0764-B1
James L. Chamberlain[1]
Management of forests for non-timber products is emerging as a significant issue in the twenty-first century. Non-timber forest resources and products are not fully recognized as natural resources that require management similar to timber, range, minerals or fish and wildlife. This paper examines how non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are incorporated into forest management plans, regional directives and national legislation within the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. The amount of coverage provided to NTFPs in the initial management plans of the national forests of eastern United States provides an insight into the perceived importance, or otherwise, of these products. An examination of the policies and directives for the southern region (region 8) provide an example of how NTFPs are addressed at a regional level. Legislation that guides management of all national forests is explored for reference to these products. Recent policy initiatives that will affect how these resources are managed reveal a commitment and desire for consistent management efforts. The argument is made that legislation, with associated fiscal investments, that explicitly requires NTFPs to be included in forest management, is warranted. Without this high level commitment, non-timber forest resources will be neglected in management, and the goal of sustainable forest management will remain unattainable. Although the focus is the United States, the implications of this paper are global.
A variety of terms have been used to describe the flora collected from forests for products that are not timber based. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service uses the term "special forest products," in its recently published national strategy (USDA Forest Service 2001). The U.S. Congress, in recent legislation introduced the term "forest botanicals" (H.R. 2466. 1999). The United Nations, Food and Agriculture Organization uses the term "non-wood forest products." A more common global term, "non-timber forest products" (NTFPs), relates to plants, parts of plants, fungi, and other flora that are collected or cultivated from within and on the edges of natural, manipulated or disturbed forests (Chamberlain et al. 1998). Whatever term is used to describe these products, the fact is that very little effort has been made to manage these forest resources for their sustainable production.
Although some countries have recognized the importance of non-timber forest resources, and have taken action to include them in forest management, in general they are not adequately included in management. Several European countries, including the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Russia, Sweden, and Poland, have legislation that mandates the inventory of certain non-timber forest resources (Wong et al. 2001). For example, edible forest products have been included in national inventories of Poland's forests since the 1960s. In India, where bamboo is a nationalized product, timber surveys include the enumeration and estimation of bamboo production and yields. These experiences may be useful models for other countries to develop more active management programs for non-timber forest product
North America lags well behind many developed and developing countries in addressing non-timber forest resources and products. In general these resources and products are not included in management planning and implementation on public or private forests. Although no explicit legislation requires public forests to manage for non-timber products, there are policies and procedures to guide how the U.S.D.A. Forest Service addresses these products. Some national forest management plans refer to NTFPs, but none provide comprehensive coverage of these products. In the southern region, policies exist to allow and guide forest managers' efforts to work on non-timber forest products. The agency is the leader within the United States in developing sustainable forest management practices for non-timber forest products. Yet, there is no overall coordinated program to include non-timber forest resources in forest management. A critical examination of the policies and practices will hopefully lead to more effective and efficient programs for NTFPs.
In the 1980s when the first round of forest plans were developed management for NTFPs was neither a public issue nor a legislated mandate. Even though there was no explicit mandate for management of these products, nor were they identified as a public issue, approximately 22 percent of the management plans for the 32 national forests in Eastern United States addressed NTFPs to some extent (Chamberlain et al. 2002). Of those, six were located in the Eastern Region (region 9). The management plan for the National Forests of Florida (Florida NF LRMP 1985) was the only plan in region 8 (Southern) to address NTFPs at any level. Clearly, these national forests cannot represent the extent of non-timber forest products in eastern United States, but they may indicate the awareness within the Forest Service at that time. Hopefully, the next round of forest plans will have more extensive coverage of these resources.
The administration of the USDA, Forest Service is guided by a series of policy directives, which may be issued at various administrative levels. Service-wide directives, issued from the Washington Office headquarters, provide common direction that affect the entire agency. Since 1991, the Washington Office has issued five service-wide directives concerning non-timber forest products. The timber management section issued an amendment to the Manual, that authorized the sale of "other forest products" from national forests, "where it will serve local needs and meet land management objectives" (USDA Forest Service 1991a, section 2467.02). It directs national forests to use management practices that perpetuate or increase NTFP production within the objectives, standards and guidelines of forest plans, and to recover fair market value for such products. The amendment established the foundation for sustainable management of non-timber forest resources by directing that management enable the availability of NTFPs in perpetuity, and that systems be developed to ensure the recovery of fair value for the products.
