NASF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING February 4, :00 p.m. 5:00 p.m.

NASF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING February 4, 2013 1:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. Hall of the States Room 231 Washington, DC MINUTES Approved NASF Executive Committee Members Present: Randy Dye (WV), President; Chris Maisch (AK), Vice-President; Carl Garrison (VA), Treasurer; Leah W. MacSwords (KY), Past President; Bill Crapser (WY); Jim Karels (FL); Monica Lear (DC) Other State Foresters Present: Paul DeLong (WI), Gene Kodama (SC), Steven W. Koehn (MD), Chris Martin (CT) NASF Staff: Marvin Brown, Michael Buck, Jake Donnay, Jay Farrell, LouAnn Gilmer, Genevieve O Sullivan, Kara Shannon Regional Association Staff: Cecilia Clavet (NAASF), Mike Countess (SGSF), Brent Keith (CWSF), Ian MacFarlane (NAASF), Wib Owen (SGSF), Caitlyn Pollihan (CWSF) Call to Order & Opening Remarks President Dye convened the meeting and reviewed the agenda. Minutes & Business Reports Dye reviewed the minutes and one correction was noted. Garrison provided the Treasurer s Report. A Forest Service accounting system failure and accumulated federal grant receivables resulted in cash flow issues requiring use of the NASF reserve fund. Some payments have since been received and the NASF reserve fund has been restored. Farrell provided the Management Report. A proposed travel approval form is designed to help budget for and contain travel costs. A formal NASF procurement policy is under development. Efforts to recruit a contractor to provide staff support for the Forest Markets Committee were completed and Rick Cantrell was selected. Committee Chair Gene Kodama (SC) participated in the search process. 1) Approved December 5-6, 2012 meeting minutes with one correction to add Koehn as an attendee. 2) Approved the Treasurers Report. 3) Friendly and firm dues reminders will be sent to members if needed. 4) Gilmer will monitor potential impacts of new credit card rules allowing merchants to charge service fees of up to four percent to cover the cost of credit card processing. 5) Members provided feedback on a proposed travel approval form: include a date, clarify reimbursement and approval guidelines, make it simple, and distribute with instructions for use. 6) Farrell and Gilmer will develop a procurement policy consistent with association and federal best practices. Grant Training Gilmer reviewed participant feedback from the federal grant training sessions sponsored by NASF in October and December and discussed future training needs. Members noted the grant training sessions were valuable for state staff and a good example of NASF providing value to members. NASF should sponsor training every year if funding can be secured. 1

1) Gilmer will submit a grant request to support basic/ongoing grants training plus specialized training focused on sub-recipient monitoring. Business Plan Farrell and Gilmer presented a revised draft business plan based on previous member feedback for a simple and realistic tool focused on finances for maintaining core organization functions. A financial framework was reviewed that consisted of two spreadsheets illustrating a forecast model and goals/performance measures for revenue, expenses, and financial security. There was general agreement on the financial framework and no specific feedback was provided. Members suggested that the business plan be a comprehensive document that integrates strategic, marketing, and financial plans. Discussion focused on options for increasing revenue. There is a good fit for NASF Foundation investment to increase NASF educational materials capabilities. Other suggestions included soliciting corporate donations, hiring a development director, conducting a retreat with a consultant, and partnering with a university. 1) Review the NASF Strategic Plan (expiring in 2014) and Marketing Plan (under development by the Communications Committee) to determine how to best integrate into an overall Business Plan. 2) Staff will present a Business Plan for Executive Committee approval at the May meeting. Communications O Sullivan reported on staff and committee efforts focused on educational materials and marketing. This included demonstrating several new products. The online store has been updated and the NASF exhibit promoted our messages to 900 attendees at the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) conference. Most of the discussion focused on review of a draft marketing plan for NASF, which is being developed with committee input and will support the overall business plan. 1) O Sullivan will consider the following feedback for inclusion in the marketing plan and present a revised draft to the Executive Committee for approval by the May meeting: Include and build on polling results and the resulting message triangle and target audiences for promoting State Foresters and Forest Action Plans; Revise the core message from forestry to forests and/or trees ; Include Arbor Day and Earth Day in the marketing calendar; Include partner organizations and forestry/wildfire professionals or practitioners in the audience description; Determine how to provide specific messaging guidance to NASF members and committees; Consider development of a new logo for NASF. Annual Meeting Farrell reviewed participant feedback from the last meeting. The proposed schedule of events for 2013 is based on recommendations to shorten the meeting. Garrison reviewed plans for the field trip and solicited feedback on proposed speakers, agenda topics, and a future theme. 1) The Executive Committee and regional Executive Directors agreed to eliminate regional meetings at the NASF Annual Meeting. 2) The NASF logo will replace custom logos for each Annual Meeting. 3) Recommendations for the annual meeting included: Eliminate the Spouse Tour. The host state can facilitate independent spouse activities by providing suggestions, facilitating transportation/reservations, and arranging for spouses to meet and form groups; Include an urban topic or speaker if possible; Consider break out groups to facilitate discussion; Include partner interaction (Tuesday afternoon?); 2

