Think of a federal policy in the United States that relates to the country’s forests, and it is very likely that American Forests was a leader in getting it enacted.
For example, the organization was instrumental in establishing the law that led to the creation of the U.S. Forest Service in 1905. And the one a few years later that gave the federal government authority to buy and protect eastern U.S. forests, such as the tracts that are now White Mountain and George Washington national forests.
More recently, we were intimately involved in passing a 2018 law that provides long-term funding for preventing and fighting forest fires and a 2020 law that doubles the federal investment in expanding public land for hiking, fishing and more. In 2021, we led the way to get more than $8 billion for our forests through the infrastructure bill and championed the REPLANT Act to permanently secure more money for replanting and maintaining our national forests.
American Forests has a nearly 150-year track record of getting bipartisan-supported laws and government programs like these created or amended so we and others can create healthy and resilient forests in cities and the large forest landscapes.