Service-wide manual amendment 2400-95-2 places additional responsibilities on Forest Supervisors to operate NTFP sales efficiently. Four years later, amendment 2400-99-2 to the Manual delegated to different management levels, the authority to sell and dispose of "special forest products" (USDA Forest Service 1999a). Handbook amendment No. 2409.18-91-3 provides direction on a variety of NTFPs, including firewood, naval stores, pine distillate wood, Christmas trees, and tropical forest products (USDA Forest Service 1991b). For some of the historically important products, direction is well developed, yet for others that may be currently more important, direction is less clear.
Direction can be found in the Handbook on a number of other non-timber forest products. Forest managers are directed to sell the stumps and top wood left behind after the harvesting of longleaf and other pines as pine distillate wood. They are provided guidance on the unit of measure for this product, as well as methods to appraise its value. Subsection 87.4 of amendment No. 2409.18-91-3 provides procedures for the selling of Christmas trees and boughs, which must be cut in accordance with silvicultural prescriptions, established prior to the sale. Subsection 87.6 provides direction for the sale of tropical non-timber forest products (i.e., vines, tree fruits, seeds and cuttings, palm leaves and sheaths, grass and straw, bark, bromeliads and fungi, and sphagnum moss) from the Caribbean national forest.
Direction is provided for more than 20 products that are identified in subsection 87.71 of amendment 2409.18-91-3 (USDA Forest Service 1991b), although for many products direction is less than adequate. Forest managers are provided adequate direction for the extraction and sale of some products, such as cones and seedlings, but no direction is provided for mushrooms, lichens, galax, or medicinal roots, even though they are included in the list of saleable products. Although more than 20 NTFPs are identified and listed in the Handbook, administrative direction for most is lacking.
The overall collection of non-timber forest products is monitored through a permit system, that allows for either free or fee use (USDA Forest Service 1999b). This service-wide amendment, in conjunction with the other national focused directives provides a basis for a national NTFP program; albeit significant deficiencies exist.
Regional Foresters and Forest Supervisors may supplement service-wide direction with field directives for activities under their respective authority. In the Southern Region, four Manual and Handbook directives have been issued since 1994 that direct action to manage for non-timber products. The regional policy concerning the sale of non-timber forest products was updated with supplement No. 2400-94-3, which embraces sustainable harvests based on annual work plans, and maximum cost efficiency with positive public benefits (USDA Forest Service 1994a). The policy directs forest managers to use economic principals and analysis to ensure and document the sustainable benefits of NTFP sales. The supplement directs forest managers to use management practices that perpetuate or increase production, that agree with forest plan objectives and the principles of ecosystem management.
Supplement No. 2400-94-3 directs the Regional Forester to oversee development of procedures to determine product values and to facilitate product sales (USDA Forest Service 1994a). It instructs Forest Supervisors to develop and update value and rate schedules and to use a minimum of 20 percent of wholesale market value as a starting point for establishing the appraised value of products. Supplement No. 2400-94-3 also instructs Forest Supervisors to develop administrative direction specifically for traditional (i.e., long-time residents) and Native Americans gatherers. The supplement further directs Forest Supervisors to develop and undertake biological and other evaluations to satisfy National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) requirements. In 1996, the Manual was amended (FSM 2400-96-2) to redelegate authority to sell and dispose of non-timber forest products (USDA Forest Service 1996). Obviously, these supplements lay the groundwork for an active management program.
The Region 8 supplement No. 2409.18-94-3 provides direction on firewood harvesting operations and the appropriate forms to record firewood activities (USDA Forest Service 1994b). Handbook supplement No. 2409.18-95-1 authorizes procedures for the sale of naval stores and provides a list of saleable products (USDA Forest Service 1995b).
Clearly, national and regional policies exist to support sustainable management non-timber forest resources and products. Forest managers at all levels are authorized to facilitate the sale of these products, and to do so in a cost efficient manner. They are directed to take management actions that will ensure sustainable growth and yield, as well as recovery of realistic values for these products. Forest managers are provided direction for some of the more common products, but for most products administrative direction is inadequate. Policies instruct forest managers to analyze the economic and ecological impact of collection activities, and yet there is no comprehensive program to manage for these products.
