Calling the lorax - Clippings - Brief Article

American Forests, Spring, 2003

From the truth-is-stranger-than-fiction file comes the story of Nebraska's budget woes and one proposal by the University of Nebraska to help it meet a state mandate to cut $41 million from its budget: Eliminate the state Forest Service.

Nebraska's Forest Service, which is operated out of the University of Nebraska, has 27 employees. Eliminating it would save an estimated $8 37,000, according to the Omaha World-Herald. In addition to the obvious problems, the newspaper pointed out that the elimination would require the recall of more than 360 fire trucks now on loan to counties and force the forfeiture of about $1.6 million in federal funds for Forest Service programs.

State Forester Gary Hergenrader told the paper he can list more than two dozen ways the shutdown would hurt-including making his the lone Forest Service-less state.

Last year Nebraska's Forest Service got more than $2 million in federal funds to deliver to state programs such as landowner assistance and fire assistance, according to the Lincoln Journal Star.

Now Congress has gotten involved, but not in the way you might think. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) has introduced legislation that would allow the state Forest Service to negotiate forest management contracts on behalf of the U.S. Forest Service, according to a March 27 story in the Omaha World-Herald. Hagel suggested that localizing that control would reduce fire danger.

If state and university officials are unsuccessful in their attempts to save the Forest Service, the state would still retain a state forester. A spokeswoman for Hagel told the Omaha World-Herald that state officials had OK'd the idea before Hagel introduced it, saying that having just a state forester should suffice for the legislation.

The newspaper added, "Of course, it remains to be seen how much additional work the forester could absorb, given that he would be losing 25 of his 26 colleagues."