4) Maisch, Garrison, Farrell, and O Sullivan will review all feedback and meet to finalize the program. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 5:00 p.m. NASF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING February 5, 2013 9:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. Hall of the States Room 231 Washington, DC NASF Executive Committee Members Present: Randy Dye (WV), President; Chris Maisch (AK), Vice-President; Carl Garrison (VA), Treasurer; Leah W. MacSwords (KY), Past President; Bill Crapser (WY); Jim Karels (FL); Monica Lear (DC) Other State Foresters Present: Paul DeLong (WI), Gene Kodama (SC), Steven W. Koehn (MD), Chris Martin (CT) NASF Staff: Marvin Brown, Michael Buck, Rick Cantrell, Jake Donnay, Jay Farrell, LouAnn Gilmer, Genevieve O Sullivan, Kara Shannon, Dan Smith (phone) Regional Association Staff & Guests: Butch Blazer (USDA), Cecilia Clavet (NAASF), Dave Cleaves (USFS), Mike Countess (SGSF), Brent Keith (CWSF), Ian MacFarlane (NAASF), Wib Owen (SGSF), Caitlyn Pollihan (CWSF), Paul Ries (USFS), Dave Tenny (NAFO) Call to Order & Opening Remarks President Dye convened the meeting and introduced Kara Shannon (NASF intern) and Rick Cantrell (new Forest Markets Committee staff). Legislative & Policy Issues DeLong briefed the committee on a legislative team meeting that reviewed priorities and how the team is organized to address issues. The team approach is effective but more needs to be done to communicate this to members. DeLong then summarized key issues and asked Donnay to lead discussion. The President s budget will not be released this week as required by law. Issues discussed included appropriations, Congress updates, Farm Bill, Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP), forest roads, fire transfer/flame Act, wildfire billing, NASF indemnity, and Hill visit preparation. Brent Keith led forest roads and NASF indemnity discussions. Jim Karels advised members on recent Forest Fire Protection Committee discussions related to wildfire billing. 1) Executive Committee members, NASF staff, and regional staff will all acknowledge the team approach and other members of the team in legislative and policy reports to the membership. 2) If sequestration is implemented, ensure budget cuts are not disproportionately applied to State & Private Forestry communicate with the Chief, Regional Foresters, OMB, and appropriators and emphasize impacts to on-the-ground outcomes. 3) Donnay will coordinate with Linda Casey (AL), Tony Delfin (NM), and Steve Sinclair (VT) to prepare for the April 11-12 meeting of the Forest Resource Coordinating Committee. 3

