agriculture and natural resources.
Clarke-McNary Act of 1924 -- Authorized technical and financial assistance to the states for forest fire control and for production and distribution of forest tree seedlings. (Sections 1 through 4 were repealed by the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978.)
McSweeney-McNary Act of 1928 -- Authorized a comprehensive Forest Service research program. (This act was repealed and supplanted by the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978.)
Multiple Use - Sustained Yield Act of 1960 -- Established a policy of multiple use, sustained yield management for the renewable resources of the National Forest System.
McIntyre-Stennis Act of 1962 -- Established a cooperative forestry research program for state land-grant colleges and universities.
Clean Air Act of 1963 -- Gave the Federal government enforcement powers regarding air pollution for the first time. This act and subsequent amendments impact the forest industry by affecting prescribed burning for forest management and emissions from forest products manufacturing plants.
Wilderness Act of 1964 -- Established the National Wilderness Preservation System by setting aside sections of federal forest land as wilderness.
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 -- Required that environmental considerations be incorporated into all Federal policies and activities, and that all Federal agencies prepare environmental impact statements for any actions significantly affecting the environment.
Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 -- Established as a national objective restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's water and required area wide planning to prevent future water pollution that could be associated with growth, development, and land use, including timber management.
Endangered Species Act of 1973 -- Provided for the protection and conservation of threatened and endangered fish, wildlife, and plant species. Directs all Federal agencies to utilize their authorities and programs to further the purpose of the act.
National Forest Management Act of 1976 -- Established additional standards and guidelines for managing the national forests, including directives for national forest land management planning and public participation.
Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 -- Authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to work in cooperation with State Foresters in nine cooperative forestry assistance programs. Among these programs is the Forestry Incentives Program, a federal cost-share program designed to encourage the management of private forest lands.
Renewable Resources Extension Act of 1978 -- Authorized expanding the forest and rangeland renewable resources portion of the extension education program.
Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978 -- Authorized expanding forest and rangeland renewable resources research.
Reforestation Tax Incentives (part of the Recreational Boating Safety and Facilities
Improvement Act of 1980 -- Provided tax credits and deductions for landowners who reforest their property, as an incentive to encourage reforestation.
Food Security Act of 1985 (1985 Farm Bill) -- Established the Conservation Reserve Program. The program was designed conserve 40 to 45 million acres of highly erodible cropland by paying landowners to plant permanent vegetative cover, such as grass or trees, and maintain that vegetative cover for 10 years.
Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (1990 Farm Bill) -- Established the Forest Stewardship Program, a program designed to encourage multiple resource forest management on nonindustrial private forest lands. A companion program, the Stewardship Incentives Program, was designed to provide cost-share assistance funding to encourage the implementation of management practices.
Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments of 1990 -- Required that states with Coastal Zone Management Programs develop and implement Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Programs to control sources of nonpoint pollution (including managed forests) which impact coastal water quality.
For additional information about the Envirothon Program in Arkansas, contact:
Delia Haak, Ed.D Arkansas Envirothon Coordinator
ArkansasEnvirothonCoodinator@gmail.com
479-238-4671
Debbie Moreland, Arkansas Association Conservation District Director
debbiepinreal@aol.com
501-425-2891
The Envirothon Program is offered and operated on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status, or physical/mental challenges.