Statement: House’s Farm Bill Signals Commitment to Family Forest Owners
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 21, 2024) - Rita Hite, president & CEO of the American Forest Foundation, a conservation organization that empowers family forest owners to create meaningful conservation impact, released the following statement regarding the introduction of Representative GT Thompson’s Farm Bill legislation package in the House of Representatives:
“The passage of the Farm Bill is critical to our country’s efforts to protect the health and wellbeing of our America’s forests, rural landowners and rural communities, and the planet. We applaud Representative GT Thompson’s inclusion of measures that support new forest products innovation that can create stronger markets for rural landowners, and measures that will significantly increase resources for conservation and improve the health and resilience of working forests.
We also look forward to working with both the House and the Senate to include the Rural Forest Markets Act, a bill that helps put private capital to work to advance the health and resilience of our private, family-owned rural lands. RFMA is bipartisan, supported by a diverse coalition of forestry associations and other groups, and will add value to forest landowners who sell their trees and the carbon sequestered inside them.
With discussions moving forward, we urge all members of Congress to prioritize the passage of a bipartisan Farm Bill that works for rural America and our nation’s woodlands. We remain eager to help all parties move this important legislation forward.”
Learn more about AFF’s full list of Farm Bill priorities.
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CONTACT: Kristen Voorhees, Communications Director, media@forestfoundation.org
About The American Forest Foundation
The American Forest Foundation is a national conservation organization that empowers family forest owners to make meaningful conservation impact. The organization’s flagship program, the Family Forest Carbon Program, helps landowners implement forest management practices to protect the health of their woodlands and help the planet. To learn more about the American Forest Foundation and the Family Forest Carbon Program, visit www.forestfoundation.org/carbon.
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