4) Agreed on tentative ( soft ) FY 14 appropriations recommendations based on FY12 levels, with final NASF recommendations to be approved following release of the President s budget. Final recommendations will clarify the following positions: FLAME Act funds should be in addition to and separate from suppression funds; NASF can support consolidating SFA and VFA we will review past allocation history and discuss future distributions together with the Forest Service. 5) Agreed to pursue a legislative fix that confirms existing authority for interagency wildfire billing communications will emphasize mobilization for emergency response rather than billing. Agreed to advance a legislative fix when made available from the Office of General Counsel (USDA). 6) Eliminated NASF Liability/Indemnity Legislation from the policy priorities list since work on this issue confirms a legislative or policy fix is not feasible. Other options to explore are: Product liability insurance; Review relevant NWCG language and change membership to clarify that NASF is not associated with training products. 7) Agreed to conduct joint Hill visits with American Forest Foundation (AFF) landowners on May 8 to promote shared AFF/NASF priorities including FY14 State & Private Forestry appropriations. Partner Meeting: Dave Tenny, NAFO Dave Tenny joined the meeting after lunch and all provided self-introductions. Tenny briefed members NAFO election results research in the twenty-nine (29) most forested states. Results are informing advocacy strategies that all forestry organizations may benefit from. Tenny also briefed members on work with Jay Farrell and other forestry association leaders to align and mutually support federal advocacy efforts. Association leaders are meeting quarterly to compare priorities and coordinate actions. NASF is recognized as a lead organization for Forest Action Plan, Forest Service budget, urban forestry, and wildfire management issues. Committee Reports Guests Butch Blazer (USDA) and Paul Ries (USFS) joined the meeting for Committee Reports and all provided self-introductions. President Dye reminded everyone that the Executive Committee approved committee work plans in December. Committee Chairs and staff presented issue updates, progress reports, and action requests. 1) Committee actions reported and approved by the Executive Committee were: Forest Fire Protection will verify DOI business processes for wildfire billing and urge DOI to establish training and validate its wildfire billing capability through pilot tests in four (4) states; Forest Resource Management Brown, Farrell, Gilmer, and O Sullivan will conduct a conference call with Virginia Tech to confirm work is proceeding per contract requirements on NASF BMP study work; Forest Markets will revise, update, and renew a call to action for state executive orders or equivalent state mechanism (e.g. legislation) promoting NASF s green building position; Urban & Community Forestry submitted comments on Forest Service program direction and will review Forest Service response; working with O Sullivan to develop new Educational Materials products; will continue to track progress on the Vibrant Cities Urban Forests initiative. Forest Science & Health (FS&H) the Executive Committee approved a NASF letter drafted by the FS&H committee outlining NASF positions on a proposed Invasive Species Control and Management Act advocated by the Healthy Habitats Coalition. Regional Reports Ian MacFarlane provided the Northeastern Area Association of State Foresters (NAASF) report, Wib Owen provided the Southern Group of State Foresters (SGSF) report, and Bill Crapser provided the Council of Western State Foresters (CWSF) report. Each included dates and plans for upcoming regional meetings. Crapser reported that a new organizational model for CWSF is complete where all staff are CWSF employees, 4

business functions are managed by an independent firm, and Kelsey Delaney has been hired as Project Director. Partner Meeting: Butch Blazer (USDA) and Dave Cleaves (USFS) President Dye welcomed guests Butch Blazer and Dave Cleaves. All provided self-introductions. Blazer opened discussion by noting that NASF is getting stronger all the time and frequent meetings are helping reinforce the value of the partnership with USDA. Dave Cleaves provided an update on Forest Service activities related to a changing climate, noting that this is a top-five issue for the President. Cleaves shared a copy of a new Forest Service climate report released today. This report, along with the Resources Planning Act (RPA) report, provide good information for communicating links between a changing climate, forest health, and active forest management. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 5:00 p.m. NASF ( X ) Approved DATE OF February 26, 2013 Randy Dye, President 5