More than 82 laws affect activities on national forests in the United States (Floyd 1999). Of these, four provide the main direction for forest management. The Organic Administration Act of 1897 initiated management of the national forests and directed that forests be established to "improve and protect the resources to secure water and to furnish a continuous supply of timber." More than sixty years later, the Multiple-Use Sustained Yield Act directed that national forests be managed for outdoor recreation, range, timber, watershed, and wildlife and fish (MUSYA 1960). The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act institutionalized management planning in the Forest Service and directed that plans address recreation and wilderness, range, timber, watershed, and fish and wildlife (RPA 1974). Finally, the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of 1976 amended the RPA to provide additional statutory direction for plans to include "coordination of outdoor recreation, range, timber, watershed, fish and wildlife, and wilderness" (NFMA 1976, section 6 (c)(1)). Together, these provide the major guidance for management of national forests. Although the legislation may imply that national forests manage for non-timber forest products, there is no clear language to that effect. There is no definite mandate to include non-timber forest products in forest management plans and activities as there is for other natural resources or forest uses.
Though the service-wide and field directives provide the foundation for guiding management for NTFPs, two recent policy initiatives could have significant impact on how national forests manage for non-timber forest products. National legislation passed in 2000 established a pilot program to manage non-timber forest products (H.R. 2466 1999, section 339). It provides for establishment of appraisal methods and bidding procedures that guarantee that the revenues collected for NTFPs reflect fair market value. It requires that fees collected from the harvesting of NTFPs cover all costs associated with administering a program, including any environmental or biological assessments. The Bill further requires the Secretary of Agriculture to determine sustainable harvest methods and levels, and to establish procedures for monitoring and revising harvest levels. The pilot program, which has a four-year life, ends in fiscal year 2004. Unfortunately, the Codes of Federal Regulations that provide detailed guidance on how to implement the program have not been codified, so little if any effort has been taken to execute the program.
In 2001 the Forest Service issued the "National Strategy for Special Forest Products" (USDA Forest Service 2001). The purpose of the strategy is to guide and direct the agency in managing NTFP resources on public lands and to assist state and private forest managers in their efforts to incorporate NTFPs into forest management. It sets forth principles and priority areas that are intended to provide for an action plan to address the issue of management of non-timber forest resources and products. The strategy establishes five strategic goals: 1) ensure availability of NTFPs within ecosystem limits, 2) integrate NTFPs into forest management, 3) have consistent and affective policies and plans, 4) inventory and monitoring of resources, and, 5) collaborate with stakeholders. Although the "national strategy" articulates clear direction and action for the Forest Service, it does not provide the fiscal resources needed to ensure an active management program.
These initiatives, along with existing policies and procedures provide the basis for sustainable management of non-timber forest resources. They address key issues, such as cost recovery, sustainable harvest levels, and inventory and monitoring that are required for management. Existing policies, directives and initiatives provide the basis for active management. Yet, more action is needed to require that these resources and products be included in forest management.
Non-timber forest resources and products are important to the sustainability of forests and related communities. Unfortunately, they are not adequately addressed in forest management plans or policies. Although, utilization and management of non-timber forest resources and products may be implied in some laws, there is no clear mandate requiring national forests to manage for them. Directives for NTFPs are buried among policies for timber, which makes it difficult for forest managers to locate, let alone interpret, the policies for NTFPs. It provides tremendous opportunities for inconsistent interpretation, and implementation of the few policies that guide NTFP activities.
Service- and region-wide directives issued since the early 1990s could form the basis for an active NTFP management program. Directives have been issued that instruct managers to take action that will sustain or increase production, recover fair market value and that are in accord with objectives, standards and guidelines of forest management plans. Some direction has been provided for common products but forest managers are not provided sufficient direction for a large proportion of the many products collected from the forests. Forest managers would benefit from more region- and service-wide direction concerning the multitude of products.
Recent policy initiatives have potential to further institutionalize non-timber forest products. Although they will heighten the attention afforded to these products, neither guarantees the financial support needed to manage the resources for these products. To effectively include the resources and products in forest management will require legislation that provides administrative and fiscal resources. Without explicit legislation that mandates and provides support for management, non-timber forest resources and products will always "take a back seat" to other natural resources or 'hot' issues.
Chamberlain, J., R. Bush, and A.L. Hammett. 1998. "Non-Timber Forest Products: The Other Forest Products." Forest Products Journal. Vol. 48(10):2-12.
Chamberlain, J.L., R.J. Bush, A.L. Hammett, and P.A. Araman. 2002. "Eastern National Forests: Managing for Non-Timber Products." Journal of Forestry. Vol. 100(1):8-14, January/February
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| [1] Research Scientist, USDA
Forest Service, Southern Research Station, 1650 Ramble Road, Blacksburg,
Virginia 24060 USA. Tel: + 540-231-3611; Fax: + 540-231-1383; Email: [email protected] |